Author Archive
High Contrast Grunge Photography
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High Contrast Grunge Photography takes the look of traditional Kodalith darkroom prints to the digital era (or for those of you still shooting with film, and developing in a darkroom, keeps Kodalith alive). By the way, there is a Kodalith group on Flickr!
The Exploration of Aiden Lair Lodge
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During a recent drive through the Adirondacks, I came across this abandoned lodge along route 28N in Minerva, New York. A sad reality exists, especially in the United States that many historical buildings and places are being left to decay, alone in their own abandon. Ideally places like this would be preserved somehow as part of our own American history.
The following photographs document the current state of just one of many such places that despite their historical significance and importance, are being left to rot and decay, forgotten by all but the most curious of people, like me, who stop in for a closer look, before it’s lost and gone forever. Ideally, I’d like to think that my photographic documentation of abandoned places such as this will raise some much needed awareness and possibly lead to some preservation efforts. The photos presented here can also be seen here, on Flickr.
Polaroid: Lo-Fi At An Instant
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The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation.
The invention of modern instant cameras is generally credited to American scientist Edwin Land, who unveiled the first commercial instant camera, the Land Camera, in 1948, a year after unveiling instant film in New York City. The earliest instant camera, which consisted of a camera and portable darkroom in a single compartment, was invented in 1923 by Samuel Shlafrock.
In February 2008, Polaroid announced it would discontinue production of film, shut down three factories and lay off 450 workers. Sales of chemical film by all makers have dropped by at least 25% per year in the first decade of the 21st century, and the decline is likely to accelerate. Fujifilm is now the only remaining supplier of instant film in the United States. However, in October 2009, Polaroid announced it would bring back its classic instant film cameras, after announcing the year before that production was to be stopped.
-Wikipedia
Since the era of digital photography becoming mainstream, the use of traditional film and instant cameras has become less common. With few exceptions, it seems that most photographers are turning to digital cameras, computers, and electronic printers; everything that was commonly found in a darkroom has now been replaced with digital equipment. Although digital equipment has many advantages such as lower cost, higher productivity (batch processing, automation, etc.), and ease of use, old-school film and instant formats still remain popular among some photographers.
A friend of mine on Flickr named Ashley Burress, is one of the few photographers who refuse to succumb to the all-digital fad, and who is still an instant print enthusiast. She gave me permission to use her Polaroid photographs as part of my article in exchange for a link to her blog and mention of her Flickr photostream. Most recently, Ash has posted a collection of instant photographs from a recent trip to The Nashville Zoo, which are a must see. All of the photographs presented here are Copyright Ashley Burress, and used with permission.
The Exploration Of Old Lodge
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Old Lodge is a 10,000 square-foot building built circa 1890, built in Tomkins Cove, New York. Over the years it was used as a hotel, a private school, a girl scout camp, and private residence. There are unconfirmed reports that the building was used as a nursing home for a short period of time. Years of neglect and decay have left it as a ‘shell’ of a building, and as such it has been formally condemned and entry to the building is strongly discouraged and extremely dangerous. Read More→
The Story Of Centralia, Pennsylvania
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Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. The anthracite coal industry was the principal employer in the community. Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business. Bootleg mining continued until 1982. Strip and open-pit mining is still active in the area, and there is an underground mine employing about 40 people three miles to the west.
The borough was served by two railroads, the Philadelphia and Reading and the Lehigh Valley, with the Lehigh Valley being the principal carrier. Rail service ended in 1966. The borough operated its own school district with elementary schools and a high school within its precincts. There were also two Catholic parochial schools in the borough. The borough once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. During most of the borough’s history, when coal mining activity was being conducted, the town had a population in excess of 2,000 residents. Another 500 to 600 residents lived in areas immediately adjacent to Centralia.It is not known for certain how the fire that made Centralia essentially uninhabitable was ignited. One theory asserts that in May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. The firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for a time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not extinguished correctly.
-Wikipedia
![[Public Domain Image]](http://www.tomslatin.com/wp-content/uploads/Centralia-Sign.jpg)
On March 19, 2011, I was finally able to visit Centralia, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, due to the current state of Centralia, it exists on few maps, and it is a sensitive topic amoung current residents who still live in the area. After doing extensive research on the Internet for quite some time, I had expected to find at least a few standing buildings that would indicate that a town stood here at one time. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I found nothing but crumbling pavement and empty streets. Cracked sidewalks among forgotten plots of land filled in the spaces where buildings once stood. Read More→
A Simple Experiment In Digital Pinhole Photography
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I was inspired recently to return to my photographic roots. Lacking immediate access to an old oatmeal container, photo paper, and a traditional darkroom, I decided to create my very own pinhole camera mockup. While this guy has an awesome tutorial, I wanted something that was both cheap and fast. I decided to tape a piece of aluminum foil over the front of my Canon 5D Mark II, poke a tiny hole in the near-middle, and go outside and start snapping photos. On a side note, if pinhole is something you’re interested in, I have a bunch of pinhole photos here on Flickr. Read More→
Photographing A Vintage Power Station, Pinhole Style
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In the old days, very few buildings had electrical service, and those that did had relatively low power requirements. Today, we rely on abundant supplies of power as almost everything we own is powered using electricity. Power plants have grown much larger in response to these ever-increasing energy demands. I was fortunate enough to come across this still standing vintage power station, which was in relatively good condition, considering the age of the facility and its years of abandonment and disuse. Not only was this photo shoot an inspiration, but also a lesson in History and how much things have changed since the turn of the century. Read More→
25 Prime Examples Of Pinhole Photography
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Pinhole photography is perhaps the oldest known photographic technique, using nothing more than a light-proof enclosure, a light-sensitive media, and a tiny hole instead of a lens. The examples here are being shown under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Licence.
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The Lost Art Of Pinhole Photography
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A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens and with a single small aperture — effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box. The human eye in bright light acts similarly, as do cameras using small apertures.
A pinhole camera’s shutter is usually manually operated because of the lengthy exposure times, and consists of a flap of some light-proof material to cover and uncover the pinhole. Typical exposures range from 5 seconds to hours and sometimes days.
A fire hydrant photographed by a pinhole camera directly on photographic paper to create the negative photograph (top). The positive image was created digitally from a scan of the negative image. Photo Credit: Matthew Clemente; Used Under A Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
When I was a kid, my father introduced me to photography. At the time, he was lucky enough to have a close friend who shared the photographic passion that I have today. Instead of buying me an expensive film camera (which came later on in my childhood), my father showed me how to take photographs the original way. Read More→
Planning Your First Urban Exploration Photographic Adventure
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Most of the abandoned places and things I’ve explored and photographed have been discovered by sheer happenstance. There are, however, a handful of situations where I had to pre-plan my photographic exploits. In previous posts I have talked about things like getting permission, and safety concerns, but in this post I will focus on research methods and more specific equipment-related concerns you will need to consider prior to heading out on your journey.
