Archive for grunge – Page 3

My Top 50 Grunge and Urban Exploration Photos

Dead Red Truck Abandoned Barn With Tin Roof (2) Abandoned Gas Station Along NY-147 (15) Hogback Ski Area (2) Goodwill Poultry Farm (2) Abandoned Train Depot - Stairs To Cellar The Wait Is Forever Sink Abandoned Train Depot - Full View Seashore Trolley Museum 4 Abandoned Hydro Plant 6 Dead Car (1 of 6) Empty House 1 - 1 Bathtub of Debris (2) Crooked Home (1) Broken Home (5) Abandoned Industrial Washing Machine In Winter Locomotive Graveyard (18) Dead Locomotive Kitchen From Doorway Abandoned Industrial Mine (1) ESP (17) Empty House 1 - 16 The Life They Let Slip Away (Holga Edit) Old Phone dummy2 Abandoned Farmhouse, Burned (10) Closed Gas Station 2 Red Apple Rest (11) Dead Crane Truck (2) ESP (39) Abandoned Industrial Mine (8) Empty Train Car (2) Farmhouse Dining Room (2) Broken Home (2-2) Abandoned Rail Yard (9) Abandoned Hydro Plant 2 Destroyed Office Goodwill Poultry Farm (1) Rockland Drive-In (1) Abandoned Sunoco Gas Station (1) Abandoned Gas Station Along NY-147 (10) Locomotive Graveyard (8) Red Apple Rest (13) No Radar - Grunge Edit Baby Stroller The Delaware Inn Noir Vignette Abandoned Dam Destroyed Box
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Grunge, and Urban Exploration photography have played a major part of my photographic vision. Over the years, I have photographed abandoned places of all kinds. Shown here are just a sampling of what is available on my Flickr Photostream. Over the years, I have had the unique opportunity to explore photograph abandoned gas stations, houses, industrial and agricultural centers, hidden underground passageways, abandoned hospitals, forgotten commercial enterprises, and of course, railroad yards and stations. What I have provided here is what I consider to be my top 50 most influential and thought-provoking shots.

Lomography 101

Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, “happy accidents,” and alternative film processing are often considered part of the “Lomographic Technique”.
–Wikipedia

A lomographic camera is perhaps the pinnacle of grunge photography. Similar to the Holga, the Lomo camera produces unique results that are unique and specific to each individual camera. Specifically, the Lomo will typically produce images that are of selective focus, over or under exposure, indense off-center vignetting, and over saturation.

Shown here is an example of an actual photo taken with a Lomographic camera using a fisheye lens.

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Abandoned Stuckey’s In Winter

Stuckey’s originated in the early 1930s in Eastman, Georgia. When founder W. S. Stuckey, Sr., had a successful pecan harvest from his family’s orchard he decided to offer a portion of the crop for sale in a lean-to roadside shed. Many Florida-bound tourists traveling U.S. Route 23 stopped to purchase the pecans.

In 1960, W. S. Stuckey attempted to create a hotel chain called Stuckey’s Carriage Inn, but opened only four locations. In 1967, Stuckey’s merged with Pet Milk.

The company at its peak had over 350 locations, which dwindled to fewer than 75 after a decline in the late 1970s under ownership by Pet. It was repurchased by former Congressman W.S. Stuckey, Jr., in 1985. It currently has over 200 franchise stores in 19 states. – Wikipedia

While traveling along Interstate 80, my true love, Angie spotted this abandoned Stuckey’s location in Corsica, Pennsylvania. Upon returning home, Angie was awesome enough to dig up a ton of information about this place, including this locations date of closure, which happened to be some time in 1972.

Despite having been closed and abandoned for many years, there were still remnants of the prior business. I found it amazing that after all these years, there were still some items that were left behind and forgotten.

Outside (3)

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Photography Without Labels

When Trevor asked me to contribute Cityscape and Landscape articles to the site last year I was honored. 2010 was a great learning year for me and in 2011, I’ve been able to reflect on all of my hard work for the past 365 days.  Honoring the gems and realizing my mistakes, It’s allowed me to focus on this new year with a new mind frame.  One thing I decided to remove is the word “scape” from my categories of work. I prefer to use the terms “City” & “Land”.  For me this broadens the subject matter for which I can write about, because recently I’ve been shooting a lot of different subject matter when it comes to city and land photography.  When I think of the word “scape”, I think of skyline shots, and sunsets over the ocean, but in fact city and land photography is so much more than that. In my recent adventures I’ve found ways to produce city and land images together, like the examples below.


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Advanced Grunge Editing

My original post in this series was Easy and Creative Grunge Effects.  This post is for the more advanced photographer who is looking for some more interesting and stunning effects and editing.

For this tutorial, you will need the following.  First, as always, you will need a photo image, such as the one shown in this tutorial.  Second, you will need a copy of Photoshop, or a similar image editing program.  Thirdly, you will need some brushes for use with Photoshop.  A few of the brushes used in this tutorial were found at PhotoshopBrushes.com.  Additionally, there are Photoshop actions available for purchase that closely follow tutorials such as this one.

Lined-Up Rail Cars (2)
For this tutorial, we will start with this photo. Read More→

The Exploration of Eastern State Penitentiary

ESP (5)

The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is a former American prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located on 2027 Fairmount Avenue between Corinthian Avenue and North 22nd Street in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia and was operational from 1829 until 1971. Its revolutionary system of incarceration was the first to establish the policy of separate confinement, emphasizing principles of reform rather than punishment. Notorious criminals such as bank robber Willie Sutton and Al Capone were held inside its unique wagon wheel design. When the building was erected it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever constructed, quickly becoming a model for more than 300 prisons worldwide. –Wikipedia

On May 28, 2010, myself and a group of friends decided to check out Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  At the time, I was following up on a tip from a fan of my website (while I’m on the topic, I’m always looking for tips).  Opened in 1829, the prison housed some of America’s most notorious and dangerous criminals, such as Al Capone and many others, up until its closing and subsequent abandonment in 1971.  Today, it is a crumbling structure of guard towers and cell blocks which are kept in a perminant, yet stable state of disrepair and abandonment.  The prison is a fantastic sight to behold and a perfect location for grunge photography. Read More→