Fun With Cameras XXIV

Industrial Frames

A narrow passage of the bike path that circles the vast industrial area of the thyssenkrupp steel facilities asks cyclists to dismount their bicycles. Duisburg, Germany, September 6, 2022.

Industrial landscapes are a part of the Ruhr Valley. One of my favorite photography spots is the former steel production site now called Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord. It’s the place that helped me find my “photography comfort” once again earlier this summer.

My last Fun With Cameras includes wide-angle pictures from around a steel fabrication plant in Mülheim that’s in the process of ceasing production.

The original plan for that post included a bike ride to another steel facility just a few minutes west of the Landschaftspark — the thyseenkrupp steel production site in Duisburg’s district Bruckhausen.

My legs felt happy enough this week to accept an additional 20 miles of cycling, so I spent a relaxed but active early evening circling around the better part of the vast industrial landscape, which, by the way, is still very much active.

I couldn’t visit every spot I had planned. There’s a small waste tip at the Rhine river banks and additional industrial facilities that I wanted to photograph, but time and energy were running out at the end. The weather is changing this week. Maybe that offers me a good excuse to return for pictures that capture the area in a different mood.

The first spot I picked was a parking lot on the southwestern edge of the facilities. There were a few potential frames along the eastern side, but the unfortunate position of the dying sun excluded those for that day.

The spot I picked was the first place with somewhat undisrupted views, interesting light (though still a bit harsh), and some space to work without worrying about the heavy traffic in the area. Some of the captions include a few more thoughts, and I’ll have a few outtakes on Instagram as well.

Then, I noticed a bike path that runs parallel to the main road and offers interesting vantage points on various parts of the facilities. Besides thinking about the large structures (in wide and close-up shots), I found some interesting details.

I traveled clockwise around the area. The bike path eventually connects back to the main road again. I was close to the waste tip I mentioned above. But it was getting late, and the light was already fading, without signs of a decent sunset.

Near the waste tip, the main road bridges over the railway tracks that cross the facility grounds, which makes a good vantage point. So I stopped one final time.

Below, you’ll find a few selects from this week’s photo ride/walk. As always, click on any picture for a larger view.

I U-turned from the last few approaches and had a backpack of equipment on me. That’s always a bit of a hassle, especially when you pick a bag that you fight with all the time (topic for a different post, though) and have to worry about a bicycle.

Still, I felt the soothing effects of a couple of hours of photography on my body and soul and left the area happy and relaxed.

The facilities of the thyssenkrupp steel production site as seen from a parking lot in an overview shot (left), a close-up (center), and with a pigeon sitting on a lamppost in front of what I assume to be the blast furnace (right). Duisburg, Germany, September 6, 2022 (location and date is the same for all pictures in today’s post.

Left A lone lamppost on a parking lot at the edge of the thyssenkrupp steel production site against the blue sky. Center and right A bike path that circles around the industrial facilities revealed more industrial structures (center) and early fall foliage (right)

Left At one end of that bike path, I found a large piece of a curved steel with a heart painted in one corner. You can find two outtakes of different compositions I played with on Instagram. Center The light on this fence post and the textures of it made me get low and close. Right The blast furnace is lit by the early evening sun and framed by piping in the foreground.

Left and right The facilities of the thyssenkrupp steel production site. Center A narrow passage of the bike path that circles the vast industrial area asks cyclists to dismount their bicycles.

The facilities of the thyssenkrupp steel production site in a wider frame (left) and in detail shots of a tower-like structure with a normal lens (center) and a short telephoto (right).

Left The facilities of the thyssenkrupp steel production site as seen from the main road near the waste tip Alsumer Berg. Right A furnace is silhouetted against the early evening sky.