Abandoned, artifacts, architecture

schmoo · June 26, 2007

I don't really do macros, don't do much portraiture, never attend sporting events and I've only started dabbling in landscapes. So I never really post photos here. Here is what I do shoot, or at least what I've been shooting lately. A kind of mixed bag of the things I see/find on my weekends.

First up are 5 shots from the last couple of days when I was trying out a 24mm TS-E lens. I'd heard so much about the wonder and glory of this thing, I was truly excited about taking it out for a spin. The verdict? I was confused and frustrated. I think I need to practice more, or spend some more time watching a pro use one. :scratch

"Dear Mrs Tate..." This is the saddest Christmas card I've ever read. Hallmark sure doesn't write them like this. At the same time, finding items like this is one of the very reasons why I enjoy seeing the insides of these forgotten buildings.

3-legged minia-chair! A typical tilt/shift shot, I know

A famous corkscrew staircase. Again, while it was neat using a lens that excels in architectural photography, I am not so sure I needed to lug that little tank all the way here just to get a shot like this:

Rolling out the red carpet. This was one of the nicest (cleanest) hallways I've ever seen:

Most hallways I see look more like this. Peeling pant, bands of shadows, broken ceilings:

Comments and constructive criticism most certainly appreciated.

saurora · June 26, 2007

Schmoo...neat shots! I'm lousy at landscapes and architecture. I find most architecture boring, but old buildings are another story. I love the colors of old paint and the texures...and yes, the possible stories that they bring to mind. I can't offer advice, but I've been curious about the tilt-shift lens. I assume it helps put things in better perspective without so much distortion? I wish we had more old buildings like these around where I live, but sadly we don't. It's next to impossible to access private property here....everything is fenced off for insurance purposes, I guess. I'm too old to climb fences! Each of your shots is a little different and I like that. Your first tells a story of what you find, as does your second but it also brings in the colors and conditions of your finds. The third is an amazing find of a once grand staircase no longer in use. Makes me wonder who climbed it and why was it so circular? The long elegant hallway reminds me of an old learning institution of some kind. Appears to be in pretty nice condition. Sad to see them left for more modern buildings. Then the last shot with all the doorways leads to rooms of different colors. Makes me wonder what the rooms were for and who (or what!) occupies them now? Thanks for sharing these, I hope you will post more often!!!

Awais Yaqub · June 26, 2007

Beautiful series i have no words to explain my feeelings

schmoo · June 26, 2007

Thanks saurora and Awais! I always get performance anxiety posting here.

The TS lens is supposed to minimize distortion but I wasn't using the shift feature in any of these and I still don't see any noticable barreling. I have yet to see similar shots from that day taken using my 17-40, but from what I saw on the LCD they looked almost comparable...

The second building here (the clean one) is being renovated, I think. I haven't done my homework on that one yet but parts of it looked cleaned out, although progress appears to be slow. So currently no one is living there, save raccoons and bugs and probably some cats as well. There are always cats.

I do know that the architecture was a big deal when it was built, there is a lot of history in the area and particularly with that hospital. I was told the designer was a protégé of Thomas Jefferson and revolutionized hospital design by working with the director to benefit the care of patients.

Don't know how the staircase fits in, but it's nice to look at.

Skippy · June 26, 2007

schmooo wrote:

I don't really do macros, don't do much portraiture, never attend sporting events and I've only started dabbling in landscapes. So I never really post photos here. Here is what I do shoot, or at least what I've been shooting lately. A kind of mixed bag of the things I see/find on my weekends.

First up are 5 shots from the last couple of days when I was trying out a 24mm TS-E lens. I'd heard so much about the wonder and glory of this thing, I was truly excited about taking it out for a spin. The verdict? I was confused and frustrated. I think I need to practice more, or spend some more time watching a pro use one.
"Dear Mrs Tate..." This is the saddest Christmas card I've ever read. Hallmark sure doesn't write them like this. At the same time, finding items like this is one of the very reasons why I enjoy seeing the insides of these forgotten buildings.
3-legged minia-chair! A typical tilt/shift shot, I know
A famous corkscrew staircase. Again, while it was neat using a lens that excels in architectural photography, I am not so sure I needed to lug that little tank all the way here just to get a shot like this:
Rolling out the red carpet. This was one of the nicest (cleanest) hallways I've ever seen:
Most hallways I see look more like this. Peeling pant, bands of shadows, broken ceilings:
Comments and constructive criticism most certainly appreciated.

Wow Schmooo what a great place to take photos

They're all great shots, in particular I like the Spiral Stair Case,
and the shots down the hallways.

Is this place being renovated? or is it abandoned?
Great series of images Schmooo

thanks for sharing.... Skippy
.

dkoyanagi · June 26, 2007

Great photos, Schmooo!

I really like the red carpet photo. Fantastic exposure control.

So you went and got the 24TS-E. Lucky you.

I'm trying to resist but I know I'll break down and buy one sooner or later.

If you haven't seen this yet, here's some info on using the TS-E.

anwmn1 · June 26, 2007

Schmoo--

I really like the two hallway shots. Very cool.

schmoo · June 26, 2007

Skippy you are always too kind.

The second place is being renovated, at least parts of it. I always get a little disappointed by such clean
interiors because most of the character gets taken away, but the architecture was quite lovely.

Both hospitals are technically abandoned, although that term can mean anything from "using these buildings as storage area while funding is being cut away" to "up for sale if anyone is willing to cough up the money."

Dan - I was just borrowing the lens for a few days. I coughed up $$$ for some new RRS equipment in the last month so no new lens for me in the near future. Plus, I need to upgrade the computer soon too, else I can't process the photos I take with them. Boooo!

Thank you Aaron - if I keep posting photos in Dgrin I'm sure we'll all be tired of hallway shots! There is a running joke in the culture about hallways and lone chair photos. But if you think about it there usually isn't much else to use as your subject.

pathfinder · June 26, 2007

I really like the third shot of the circular staircase. Maybe I just prefer circular logic.:D Or B&W.

The chair I find less appealing

The hallways are nice and well done.

You should get into the sunshine more and try a portrait, a landscape ( I've seen you do those!), or even some bugs:D

Hi Schmoo.

Serrator · June 27, 2007

Wonderful adventure...thanks. You did very well with your shots!!

greenplasticdave · June 27, 2007

I like this one the best, the stench of disrepair is almost palpable.

In what way is the shot of the chair typical of a TS shot? I'm not sure I follow.

-Dave-

www.mirkwoodcottage.typepad.com/davidjamesphotography

schmoo · June 27, 2007

pathfinder wrote:

I really like the third shot of the circular staircase. Maybe I just prefer circular logic.:D Or B&W.

The chair I find less appealing

The hallways are nice and well done.

You should get into the sunshine more and try a portrait, a landscape ( I've seen you do those!), or even some bugs:D Hi Schmoo.

Jim, thanks! I took about 25 different shots of that darned staircase because it was so beautiful and I wasn't going to let it beat me. I pulled two of those 25 and spent at least an hour wrestling them into submission, but I still ended up with 4 versions of each that I disliked to different degrees. Perhaps my trouble was that I was staring at them so much on my screen my eyes started to cross.

I appreciate your gentle cattle prod! I have some portrait sessions with human models coming up next month but coordinating times with them has been so difficult. This fall I want to get down to the Shenandoahs and try some dawn landscapes, too. Try to switch up my repetoire just a bit.

There is a lot to photographing abandonments that I love... not just the architecture but the adventure and solidarity with the people I go with, the physical/intellectual challenge of it as well as trying to find a new artistic way to approach an empty building. Not to mention the great stories you come back with.

Dave: The selective focus was the typical tilt-shift aspect of it. It doesn't look quite as miniature as some of the other shots I've seen people do with that lens, but the blurring on the top and bottom is there. I think maybe I could have utilized the tilt function better on the Christmas card shot but my eyes were having trouble with the manual focus in the dim lighting.

Dee · June 27, 2007

Oh my
I'm so jealous! You have access to these buildings? WOW.... the textures, the peeling paint, the winding staircases, the red carpet, the open doors with the light streaming through!

Your photos show you really like the settings too!

DavidTO · June 27, 2007

First off, I think it's cool that you're documenting this stuff.

If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd never have noticed that the chair was 3 legged. I think the composition is to blame for that. Maybe you could have gotten lower?

Also, i'd love to see some wider shots. I know that you don't have a lens like that, but the 10-22 would be a boatload of fun in those buildings, and I think for you is a more important purchase than the tilt/shift. Yeah, it'd be cool to overcome the keystoning distortion, but I think that distortion might be fun with these subjects and the 10mm range on your 30D would be awesome.

Part of this is that all of your shots have a similar feel as far as focal length. I think that these buildings really would sing if you mixed it up more. Take the viewer on a journey that steps into and back from the subject.

tlee · June 27, 2007

Skippy wrote:

Wow Schmooo what a great place to take photos
They're all great shots, in particular I like the Spiral Stair Case,
and the shots down the hallways.

Is this place being renovated? or is it abandoned?
Great series of image Schmooo thanks for sharing.... Skippy

Skippy and I must be on the same wave length, I'm always "ditto-ing" her comments:D.

schmoo · June 27, 2007

Thanks David, as always. A friend of mine does have the 10-22 but I never get to use it. Although... he recently got a second body (5D) so maybe I can switch him for the 17-40 the next trip out...? Hmm that's an idea I never thought of before that I should pitch.

I never thought before to look at my focal length of these shots. It's true that I usually stick to my 24-105, though I brought out the 17-40 for one location to play with the distortion and that didn't end up looking very different. Walls are so overrated.

Now I'm thinking about revisiting a place this weekend, just trying some of these new ideas out.

Wow, food for thought. Thank you!

DavidTO wrote:

First off, I think it's cool that you're documenting this stuff.

If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd never have noticed that the chair was 3 legged. I think the composition is to blame for that. Maybe you could have gotten lower?

Also, i'd love to see some wider shots. I know that you don't have a lens like that, but the 10-22 would be a boatload of fun in those buildings, and I think for you is a more important purchase than the tilt/shift. Yeah, it'd be cool to overcome the keystoning distortion, but I think that distortion might be fun with these subjects and the 10mm range on your 30D would be awesome.

Part of this is that all of your shots have a similar feel as far as focal length. I think that these buildings really would sing if you mixed it up more. Take the viewer on a journey that steps into and back from the subject.

JillG · June 27, 2007

These are really nice.

I love the letter shot and the old hallways. Hope to see more .

Jill

schmoo · June 28, 2007

JillG wrote:

These are really nice. I love the letter shot and the old hallways. Hope to see more .

Thanks Dee, tlee, Jill! I promise there will be more from me in the future. I am shy about putting up my own work on Dgrin but I know that by holding back the only person losing out is me.

pyrtek · June 28, 2007

greenplasticdave wrote:

In what way is the shot of the chair typical of a TS shot? I'm not sure I follow.

Notice how there's a band of sharpness going right through the middle of the
frame. The chair and its vicinity are perfectly sharp, while everything above it
and below it or out of focus. Try doing that with a normal lens.