Alley no. 106 – Stacked (2008, Mare Island, CA, 10:30pm)

She was tasked with writing a school paper on a particular image and photographer. She chose to write about Goast Pier (which was shot with another friend, Kathy). I thought she did a good job, so here’s her paper:

Alley no. 102 – Goast Pier (2008, San Francisco, CA, 11:30pm)

It’s still all clear to me the day Xavier sat down and told me the story about his latest photograph of Hunter’s Point. The sky was a dark grey, almost like a blank cement wall. The clouds hung low, hugging the city tightly.
Ever since he was a teenager, he’d find himself digging through restricted areas for hours, just to get the right shot. He’d climb over fences, venture under overpasses, anything to get that perfect shot. My friends and I thought we were the only ones who did these kinds of things until we befriended each other. But the stories he had up his sleeve were far more exciting than the ones I had to offer.
I couldn’t even explain how I felt when I first saw the photograph. There were endless details, your eyes always finding something new. The colors were so vibrant, the detail of the buildings so crisp, and sharp, it was unbelievable. So, I asked how it all went.
The moon was high, and the night was dark, as Xavier drove up to the abandoned district at about midnight. With the gravel crunching under his every step, he tried to be as quiet as possible while carrying the equipment he needed for the shot. He’d been waiting for this moment, and was quite excited to see such a great spot. I respect him for this, for the stories I heard about Hunter’s Point at night weren’t too pleasant. Hunter’s Point was one of the most dangerous crime-infested areas of San Francisco, the homeless and gang population was sky rocket high, but that didn’t stop him. He felt that no matter what, he needed to get this perfect shot, and nothing was going to get in his way.
Hunter’s Point was not the nicest area you could think of. The water surrounding the harbor was clear until about a foot off the coast, where oils and green materials stuck to the surface. The local refineries and industrial buildings producing gases that smelled of rotten eggs and fecal matter. But once you really dug into the abandoned buildings, and old shipyards, it was the most interesting place on the planet. So much history crammed in one little place. He set down his tripod, and loaded his Hasselblad with Kodak Ultra 120 millimeter film. With that, he began the twelve minute exposure, and kicked back. Everything around him was visually pleasing. It wasn’t going to be a very long twelve minutes because there were many things to look at, and question. For urban explorers like him and myself, this sight was the most beautiful thing on the planet. Whenever an abandoned area is open, we don’t even hesitate to go inside and explore.
Xavier focused on the area of the shot, the water was perfectly still, grasping onto the dock’s support poles. The railings were broken in half, some dangling over the water, the others flat on the dock. The part of the dock closest to Xavier looked like it was broken off, as if someone took a saw to it. The buildings on the left looked newer, and still operating. The lights shined bright, like stars in the sky, illuminating the abandoned building. The abandoned building had boarded up windows; the wood looking like it had taken a beating or two in the past. The wood across the surface appeared to be weak, and rotting. Both buildings were covered in graffiti, different colors used in each piece of art. The red tower lights from the airport blinked repeatedly in the background, signaling the planes to land in the correct spot. The tall skinny tower sticking out of the building looked as if it were being held up by four pieces of hair, almost as if it was pointless to even have the support lines there. The big wire framing on the dock looked like it was about to fall, the cement block on the verge of losing all support from below.
As the shutter close, Xavier got up, and began to pack his belongings. He put his camera back in his bag, and put it around his shoulder. Picking up his heavy tripod, he looked back at the scene. He smiled, he was quite satisfied with what he saw, and was very anxious to see the final result. Little did he know, he had just produced one of the world’s most amazing photographs.
I looked up from the photograph at Xavier. I still couldn’t get over how amazing it was. The water was a deep violet, and the sky a mixture of peach, dark blue, and purple. The reflection of the docks as red as blood in the water, and the color of the wood deeply saturated. Looking at this photo reminded me of what being an urban explorer was all about. It was about making a simple alley, or even the ugliest shacks in the middle of nowhere, look like art. This task was never impossible, as long as you took the picture just right. As an urban explorer, it’s my goal to show society how beautiful abandoned places just might be.

Here is my blog post the night after the shot. And this is 2 days later with a more detailed account of the shoot.

Alley no. 110 – Compactor (2008, Indianapolis, IN, 2am)

This is the Polaroid that was shot that night to test my lighting. Following the test, I made 3 exposures on film. Polaroid is notorious for producing bad colors at night, which is fine. I’m using it to see the intensity/direction/quality/coverage of my light and the available light - I know what most of the colors will be. My film, thankfully, captures a much wider, and more accurate, range of color.

Good: Its an obscured, remote corner of the city, at night and it has a haunting, lonely yet lovely quality.

Bad:  Theres nothing old and weathered

Decisions, decisions…

It was docked off Alameda, with Oakland glittering in the background.

Here is a recent Alameda Sun story outling her fate.

Lots of stories here, but I’ll save that for another time.

For now, here’s Alleys & Fire Escapes, no. 109 – The Faithful (2008, Alameda, CA 10:30pm)

In October, I plan to start going through the mountain of negative I shot this year. There are many many good shots in there, requiring a mountain of time to sort through and work on.

Here’s another shot from my flight last week. If only we could fly…

And wow… I didn’t get a single alley shot. Saturday night I was fired up – ready to dive into Portland’s darker, grittier corners looking for diamonds in the rough. I drove and walked around with Pam for 4 hours through all the main run-down neighborhoods. And I know there were many great images sitting quietly, waiting to be found - I just didn’t find one. Its frustrating, knowing they are around you, hidden within the night’s outlines, and not being able to see them… Finally I ran out of steam and called it a night. Sunday night I was ready to go again but the friends we were staying with, Charles and Drew, had frosty beers waiting to be opened and I just couldn’t say no… So, Portland… til we meet again…

Some of the shots from our drive back.

Mount Shasta:

A wee bird that found a hard corn chip and started dunking it in water to soften it up

Times Square, NYC (both pictures):

For now here’s a beat up Polaroid test shot from Saturday night (its a very, VERY rough version of what I have on film).  The image is of an amazing abandoned loading dock under a bridge along the Mississippi River. There were maybe fifteen old and corroding bay doors, flanked by great pillars, under a crumbling ceiling. Decades ago, trains would unload their cargo here, onto waiting trucks.

My challenge now is to NOT stay up for several more hours… I have a long day tomorrow, followed by another long night of shooting, followed by an even longer day and night on Sunday. But I’m pumped by caffeine and by the excitement of the shoot. Okay… I’m going to shut this computer off and close my eyes… but who am I kidding… I’m wide awake…