Denver is filled with little treasures like this. This cemetery is in a very industrial part of town. There are so many symbols of death in this photograph, I couldn’t resist shooting it. From the tombstones to the barren trees to the still factory in the background, death prevails.
Buildings like this are scattered throughout the Toledo, Oh area. Once a great industrial city filled with manufacturers of glass, autos, bearings and other objects is now filled with abandoned shells slowly decaying. In other parts of the country, buildings like this one are coveted as urban Loft projects, but in Toledo they are just a reminder of better times.
Part of the reason I chose to come to the rust belt to shoot a photography project is that I love the aesthetic of decay. This image of a vw bug in Erie, Co caught my eye for its different stages of corrosion.
As I traveled along I-25 north of Denver, I realized the landscape was spattered with these oil drills. I’m always looking for situations where there’s a juxtaposition of nature and man. Although we’re currently completely dependent on oil for transportation, energy and plastics. I hope that one day these oil drills are replaced with renewable technologies. Until then, they make for a great composition.
I passed this scene the other day in Denver and I was drawn to the juxtaposition of the religious and industrial icons. Both have been worshiped at different times of history by different groups of people. As I start to shoot the fall of our once great industrial sector, I will continue to look for these type of symbolic images.
This image was part of a handmade book I made based on the theme of Denial. This represents the elephant in the room that everyone seems to be able to ignore. At the time GW was still in office and I was amazed at how the general public was blind to his ways.
These brave cyclists/artists ride in the Denver Gay Pride Parade in 2008. They creatively create these two story bikes that get them at least 10 off the ground.
They were having a great ride that day. The parade paused right as they reached me and they began circling me over and over again. It made for some great shots.
A few years back, I bought some vintage Russian bellows for my my DSLR. I also found a beautiful 2.8/50mm Carl Zeiss lens that combined with the bellows, makes these beautiful macro shots. This image is from a simple 1970 (the year I was born) U.S. Penny. I love the clarity of the scratches , the depth of the shadows and the vibrancy of the color.
I wonder how many people have held this penny? Where has it been? What has it seen? What has it purchased?
We rarely get to see this much detail on a penny. Who really looks at pennies any more. They’re almost useless. I remember buying penny candy when I was a kid at Christies Candies in South Toledo. Personally, I hope they’re here to stay. There’s just something so symbolic and nostalgic about a penny. Besides most of them are made right here in Denver and I always try to support the local economy.
Today I was out on the hunt for images in preparation for my trip to the rust belt. I was looking for industrial scenes that might make good HDR (high dynamic range) images. I passed this scene earlier in the day but the light just wasn’t right. I waited here for about an hour and a half to get this shot.
