HDR…. Nirvana!
I had never before physically visited the Coal Piers in Philly. Mentally, I had seen shots from there and tried to visually picture what I could express about this place. After arriving at this isolated destination, my first thoughts were not how interesting this place was but, more like ” I am never going to see my car again”. You park about half a mile from the site, at the corner of 2 dead-end streets… not the best part of town. Finally giving in to all my worst scenarios, I started to walk toward the piers. I began to relax and when finally seeing the place -BAM. My mind and camera just took over and started to create different vignettes of what I saw around me. I knew immediately that I was in a metering abyss, with most images running the gamut from 5 stops over for the highlights and 7 stops under for the shadows. As luck would have it, when I finally reached my car, it was still intact. I knew the photographic journey was only half over. My next step was to experiment with the HDR process and see if it fit what I saw as well as what I wanted to express.
Surreal and captivating – also frightening. With this type of urban landscape it is no wonder there is a fascination with urban collapse & survivalism in American pop culture and speculative fiction.
Remarkable series. Glad to have seen it . 🙂
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February 7, 2015 at 12:23 am
The graffiti decorating everything and the emptiness give it a surreal quality.
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August 10, 2012 at 10:48 pm
You took a risk to follow your passion and in the end brought home something spectacular. Beautiful images that indeed brings a sense of “Nirvana.” The coal pier’s Art graphics with the HDR effect are a visual feast. Great work with exciting memories!
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July 21, 2012 at 10:30 pm
Woah! Gotta love hdr
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August 3, 2011 at 8:23 pm
I love the site and the pictures too. I can’t wait to show Joe.,
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June 11, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Nice picts daddios.
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June 11, 2011 at 4:26 pm
FANTASTIC Mickey! A wonderful collection. You are all set for next season’s ‘Abandoned Decay’ competition. Don’t think women should go there on their own!
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June 7, 2011 at 7:21 am