Rough living

Thanks so much to all of you who have left comments this week, I really appreciate that!  I am trying to catch up from a quick trip, and hope to soon!

This is one of the many cells in Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA.  (by the way, do you realize how hard it is to type "penitentiary" and then "Philadelphia" in the same sentence??)

It's an abandoned prison turned museum and by all accounts it's an incredible place to take photographs, especially of the HDR variety.  So in other words, right up my alley!  Thanks for having a look!

Off the beaten path in London

I have posted some shots from this spot in London before (which I took last year while there for a few days).  It is the Leake Street graffiti tunnel, and I still have a lot to share.  Stuff like this just makes for a more interesting visit, in my opinion.  I hope you enjoy seeing these types of shots!

One reason I am posting a London shot is that I am posting this from London.  I have been in the UK all week (though not here), and flew into London last night, and now off to the airport to catch a flight home.  Sadly, no time in London to shoot with my friends here, as it was just a quick stopover on the way home.  I did though have some time to shoot in Dublin, Ireland and outside of Glasgow, Scotland this week, and have lots of new stuff to share with you all!  I haven't been online much this week, so I just want to thank those of you who did pop by and leave comments, etc - I really appreciate it very much!

The grimy side of London

Grime is good!  (and so is graffiti)

There is just so much to see and shoot in London - one can never get it all done!  But keep trying because it sure is fun!  For example, here is a secret little spot that you might not find if it weren't for a little help.  I got my help from two friends who live in London - Mike Murphy and John Esslinger.  In addition to being great photographers, they are genuinely nice guys and excellent tour guides for photo spots and pubs :).  We were doing the photowalk thing and had finished up shooting Big Ben at sunset (which was awesome, BTW), when they asked me if I was interested in a little graffiti.  Um...heck ya!  This is only about a 5 minute walk from the London Eye but is sorta tucked away.  Without their help I would not have known about it.  This entire tunnel is graffiti'd from one end to the other - a HDR heaven in London!

I also compiled a list of what I consider the Top Photo Spots in London, which you can read here.  Also check out Mike's and John's shots as they have plenty from this wonderful city by the Thames!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hollow hallways

Walking around in Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA is somewhat eerie when you have it all to yourself.  There are numerous hallways, and they all echo with a hollow emptiness that you seem to feel deep in your gut.  I have heard that this place is haunted, and it is easy to believe when you visit here.  Apart from that - it's a great place to photograph!  Anytime you can capture some decay in HDR, it's all good and certainly worth any strange sensations you might experience there!  I did hear the sound of breaking glass - but it was me accidentally crushing my filter!  Oops!

Cell block decay

This is another of my shots from Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA.  It is an incredible place to visit, especially if you are into HDR photography!  All my friends that have been there agree - it's HDR Heaven!  Anyways, this was one of the many cells that I photographed - all of them were in various states of decay, which is always interesting, and they were in incredible disarray as well.  In other words, a great place to shoot!  Plenty more decay to share from this place!

Need a shave?

This is another HDR from that most wonderful HDR Heaven - Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA.  I have probably 30 or more shots still to go, and they all look cool and/or interesting in some way or another, but this one really stood out in my library as one of my favorites from ESP.  I imagine prisoners going in for a haircut or shave, and not knowing if the "barber" (surely another prisoner) might use the old straight razor in an unforgiving fashion!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Desolation at every turn

I had the good fortune of going to Philadelphia, PA last week for a quick 20 hour stay.  Seriously, I was there about 20 hours.  The good news is that I got to see rain again for the first time in months (it has been incredibly dry in Austin), and the better news is that I had about 1 hour to shoot after my late afternoon arrival.  So, where do you spend an hour in Philly with a camera?  How about an abandoned prison?  

I had read about and seen various pictures from Eastern State Penitentiary, which is basically in downtown Philly.  It's a pretty incredible place.  It's also an HDR heaven.  The crumbling walls, abandoned and empty cells, rust and grime everywhere - it just screams HDR.  So, I HDR'd about everything I saw, which was great fun!

This is one of the hallways, leading to some abandoned cell block.  It was a pretty bleak scene there, but I was shooting HDR's so I was zipping around and having a great time!  If you are ever nearby, be sure and check this place out!

Glasgow grunge

find life experiences and swallow them whole. travel. meet many people. go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys. try everything. exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life.  - lawrence k. fish

The above quote is one of my favorites.  I just love it.  I took that advice when I was walking around in Glasgow, Scotland one rainy afternoon.  I passed by an alley that looked sort of interesting, and immediately doubled-back to explore it a little more closely.  It turned and twisted a couple of times, and didn't really smell great, but at the end of it I found this little scene.  It's well worth it in my book.  Explore dark alleys - words to live by!

London graffiti

When I was in London last week, I met up with Mike Murphy and John Esslinger for a wonderful photo walk. We spent several hours hitting some great sites, and of course they showed me things I would never have known about otherwise.  This is one of them.  Just a short walk from the London Eye there is this little tunnel and as you can see the walls are covered in graffiti.  It was awesome!  We spent a while in there, and I grabbed a million shots.  It wasn't quite an urbex experience, though it certainly had that flavor to it.  More to come from this spot!

Danger Keep Off

Don’t you love it when you find stuff like this by accident? 

We were celebrating a family members’ birthday yesterday, and were out in Marble Falls, TX, which is a small town up in the hill country, about an hour outside of Austin.  We went out to eat lunch, and of course I brought my camera along on this little outing.  The restaurant was perched high above this river and had an outdoor deck that offered an expansive view of the area, which I just had to investigate.  When I got out there, I saw this decayed structure and just had to get a photo of it.  To answer the obvious questions: 1) No, I did not try and get into/onto this thing, and...2) Yes, it was killing me not to.  Maybe next time.  Besides, the “Danger Keep Off” applies to other people, right?

The benefits of wandering

I like to wander - wandering is productive.  A bit of distraction is useful.  I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but I think it is a productive use of time.  It frees the mind when you are not focused on something.  I can clear my head, take random shots, and just "be" instead of "do".  When I wander, I am not looking for the "big shot" - I can just enjoy the simple pleasure of taking pictures.  And sometimes when I wander, I find myself downtown on the top of an empty parking garage, expanding my view and taking photos like this one.  They aren't big, impressive or beautiful photos necessarily, but they are still important to me nonetheless.  It is not a dramatic sunset, or the crashing of a big wave on a rocky coast, or an expansive landscape filled with the beauty of nature.  No, it is none of those things.  It is just a simple, weather-worn door atop an empty, deserted garage - and I love it.

Ybor City scene

Ybor City is a historic district just a stone's throw from downtown Tampa.  It was founded by cigar manufacturers and populated with thousands of Cuban immigrants.  Nowadays, it still maintains its historic charm and has become populated with bars, restaurants and stores as well as all the historic cigar shops.  It's a very interesting place to walk around with a camera.  I spent a couple of hours strolling through the neighborhood and found this scene at one of the many outdoor patio bars.  And yes, Guinness is good for you!

My name is Mean

This shot was taken out on the East side of Austin.  A Flickr friend of mine, Michael Jones (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjones79/) had taken a similar shot a while back, and I was intrigued, so he told me where to find this gem.  The East side of Austin historically was a bit neglected, but is starting to experience a bit of gentrification so we will have to see if it can maintain it's character (hopefully so).  There are a lot of nooks and crannies worth exploring with a camera over there, it's just finding the time.  Title courtesy of a good friend - just an old family expression.

The silver door

I have come to realize, through photography, that I have a thing for grungy, decayed, totally jacked up looking objects.  They are infinitely interesting to me.  Take this door for instance.  I was wandering around the East side of Austin and saw this door.  I am already a fan of entryways, doors, things like that, but add in a dash of graffiti and some weathering, and it just comes to life for me.  

Decay

One of many shots I took of this dying old building in downtown Austin.  I do enjoy shooting these gritty, urbex sort of shots.  Some folks out there get a chance to do this a lot, and I can see how this type of photography can get a grip on you.  It's pretty fun, and the details and textures you can find are pretty impressive.