Urban Photography Escapes Pt. 2
Fun With Cameras XXXIX
My return to known quantities for urban photography practice led to disappointment, success, and the reminder that experimentation and playfulness are important elements in photography.
Today’s second part brings calm pictures of natural beauty and industrial decay.
The Light
Golden hour was still a bit out when I arrived at Landschaftspark, but the light had a beautiful softness already. Even before stepping into the park, I used a new angle from a side street to catch a glimpse at one of the furnaces. I used the trees in the first image as foreground interest and to add a natural element to the composition instead of leaving lots of negative space.
I continued my inspection of Mother Nature along old railways. Fall might just be starting, but some of the wild plants at the park showed color already. Many of the frames I made there didn’t work, but the third image is one of my favorites from the walk. The array of colors paired with the light and the opportunities for a good background attracted my attention.
I started with a composition that included a second leaf, moved on to just the other leaf, and quickly realized that the most interesting subject would be this one on its own. I needed thirteen images to be satisfied. The final one in that sequence is the one you see here.
Spoilers: sunset was a big disappointment that day. But moments before I decided to end the walk, I spotted one more moment of light when I looked up through a hole in the roof of the first level of the walkable blast furnace.
The rust on the aging furnace caught the last bits of sunlight just right for a peaceful reminder that nothing lasts forever.
The Balloon
When I reached the main area of the park, I decided to hug the old railway lines and see what I reacted to this time. I had just passed a young family with two kids and two larger-than-kids dogs, which the father wrestled with to keep them on course when I turned around for a beam that crossed the railway.
I made a few frames, and suddenly, a noise appeared, followed by the first visual signs of a nearby launching hot air balloon.
I tried to chase it through the composition but couldn’t exactly achieve my goal, though I’m decently satisfied.
I noticed that same balloon 10 minutes later again, but the tree coverage around my position makes for an awfully packed composition.
The Path & The Birds
Between making the balloon images, I noticed a beautiful early fall tree at the top of an incline. I made it about the tree first (left) and almost allowed the camera to touch the gravel as an experiment (right). The result: I enjoy the out-of-focus gravel foreground and the emphasis on the path that results. The focus point has shifted from the tree to the rusty pipe/post, but the tree still plays its role.
The walk continued, and incoming clouds signaled that the day could end with an unspectacular sunset.
When I reached the pinwheel behind the blast furnace, I didn’t immediately notice the two birds that enjoyed the sunshine from up there. But once I had spotted them, I switched to the 105 mm lens for a closer look.
Behind The Grid
It was obvious now that the sunset wouldn’t be much to look at. Instead of looking for a decent vista, I enjoyed the good light a bit more and found a metal construction that offered a 360-degree view of the park from behind safety grids.
I enjoy these images, for they add a layer that reminds me of the dangers a place like this entailed for those working there. The light contrasts with the harshness of the metal ruins.
Blue vs Gold
I returned to the same park three days later to catch the light at the opposite end of the day’s spectrum.
I wavered between capturing the sunrise with the blast furnace in the frame (something I have done before) and climbing the stairs of the behemoth and including it only partially (something I think I haven’t done before).
I decided in favor of the latter option. Before I write about the sunrise images, I have to fast forward to my walk down the stairs because, by chance, I passed a spot from which I had reacted to a chimney before climbing up. I’m not sure if I matched the position precisely, and the pictures were made with different focal lengths (35 mm and 50 mm), but I find the difference between the last moments of blue hour and the first moments of golden hour ever so fascinating.
A Mild Sunrise
I climbed higher and higher as the sunrise crept closer. I photographed along the way, but the highest level offers the most interesting views.
I included one picture where I tried to show the chaotic structure, only allowing a glimpse at the sky. I’m not sure it works, but I find the structure fascinating, even if it’s visually cluttered.
I wish I had thought about switching back to the 105 mm lens when I noticed the lone bird on the middle rod of the structure standing between me and the sunrise. I didn’t. I blame the chilliness that grew with every moment in the morning air.
Down
The decay of the gas purification facility next to the blast furnace stunned me on my way down. I tried to capture it from different positions with the 35 mm and 50 mm lenses.
There’s a beauty and a sadness to seeing some of the structures at this park. A part of me wishes more of them were open for exploration.
Window Into the Past
Despite the slight coldness that had crept in, I felt revitalized after only 40 minutes of photography. I knew there wasn’t much else to do that day. The train schedule meant I had to leave in 10 minutes or stay for an additional hour.
The light would have been beautiful, but I was cold (and hungry) enough to call it a day.
I did stop once more on the way down.
Just as the broken garage windows called me in Ruhrort, the window in the image below lured me in. This time, I’m much happier with the result.
I converted it to black-and-white because it just felt right.
The next photography post will reach your screens in 10 days. In the meantime, I’ll hopefully have a journalism-related post ready. In addition, I’ll share new reading recommendations and plan to get a word about running in.
