abandoned NYC

the bronx one

mayor bing’s cleanup

under the direction of detroit mayor dave bing, the city has begun a massive demolition plan for the city of detroit.

in the wake of a recent fatal cop shooting, bing has asked the federal government to assist in speeding up the process of demolishing vacant detroit. http://www.freep.com/article/20100504/NEWS05/5040315/Bing-to-seek-more-funds-to-raze-homes

i wish i were currently in detroit to be able to continue documenting the textures and character of vacant detroit.  here are some more images from december 2009.

detroit one _ money shot

lafayette 2

lafayette one

one hope is to lighten the burden on the police officers patrolling streets.  there are far too many places for criminals and squatters to hide within the city.  many people think it will also lighten the burden on one’s eyes.  i would disagree because i find it fascinating.  nowhere else is there a city with vacancies on the same scale as detroit.

dull city

seattle has become a rather dull city for me to photograph.  my interests lie in areas that are hard to come by in seattle.  it’s a great place to live.  it’s not a great place to shoot when you’re used to places that have apparent visual interest and character like detroit. 

backwards politics.  people who think they’re entitled to everything.  generic architecture. it’s still a young city trying to establish an identity but the people that live here won’t let it create one.  all of the liberals are too liberal for their own good.

notice the graffiti that was painted over due to the fines that the city charges owners if they don’t.  white paint looks much better than artwork on glass…

that’s not saying that there isn’t anything interesting in seattle.  it just needs to be sought out.

AZ

80 degree thanksgiving in phoenix.  then 3+ inches of snow in flagstaff.  these shots were taken somewhere in between. 

we went ghost town hunting.

it was semi-successful.

many things seem to be left behind and forgotten in the desert.

the wine tasting at caduceus cellars was a highlight.

http://www.caduceus.org/

march point

this photo was shot on the same day in february when i was wandering back from the northern u.s. border.

oil. abandoned mass transit. modern agriculture. the decisive moment.

march point

this was the first time i ventured around march point.  there is a road that circles the oil refinery where a few people live.  i never really knew what was there and now the oil refinery has made headline news due to the deaths of a few of the workers. 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011508577_refineryblast03m.html

whatcom co.

the goal was to drive north to whatcom county and document the state of the old dairy barns.  as it turns out, there’s a lot more to the area than milk.

whatcom co. one

there is something intriguing about manmade objects that are abandoned at some point during their lifecycle.  if they are left standing, what happens to them over time?  how are they used in the afterlife?  sometimes nature takes over and other times humans may reclaim the space.  many of the forgotten structures in whatcom co. seem to be in limbo. 

whatcom co. two

 

 

 

 

 

 

shrinking city

detroit is a shrinking city.  abondonment and vacancies are everywhere.  these photos are part of an attempt to document the state of the city.

detroit east side

detroit two