Optics and Exposure

Panoramic of the Charles just before dusk. It's difficult to see, but the Harvard bridge (right) is covered with people.

If you’ve never been, the 4th of July Fireworks display in downtown Boston is something to see.  I’m not sure I’d recommend it as an annual thing; the crowds are horrendous, but it is definitely something worth doing once or twice.  I’ve been once before, a few years ago, so this time I came prepared.

Lauren flew in for the weekend, so when Sunday rolled around, we packed up a cooler, some books, a deck of cards, a blanket, and, of course, my camera and tripod.  The concert was slated to start around 7:30 and the fireworks after dusk.  So, we walked out to stake out our spot at 2:30.  Like I said, it gets crowded.

Hit the jump to see some colorful explosions. The full set is also on flickr.

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My dorm. First time in 5 years that I've lived in one of these....and I haven't forgotten why.

Some of you may already know this, but I’m in Boston for the summer.  I may or may not be able to tell you where I’m working (I can, it’s MIT Lincoln Laboratory) or what I’m doing (I can, but it would be a long story).  What matters is this: I brought my camera. Continue reading

Clairton Coke Works in the midst of a "quench," where they use water to cool down the coke as it leaves a 2,000C oven.

A few weeks back, a friend of mine told me that the Coke Battery in Monessen, PA had been shut down and was going to be gutted for parts within the month. A coke battery is a facility that takes in raw coal and processes it into an intermediate product that is used as a fuel in the steel production process. This was a rare opportunity to be able to get into a plant that hadn’t yet been stripped, and we were told the time table was short, so we took the unusual step of exploring during the week (thank God for flexible work schedules). Three of us made the trip down, found the plant pretty quickly, and immediately knew that something was wrong. We expected the place to be mostly abandoned, but the parking lot was more than half full. Obviously the workers were still there. Was it possible that our intel was a little premature? Continue reading

Control board for the hoist house.

I have a special affinity for Carrie Furnace.  She was my first abandoned factory, and she’s very close to home, so it’s always nice to plan a return trip.  Not to mention the fact that I always find something new!  Last weekend, I had a leisurely excursion and got a bunch of shots from new angles and places I hadn’t yet seen.

I’m never happy with my blast furnace shots, so I tried another one…the sunlight was pretty harsh, so I’ll be trying that again the next time I’m there.  The majority of the shots I’m posting come from either (a) the hoist house (which was used to power the cables that lifted ore into the furnaces) or (b) the high line, where incoming supply cars emptied their contents.  Take a peek into a National Historic Landmark.

-aigulf Continue reading