kodachrome project @denver (fujica ax-5)

During the spring of 2010, I decided to take some of my Kodachrome stash on a trip to Denver, Colorado, since I had never been. Unfortunately, the weather was less than cooperative and overcast during a substantial part of my trip. Despite the cloud cover, I did manage to burn a few rolls of Kodachrome.

I stayed in downtown and found this groovy Rocky Mountain Diner neon sign near my hotel. Staying downtown was worth the loot, plenty of excellent restaurants and fantastic bars were within walking distance (a mile or so) from my hotel. I slept at the Magnolia, which I highly recommend.

After exploring near the hotel, my wandering took me to Lodo, where I discovered a vintage Coca-Cola sign adorning the Wazee Supper Club. Sadly, I did not get a chance to hang out at the Wazee Supper Club on this visit, but I did enjoy its unique ambiance on subsequent trips to Denver.

In my travels through Lodo, I came across Manny's Bridge. The bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and completed in 1908. It originally served the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad, but eventually fell into disrepair. The bridge is named after Dr. Emanual Salzman, who was instrumental in rehabilitating the bridge for pedestrian use. Manny's Bridge is an important connection between Lodo and both the Cherry Creek and Platte River Greenways.

In addition to shooting Kodachrome, I traveled to Colorado to sample the multitude of tasty craft beers brewed in the state. Conveniently, Great Divide brews their delicious beers in downtown Denver and also has a swank taproom. Walking to Great Divide for a tour and some brews, I discovered some colorful graffiti.

My first trip to Colorado was a blast, I enjoyed exploring and sampling craft brews even though the weather was not always conducive to photography. I enjoyed it so much that Colorado has become an annual trip for me, albeit without Kodachrome.

adventures with s and d @auraria ghost town (fujica ax-5)

My friend D suggested we explore some ghost towns and sent me a list of several in the southeast. We decided to start with Auraria, Georgia, as it was reasonably close to Atlanta. In 1828, gold was discovered in north Georgia and several miners arrived on the scene. They founded Auraria, which was the first gold rush town in the state. Eventually, the gold ran out and the miners moved west, settling in what is now Denver. A few buildings are still standing in Auraria, Georgia.

On the appointed day, I picked up S and D, as well as M, who rode along for safety, and we drove north on Georgia 400 to Lumpkin County. Upon arriving in Auraria, we parked near Woody's Store, an old wooden building that was open for business into the 1980s.

We all piled out of the car and began taking pictures. S had battery issues with her digital gear, but had fortuitously packed a Nikon FE, so she photographed with that. I found a nicely weathered Coca-Cola sign on the side of Woody's. On the front porch of Woody's, I discovered a groovy old vending machine starting to decay.

Up the street from Woody's, we came upon the remains of the Graham Hotel. I had hoped to explore the interior, but as shown in this photograph of the collapsing Graham Hotel, the building was in an advanced state of decay and entering was out of the question. Across the street from the store and hotel are some unidentified ruins. This foundation and what might have been the roof are all that is left of the building.

Auraria also had an old graveyard. I was unhappy with most of the shots I took in the cemetery, but I did get this photo of a decaying monument. Sadly, no ghosts were encountered in either the town or the graveyard.

kodachrome project @charleston (fujica ax-5)

Early in 2010, I took a road trip to Charleston, South Carolina to put some of my Kodachrome stash to good use. This was my first visit to the Holy City, despite living nearby in Atlanta for over ten years. The weather on this trip was absolutely fantastic and I was able to burn through four rolls of Kodachrome.

Downtown Charleston is an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and residences. Although national retailers are prominent and a few chain restaurants make an appearance, the majority of eateries on the peninsula are independents, which leads to some interesting signs as they vie for attention. I particularly enjoyed this neon bicycle on top of Basil.

Overall, downtown Charleston is well kept and a number of businesses are thriving. However, on the more interesting end of King Street, I was able to take this photograph of a burned out building in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. In contrast, this picture of a fish skeleton was taken at a well kept shop.

As mentioned previously, Charleston features a plethora of interesting signs. A substantial number of them are neon, like this Berlin's for Men sign or the Tellis Pharmacy sign.

In between photography expeditions, I enjoyed visiting several of Charleston's art galleries. Imbibing libations at two different rooftop bars with great views of the city and harbor was also a good way of passing the time. I had several tasty meals, with Coast being a standout. The seafood was delicious and the restaurant is in a former indigo warehouse, so the ambiance is top notch as well.

adventures with s @dublin and toomsboro (nikon d70)

Early in 2009, S and I headed down to Dublin, Georgia to see what we could find. Our first discovery was a dive bar, with the requisite faded working class beer advertisement painted on the exterior wall. The back of the building was in even worse shape, as evidenced by this photograph of a busted metal roof.

Next, we wandered behind an electronics repair shop, where I took this image of a television in an alley. Around this time, several suspicious persons standing around with no apparent purpose began taking an interest in our camera gear. With nothing left to photograph in Dublin, we decided it was an opportune time to leave.

S and I headed north and ended up in Toomsboro, Georgia. Although not completely abandoned, Toomsboro seems to be a ghost town for all practical purposes. I photographed this old gas pump at an abandoned station just south of Toomsboro. In downtown Toomsboro, I found this warning sign on an ancient gas pump.

After leaving Toomsboro, we headed north again. S and I found what appeared to be an abandoned old auto shop and stopped to take a few pictures. Several hundred yards behind the shop was a house with 1980s hair metal blasting into the countryside. We found this somewhat strange. As we finished shooting the shop, we were accosted by a large sketchy fellow who was obviously quite drunk. We carefully backed away, hopped in the car, and left.

kodachrome project @athens (fujica ax-5)

Despite living in Atlanta for a decade, the only time I visited Athens was to catch a Starlight Mints show. So, on a sunny Saturday in November of 2009, I took a road trip to Athens with my Fujica AX-5 and a few rolls of Kodachrome.

Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised to find some rather fancy architecture in Athens. As shown in this photograph of the Fred Building, some structures had elaborate decorations and their names emblazoned on the front. Unfortunately some buildings are starting to fall into a state of disrepair, as shown in this picture of peeling paint on the College Square Offices building. To my delight, faded old signs abounded on the sides of buildings. This advertisement painted on a wall is one of my favorites.

adventures with s and d @providence canyon (fujica ax-5)

A few years ago, I went camping with S and D at Providence Canyon in south Georgia. I hate camping, but adjacent to the trail along the top of the canyon are several rusted out decaying automobiles. The vehicles were part of a homestead before the area became a state park. A sign near the dilapidated hulks states that removing the cars would be detrimental to the ecosystem, as several creatures make their homes in the abandoned shells. However, I suspect the state is too cheap to do it. No matter, I enjoyed photographing them.

Along the canyon rim, we encountered the first of the cars. Most are still recognizable as automobiles, however ascertaining make and model is nearly impossible. One of my favorite shots is this rusted piece of a car. Despite the years and decay, some paint still remains, as evidenced in this picture of an abandoned vehicle. My favorite shot from the trip is this headlight assembly full of spider webs. Not everything is busted cars and rusted trucks, we also found an old graveyard where I took this photograph of a stone wall.

As an aside, Providence Canyon is not a 100 percent natural gorge. Poor farming methods caused the erosion that resulted in the canyon.

adventures with s and d @bessemer and birmingham (fujica ax-5)

About a month after canceling our road trip to Birmingham and visiting south metro Atlanta, S and I recruited D and set off towards Birmingham. As we would be arriving around lunch time, our first priority was to locate some barbecue. I searched for the best barbecue in Birmingham and Bob Sykes Barbecue came up. It had several good reviews, so we exited the freeway in Bessemer and checked it out. The building was appropriately quirky and the parking lot was packed, so we stopped in and had a delicious lunch.

bessemer

After eating lunch, we decided to explore Bessemer before heading to Birmingham. The first interesting thing we came across was the abandoned Bessemer Battery, which appeared to have been a retail establishment.

We wandered around downtown, where I took a picture of the Bright Star Restaurant sign. I also took a photograph of the letter y.

After that, we drove over to the railroad tracks and discovered a vacant train depot. While the building appeared to be abandoned and had plenty of broken glass and other debris inside, there were some signs that a renovation was about to begin. Stacked against a column were several plates of glass with a recent receipt.

birmingham

Instead of the interstate, we took US 11 from Bessemer to Birmingham in hopes of finding something interesting to photograph along the way. We were sorely disappointed.

When we arrived at downtown Birmingham, we found a few things worth taking pictures of. I took this photograph of the Cabana Hotel sign. At the end of my last roll of film, I took a picture of this puddle in a parking lot that clearly has a few maintenance issues.

adventures with s @augusta (nikon d70)

After S and I hit Reynoldstown and Cabbagetown a couple of years ago, we went on a road trip to Augusta, Georgia, to visit our mutual friend H. Aside from photographing, we ate lunch at Nacho Mama's, a delicious Mexican restaurant, got drunk at a bar on Washington Road, paid a visit to the Augusta Canal Locks, and had a blast.

One of the first things we found in Augusta was the old Graniteville Company Enterprise Mill, which closed in 1983 and has since been renovated and turned into loft apartments. The building also contains a history center, which I visited about a year and a half after our photography trip.

We then drove to the commercial district in downtown Augusta and spent some time wandering around. I found this lamp and shadow on a yellow wall on a downtown building. Continuing the wall theme is this photograph of rust stains and shadows. Also downtown, I liked the shape of this letter in a Firestone sign. By this time, our friend H, was looking seriously bored and openly asking when we might run out of rusty junk to photograph. An old rusty safe out in front of Georgia Lock & Safe is one of my favorite images from the trip.

adventures with s @reynoldstown & cabbagetown (nikon d70)

A few years ago, I paid a visit to Reynoldstown and Cabbagetown, two gentrifying areas of Atlanta close to downtown, with my friend S. Soon after arriving in Reynoldstown we discovered a dilapidated house that looked like it was about to fall down. I didn't venture inside, as it looked particularly unsafe and there was substantial evidence that the residentially challenged folks were occupying the premises.

After photographing Reynoldstown, we made our way over to Cabbagetown, where I was thrilled to photograph a lost toilet, one of my favorite subjects. At the end of the journey, I came across this emer graffiti, but found the texture of the discarded junk in front of the wall more interesting than the writing.

make way for progress @downtown atlanta (nikon d70)

About a decade ago, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) hired an engineering firm to study improving the Jones-Simpson-Alexander (JSA) corridor. The three streets in the corridor formed a critical east/west connection linking Northside Drive to Peachtree Street. The Georgia World Congress Center, a massive convention space is at the western end of the JSA corridor and Atlanta's central business district sits at the eastern terminus. The shiny new Georgia Aquarium is located in the middle of the JSA corridor. Near the western edge of the JSA corridor was an old bridge over the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad lines that needed replacement.

This building happened to sit in the way of the new bridge and I photographed it a few weeks before demolition. The building was in pretty bad shape, this photograph of intact glass shows one of the rare parts of the building with unbroken windows. Peeling paint was evident all over the building. And finally, the obligatory no trespassing sign, with some bonus rust.

The JSA corridor improvements have since been completed, and the finished roadway renamed Ivan Allen Boulevard. Substantial redevelopment has taken place on the eastern end of the corridor. However, the great recession has put some plans on hold, including the residential component.

random buildings @downtown pittsburgh (nikon d70)

On the way back to Atlanta from Jamestown, I stopped in Pittsburgh for a few days. While my primary objectives were to catch a Pittsburgh Pirates game in their new ballpark and a Penguins game at the Igloo, I found time to take a few photographs as well.

After checking in to my hotel, I busted out the camera gear and took a little stroll around downtown. One of the first things I found was this Death Star looking AT&T Building. Next, while wandering downtown, I noticed a crazy chef tucked in behind a few buildings.

Atlanta firmly believes historic preservation is best done with a wrecking ball and bulldozer. Therefore, the city's historic train stations are long gone. Whenever I'm in other places, I make it a point to go looking for the original train stations. One reason they fascinate me is railroads were the original big money ballers, which is reflected in elaborate station architecture. In Pittsburgh, I found the Pennsylvania Union Station, which has been converted to luxury apartments.

I enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh. A highlight was the abundance of excellent Italian food. Bravo Franco and Villa Reale are two fantastic Italian restaurants. I also appreciated the multiple quality drinking establishments available near my hotel, especially Ale House in Market Square. I highly recommend a visit to the PGH, if you have the means.

random buildings @downtown jamestown (nikon d70)

On a trip to New York, I stopped by downtown Jamestown in search of decaying buildings. We were there on a Sunday evening and the area seemed more abandoned than it is. Aside from the people I was with, we only saw three or four others wandering the streets.

One of the first interesting buildings I found is the Arcade Building. Over the years, attempts have been made to renovate and reuse the building, but nothing has ever actually happened and it's still vacant.

Up the street from the old Arcade Building is an abandoned display in a vacant store window. From the debris, it appears the store has been out of business for quite some time.

Finally, despite several vacant buildings, there are still plenty of going concerns in downtown Jamestown. An example is this display in the window of Bro Laines.

sunlight and garbage @ castleberry hill (fujica ax-5)

Despite being invented by musicians in the 1930s, Kodachrome is still better than any modern color film. I was overjoyed to discover it is still manufactured and processed. While some clarity and color depth of the slides is lost in the scans, enough of the unique feel is retained to be worth posting.

While hanging out with the Atlanta Photographers Guild and shooting models, I was rather bored. I noticed the evening sun on a railing and took a shot, as I knew the Kodachrome would reproduce the colors well. Conversely, in cold light, Kodachrome is capable of producing some fabulous blues and greens, as shown in this photograph of garbage in the ghetto.

bad neighborhoods @castleberry hill & downtown atlanta (polaroid 1200si)

One of the nicer aspects of Castleberry Hill is the never ending supply of garbage everywhere. Most of the litter can be attributed to the filthy animals that are Falcons fans, but the neighborhood also seems to attract more than its fair share of random dumping. The City of Atlanta's inability to provide basic services like street and sidewalk cleaning does not help.

To the northeast of Castleberry Hill is downtown Atlanta. This part of the city features some of metro Atlanta's premier office space. Right next to that fine office development are premium downtown Atlanta condominiums. I'm not sure if those are abandoned residences or a vacant hospital of some sort.

Back in Castleberry Hill, the residentially challenged are living large, as evidenced by this bum's nest. I hope everyone enjoyed this tour of scenic downtown Atlanta!

bad neighborhoods @castleberry hill & vine city (polaroid 1200si)

One day, while strolling through my neighborhood, I came across this low budget car wash. When I went back in the evening to photograph the car wash in the evening, the proprietor - at least I assumed he was - was sitting in front of it. I went back a few more times and was finally rewarded with a people free flick.

Although the car wash looks like it could be anywhere in the rural southeastern United States, it is located only a few miles from downtown Atlanta. As far as I know, the car wash is still there and still in business.

Homelessness is a serious issue in Atlanta. It is a problem, because they irritate me by asking for money all the time. However, there were two agreeable (i.e. they never talked to me) fellows engaged in urban camping in my neighborhood. Most of the time, they simply sat in a field with their limited posessions. After several tries, I was able to take this flick of a bums' nest, minus the residentially challenged persons.

While out strolling on another day, I discovered this Atlanta Falcons fan's recreational vehicle, located in a vacant lot on the eastern edge of Vine City. For readers unfamiliar with Atlanta, Vine City is a serious slum, mostly famous for its open air drug market. I went early in the morning to get the photograph, while all the crackheads were still asleep. Even then, I did not dare venture inside. By the time I found someone willing to explore the interior with me, the RV was gone.

more dystopia @atlantic station (nikon d70)

My previous adventure at Atlantic Station took place in the morning, so I made another trip in the evening to see what else I could find.

A big part of the marketing of Atlantic Station focuses on opportunities to live, work, and play in the development. In the previous post, I covered the live part pretty well. This time around, the evening sun fell nicely on this future location of cubicle dwelling upwardly mobile young professionals. In addition, Atlantic Station also features plenty of opportunities for consumption.

On the way home, as the sun was setting, I came across this spectacular lighting on the 17th Street bridge. I hope everyone enjoyed this little trip through generica.

on the verge of falling down @bemus point (polaroid 1200si)

On a trip to scenic Western New York a few years ago, I stopped by Bemus Point with my brother in the early morning to take some photographs. While most of the village is in decent shape, I found this delapidated building, which is one of my favorite shots from the trip.

This was taken with my now useless (as they no longer make film for it) Polaroid 1200si.

yuppie ghetto @atlantic station (nikon d70)

In the days of way back, Atlantic Steel had a plant in Atlanta, just north of downtown. After the Japanese destroyed the steel industry in the United States, the land lay empty and vacant for decades.

In the late 1990s, a Georgia Tech student came up with the bright idea of turning the Atlantic Steel site into a mixed use development. Allow me to translate - mixed use development is urban planner speak for outdoor shopping mall with the same bland chain stores as every other center and cookie cutter vertical trailer parks filled with young professionals. While the initial idea of recycling the prime land Atlantic Steel sat on was good, the results are lame.

On the way to Atlantic station, I passed through an industrial area in the process of revitalizing organically with much better and more interesting results. That is where I found an abandoned table and chair. Behind the fence is the site of a former lead smelting plant, which sits just north of Atlantic Station.

A standard feature of Atlantic Station is the generic faux luxury apartment complex. Every single apartment complex in Atlanta is marketed as luxury, to the point the term has lost all meaning. This one was just completed at the time I made my journey and offering specials to prospective renters. One more shot of the faux luxury apartments.

No master planned development would be complete without incredibly boring and inoffensive public art. There is a companion piece across the street, but this is the better flick by far.

In addition to apartments, the corporate overlords who planned Atlantic Station included a generic soft loft development, which is condominiums. Soft lofts are marketing department speak for generic condominiums finished to look like sort of like lofts (e.g. they might include concrete floors and high ceilings). The idea is to leverage the cachet of actual loft conversions from warehouses and other industrial uses, without the effort or investment of rehabilitating existing buildings.

revitalization @castleberry hill (nikon d70)

A year and a half ago, a friend of mine emailed me some promotional material for a condominium development in Castleberry Hill. My thoughts were, that's nice, but who wants to live in the ghetto? However, I figured there would be plenty of decay to photograph, so I headed down on a Sunday evening. After parking on Walker Street, I was shocked to find two new restaurants.

I also discovered and took this Mr. Fangs photograph. Soon after, I found and shot another Mr. Fangs flick. The first Mr. Fangs has since been rolled over by cretins. With restaurants and Mr. Fangs, the attractiveness of the ghetto as a place to live was increasing exponentially.

However, every proper shady residential area needs an original sub-prime lender, and in this case, the Fulton Loan Company purveys only the finest in stolen goods to discriminating customers.

And what's a gentrifying area without warehouses converted to lofts? I took this photograph of a loft conversion towards the end of my trip. Then I headed to my favorite local coffee shop.

After relaxing at Octane and reviewing my flicks over a cup of java - and surreptitiously admiring the barista, I headed home. On the way, I got lucky and caught this Empty and companion Last in some dope late evening light.

even more dilapidated buildings and a junkyard @grantville (nikon d70)

A few years ago, I got up early on Thanksgiving day and headed down to Grantville, Georgia. I intended to explore the inside of the old cotton warehouse and figured no one would be around to bother me at that hour on a holiday.

Prior to visiting the warehouse, I snapped a few pictures of buildings in the downtown. One of my favorites is this photograph of an antique store.

While there is a lock on the door of the cotton warehouse facing the street, around back I discovered a gaping hole in the wall. Inside what remains of the warehouse, the roof and floor are completely gone, is a junkyard. Among old refrigerators and other debris, I found a first generation Honda CVCC and a station wagon of unknown make. Interestingly, the CVCC was a more upscale model than my family owned - ours did not come with luxuries such as a tachometer. The cargo area of the station wagon contained a large piece of what appeared to be electronic equipment, the function of which I could not determine. Because the walls were blocking most of the sunlight, I used a remote SB-800 to add some light to both flicks of the cars.

After finishing up in the junkyard, I wandered down the street. A City of Grantville cop car pulled up and parked at the old train depot. The pig was quite obviously watching me, and followed me for a ways after I got in my car and pulled out. Much to my surprise, he did not pull me over and gratuitously Taser me.