The Steelgaarden

schmoo · December 12, 2008

I can't tear myself away from this place. I'll miss it horribly, all the wonderful tales that I have from here, and how happy the entire town just makes me feel.

There was a lot at stake this day and I knew it. To test myself I took only one lens and set the rule: whatever I got this day was it. No second chances, no cheating, so I had to get it right. If I didn't, then tough luck.

It was and at times it was frustrating, but it was also an incredible learning experience. To see a place so familiar through a different view and bounded by the rules of a very different piece of glass, that was both irritating and refreshing! Everything changed after this day, in many more ways than one.

3-shot vertical pano underneath the furnace:

The colors in this place are jaw-dropping, which is shocking considering how long it has been an abandoned ruin, subject to rain and sun and weather and vandals:

This room was so dark I failed to notice I had the tilt engaged. But it was so quiet and so untouched. It was literally a time capsule, and you can feel it just in the air. The dust on the floor, inches deep, can't be felt by the weather outside. I wonder who or what can possibly live here, if anything.

Empty doors, leading to drippy black pits beneath.

And the furnaces soared overhead, seventeen stories of skybound majesty:

Steel begat life, as it always does.

Feedback always appreciated. Thanks!

Awais Yaqub · December 12, 2008

Superb series !
4th is so great loved it

tisun · December 12, 2008

Great series! I love the colors in the color shots. The contrast between colors and rust looks really nice. I like your B&W conversion, too.

I usually take a single lens with me and force myself to move closer or farther to get the desired perspective. Sometimes, that would be a prime lens.

leaforte · December 12, 2008

Very nice series. Don't teeter. You are a cool shooter. Moderation takes balance.

Tango · December 12, 2008

beauty.

annnna8888 · December 12, 2008

Schmoo, this is a wonderful series! I love abandoned buildings too. Nos. 3 and 4 are my favorites. And you showed great self-restraint by taking along only one lens.

I usually cave in to the temptation of using them all.

Ana

leaforte · December 12, 2008

I keep returning to #4. Intriguing.

NorthernFocus · December 12, 2008

This series really tells a story. The buttons and the doorway really give the abandoned, lonely feeling. Then the last image of nature slowly creeping back in an replacing man. If you were by yourself you're much gutsier than me. Vacant buildings creep me out

HDShooter · December 12, 2008

I Love these. 4,5 are my favorite!
I need to find a place like this. I have a place in mind, but might be tricky getting in.

schmoo · December 13, 2008

Thanks for the kind comments, guys. Tisun yes it was a prime, the infamous 24mm TS and while I've used it many times before this was the first time I had one of my own, plus I was actually using it to take architectural shots.

I love having a single focal length. Sometimes I hate it. But boy does it make your brain work, especially with the added bonus of manual focus on a cropped sensor in a dark room.

I did get my 5D mkII last week and I'm itching to go back for a re-match with it, but I doubt that's going to happen.

arcticblooms I never wander into these places alone. I might if I (1) didn't already spook at my own shadow and (2) wasn't a 5'0 female. But it's better to be safe anyway. It's always more fun to share that pint of stout afterwards with your fellow shooter(s), though, right?

Mike J · December 13, 2008

Wow

3 and 4 are my favorites.

Tee Why · December 13, 2008

They are nice. For the color versions, I would have preferred a lightly warmer WB temp.

clemensphoto's · December 13, 2008

Great series! I have always enjoy looking at worn down building, you see so much character and the lighting. Great job.

alexkhoo82 · December 14, 2008

The contrast is there, the colors are attractive~ Very nicely done~

Reeflections · December 14, 2008

Very intriguing place and well captured. This genre is not usually my cup of tea but I spent a lot of time with these and they brought back memories of an similar place where I worked in another life.

Your decision to take one lens - a prime at that - was brave and wise.

toadlet · December 14, 2008

A very much enjoyed looking at your series of photographs. Well executed in terms of composition and post-processing work is spot on and the textures in each of the shots is punchy and vibrant. Good stuff.

Dwayne Oakes · December 14, 2008

Awesome set schmoo great job !! All of them are great but I like the
last one the best. Thanks for posting.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

kts · December 14, 2008

great shots. you really should get out and explore more.

i still need to get there, such an awesome location.

coscorrosa · December 14, 2008

Great eye as usual! 3, 4, and 6 are my favorites.

schmoo wrote:

There was a lot at stake this day and I knew it. To test myself I took only one lens and set the rule: whatever I got this day was it. No second chances, no cheating, so I had to get it right. If I didn't, then tough luck.

I've tried doing that before, but I always get so frustrated that I pretty much now always bring the full arsenal, which can be up to (counting...) 6 lenses. I (and my back, afterward) need help.

I know the point of the exercise is to test your eye, compositions, and ability to see old things in a new way, but the only thing it tests is my patience, and that's already been benchmarked repeatedly throughout my life, and any additional testing is unlikely to yield new results