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.

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 @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.

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.

more of the former cotton warehouse @grantville (fujica ax-5)

On yet another trip to Grantville, I convinced a friend to go as well. This time, to mix things up, I shot some black and white film. I especially like how this vine on the side of a former cotton warehouse came out. I am also fond of this black and white version of a valve on the wall of a former cotton warehouse.

While wandering around downtown, we were disappointed to discover that Nick's Pizza Stop was closed for the holiday. However, we did come across an ancient Chevrolet Suburban with "No Fear" spray painted on the side.

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!

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.

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.

more dilapidated buildings @grantville (nikon d70)

A little bird told me the state of affairs in Grantville would be improving. So I packed my Nikon D70 and raced back down to get some more sweet flicks of decay.

Setting up a shot of the crumbling wall of a former cotton warehouse was a pain in my ass. The full light of the setting sun falling on the warehouse wall in the background was fucking up my program, because the brick in the foreground was in shadow. I set up one Nikon SB-800 Speedlight as a remote firing at the bricks, which worked well. Explore the rest of the cotton warehouse.

Across the street, I found an old hotel and took this photograph of an old window on the building's porch. I took another shot of the interior of the old hotel. Based on the lumber and tools strewn about inside the old hotel, at least one attempt at renovation has been started.

Down the street from the old hotel is a former bank. Remembering Ken from Lithonia's advice to look up, I took this photograph of a bank. I liked the results, hence this similar bank flick. Finally, I decided to get a bit of sky in this last shot of a bank in Grantville, Georgia.

All photographs featured in this post were taken with a Nikon D70. The lens used for the bank flicks was a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 with a circular polarizer.

office space @lithonia (nikon d70)

I rolled out to Lithonia, Georgia, a second time in the morning to photograph the other side of the street. Right in the middle of taking a photograph of Team Sports, an enormous angry black woman the size of Canada got all up in my grill and asked what I was doing. I ignored her punk ass, finished taking the shot and walked away.

Prior to being accosted by the belligerent woman, I took a photograph of office space, and a picture of a potentially tasty eatery. Because Shazaam was closed at the time and I haven't been back since, I have no idea if it actually is tasty.

All shots referenced in this post taken with a Nikon D70 and a 28-70mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom.

grist mill @grantville (nikon d70)

On my second trip to Grantville, I met a character named Bill Brooks. Mr. Brooks had a penchant for chatting and also owned a few of the falling down buildings in Grantville, notably the former cotton warehouse and the grist mill.

While talking my ear off, Mr. Brooks was kind enough to show me around behind some of his properties. First up was some old power generation equipment. I was busy snapping flicks and not paying attention to Mr. Brooks, but I recall this piece operated at enormous RPMs and was fabricated out of metal two inches thick to keep the gears from blowing out in the case of failure.

Next up was this General Motors 454 V8 engine modified to run on natural gas. The engine provided power in a system used to air conditioning buildings using chilled water. Additionally, a heat exchanger in place of radiator provided hot water. At one point in his career, Mr. Brooks engineered and sold these contraptions to building managers. Although more economical than using electric power to cool facilities, mechanics were often unfamiliar with the equipment and had issues repairing them. Screaming tenants and Georgia Power would then convince building management to get back on the grid. Mr. Brooks had apparently picked up several of the surplus machines and sold them on Ebay.

After photographing, I dropped in at Nick's Pizza Stop for dinner and met one of the proprietors, Kim. I enjoyed my tasty calzone and the friendly service.

All photos mentioned in this post were taken with a Nikon D70 and a 28-70mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom.