an old mining pit wheel in a village near where i live, these are dotted about all over this part of the country, left to celebrate the past glory days of the coal mining industry, the sun was just going down, there was frost on the ground and i was frozen !!!!!
“That which the dream shows is the shadow of such wisdom as exists in man, even if during his waking state he may know nothing about it…. We do not know it because we are fooling away our time with outward and perishing things, and are asleep in regard to that which is real within ourself.” / ~Paracelsus / —-—-—-—-—— / photo taken at tedford power plant / more photos online at www.abandonedamerica.org
A brief candle; both ends burning / An endless mile; a bus wheel turning / A friend to share the lonesome times / A handshake and a sip of wine / So say it loud and let it ring / We are all a part of everything / The future, present and the past / Fly on proud bird / You’re free at last. - written by Charlie Daniels, en route to the funeral for his friend, Ronnie Van Zant of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd. / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-- / all rights reserved. photo taken at teton state hospital. / more of my work is available at www.abandonedamerica.org
easily one of the grandest and most ornate asylums ever built, / algonquin river state hospital was a cause of great local controversy during construction / due to running far over budget. the extravagance is evident in the beautiful masonry, / the ornamental woodwork, the stained glass windows with their decorative yet functional iron grating. / olmsted, the man who designed central park, laid out the grounds and the span of the wings / is half a mile, if you walked end to end. / to do so now is impossible. / in an ironic twist, the much-contested (and extremely expensive) yellow pine floors / fared far less impressively over time than those made of other, cheaper materials. / the epic scale of the structural collapse, combined with a devastating fire last summer, / make algonquin river state hospital quite possibly the most deadly building in existence. / floors like the one shown here / give way into gaping abysses, punji pits full of sharp, splintered boards / fanning out from the basement like jagged teeth in the ever-hungry mouth of death itself. / to take this photo i had to make it from the crumbling doorway on the left / onto the sagging mess in the extreme foreground. the floor shifted beneath my feet / and my added weight sent dust and debris cascading ominously into oblivion below. / it was quite possibly the most frightening moment of my life, second only to the one / where i had to get back into the doorway with no real solid ground to support me as i inched closer. / i may not be terribly afraid of death. i may even frequently wish for it. / i am, however, afraid of being paralyzed, of falling onto a rotted shard of floorboard and / laying impaled and broken for hours, with no real help available. i am not too proud / to admit that i wanted nothing more than to stay in the relative safety of the door frame, / or that i am glad that i will never again have to make the nerve-wracking leap of faith / back to the only exit. / that being said, i would do it again if i had to. there is no better example than algonquin / that all things fall apart, and i feel a certain kinship with it. we are both collapsing inside, / and it is an odd thing to see before your very eyes what you imagine / your own heart looks like. / very odd indeed. / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-- photo taken at algonquin river state hospital. all rights reserved. / more of my work is available on abandonedamerica.org
something was wrong with him. every time he looked in the / mirror he became more certain of it. every passing day / widened a chasm, a certain kind of emptiness within him. it / was something he could see in his eyes, a hollowness where / some fundamental building block of humanity was supposed to / be but was not. he could still talk and smile, and seemed to / function well around people, but he knew it must be because / they hadn’t sensed yet that he had a labyrinth of knowledge in / which he had somehow become lost. in his dreams he was / always wandering in the forlorn husks of things that had once / been magnificent but now only echoed his seething discontent / at his own imperfection. the way that he had entered was / sealed and these places in which he had once sought refuge / from the capriciousness of the world were now his prison. each / corridor he tried to exit by only led to more empty rooms, / more places where people had once been but no longer were. / even when he was externally surrounded by others the world / had become a wasteland; the very dimensions had shifted so / that all welcoming things before him were shadows and smoke. / the vaulted ceilings of his most precious hopes were slowly / crumbling and the machinery that drove his will to continue / had ground to a halt. though it was hard to define the outline of it, there was a / certain kind of emptiness about his features. he wondered why / no one else noticed. / —-—-—-——- / picture taken at portside power plant. all rights reserved. / more of my work is available at abandonedamerica.org
there is something eerie about staring down through / the remains of rooms where the flooring has collapsed. / it goes beyond the mortal fear of falling and death, / beyond the realization that there but for the grace of god go i. / maybe there is some inate sense that this is not something that is or should be possible. / it is like staring through holes torn in the fabric of different dimensions / and it throws off your balance and perspective, leaving everything askew. / splintered shards of boards jut off at illogical angles, / heavy radiators dangle from pipes like rusted fruit on steel vines, / and doorways swing outward into cavernous voids. / people once walked, talked, worked, and slept / along these planes now almost entirely inaccessable to man. / distant portals open to rooms and wards whose secrets will remain hidden / until they are erased by decay, by fire, by the wrecking ball. / there is always this pervasive sense that these are the areas where the answers lie, / that if one only pushes a little harder, takes a few more risks / this search for who knows what will produce some tangible results / and this consuming drive well somehow be rewarded with / reprieve, release, redemption. / this is the nature of my obsession. when you look at me, / you should see not what lies before you / my physical shell, a fragmented collection of skin and bones and blood. / you should see the conspicuous absence of what i was, what i could be, / of my very spirit, which has divorced itself from my corporeal form. / i once walked and talked, worked and slept along planes / now almost entirely inaccessable to man. / even now as we speak i am drifting somewhere, restless / stuck in limbo, in the space between floors. / -—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-— more available at my (recently updated) site, www.abandonedamerica.org / photo taken at algonquin state hospital / all rights reserved. may not be reproduced without permission.
photo taken at algonquin river state hospital. / more of my work is available at www.abandonedamerica.org
if one cares at all for the truth, it is important / to periodically step back and look at what defines / the world around us, and by extension, ourselves. / in algonquin river state hospital’s case, it is defined by / its grand ambitions and idealistic foundation / and now, by the collapse of these noble ambitions. / it is a place haunted by the scores of tragedies that litter its past, / by its inability to integrate into the world around it, / and its inevitable decline into obsolescence and disrepair - / much like me. / if i were to be honest, i don’t want to see it demolished, / but i don’t want to see it restored either. / it is what it is because of these things, / and its status as some behemoth / enshrouded in its own obscurity and decay makes it / larger than life, legendary even. / to tear it down to make some development or store / seems so pedestrian, insultingly dull, in much the same way as / trying to undo all of the damage wrought upon it, / cleaning it and sterilizing it and packaging it for the masses / ultimately belittles what it truly is. you may look at it / and wince at the sheer scale of the calamity it has become, / but no matter what you think it has finally revealed its true nature, / and has become something far more intricate and ornate / than our ordinary world, / with its gray cubicles and prefabricated sentiments, allows. / to see algonquin river state hospital, you have to actively seek it, / much like you are making a pilgrimage to some hallowed site / that is a shrine to all that fails, all hopes that are smashed by time. / to change it, to ‘save’ it, ultimately destroys it anyway. / and so too, i suppose there is something necessary about / my own longing to leave this world. if i were not consumed by my / relentless desire for my own destruction, why would i seek such things? / sometimes it is the very things that eat us apart, / that ultimately kill us, even, that are our own defining characteristics. / i have no delusions about my own greatness, or lack thereof, but nevertheless / if edgar allen poe wouldn’t have followed a trajectory that left him / dead in some back street’s gutter, if van gogh hadn’t followed a path / of loneliness so severe that it drove him mad - / would we ever know of their works? would they even have accomplished any? / i postulate that dissatisfaction is the mother of creation. / without it we have no incentive to create or to change, as / contentment is suspicious of change, lest it throw off comfortable equilibrium. / and so i suppose my own defining characteristics are a necessary evil. / were i to be happy, were i not to suffer, / this work that i do that defines me, that is paradoxically one of my only joys / would likely cease to be as well. / i don’t want to be a walmart, a business park, a playground. / when i am gone, let it be left to those few who care / to wonder at what drove me to do what i do, and / what frightening and magnificent things i saw in places like this. / i have chosen this path and where it will lead me, all in the hope that / it will entertain, edify, and maybe even enlighten / those of you gracious enough to join me and peer into my life through / the small window of my camera’s lens. / this is my downward spiral in all its splendor, friends. / enjoy. / -—-—-—-—-—-——- / photo taken at algonquin river state hospital. / more of my work is online at www.abandonedamerica.org
the same cold fate awaits them all; / every empire must eventually fall. / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—— photo taken at atlantic avenue electric company / more work is on my site, www.abandonedamerica.org
These are puppies from two different litters I had, just hangin out in the sun in my backyard. They were getting tired, so they were staying more still than usual. LOL / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN PAWS N CLAWS
Freckles a 6 month young Pit Bull at the SPCA here in Las Vegas, his foster parents dropped him off last week after recovering from a leg amputation and Freckles is also deff. Well his Foster parents came back today to adopt him since they miss him so much…oh wow what a happy ending. / He is a beautiful and loveable dog and so much fun to be around with, all he wants to do is give away kisses. 31 Favorites CanonXTi Featured on Redbubble Home Page, July 2009 / Thank you so much Redbubble Featured in: Cats & Dogs Group, March 2009 / Thank you Angie Featured in: Canon DSLR Group, March 2009 / Thank you Cora Featured in: Playful Photogenic Pets, March 2009 / Thank you Thoughtful Featured in: The Feature Fraternity , March 2009 / Thank you Pip Featured in: You’re Accepted, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in: Live, Love, Dream, May 2009 / Thank you Isa Featured in: Photography 101, May 2009 / Thank you Taylor Featured in: Selective Coloring, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in: Hall of Fame, July 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts / Voted # 1 out of 91 in the Dogs Only – Close-Ups Challenge / in the Cats and Dogs Group, March 2009 All proceeds will got to the NSPCA The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Freckles a 6 month young Pit Bull at the SPCA here in Las Vegas, his foster parents dropped him off last week after recovering from a leg amputation and Freckles is also deff. Well his Foster parents came back today to adopt him since they miss him so much…oh wow what a happy ending. / He is a beautiful and loveable dog and so much fun to be around with, all he wants to do is give away kisses. I can’t help it but I just love his photos, so here is part 3 Top Ten in Mood & Ambience CanonXTi Dogs / Freckles the Pit / Cats / Dog Paintings / Pear Paintings / People / Misc / Flowers / Las Vegas /
This is a picture of my friend Kristen’s year and a half old daughter “Shaylee” with one of my American Pit Bull Terrier puppies “Louie”. Taken in my back yard in Amherst, Virginia in the kennel area. Shaylee just loves the dogs and puppies….and they love her. / Taken with my Cannon Powershot SX 110 IS FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN THE YOU’RE ACCEPTED GROUP / FEATURED IN ALL PETS GREAT AND SMALL / FEATURED IN MANS BEST FRIEND / FEATURED IN ALL SOFT AND CUDDLIES / FEATURED IN ALL ANIMALS GREAT AND SMALL / FEATURED IN THE GOOD NEWS GROUP / FEATURED IN PLAYFUL PHOTOGENIC ANIMALS TIED CHALLENGE WINNER – AFFECTION CHALLENGE- APBT LOVERS GROUP TOP 10 PLACEMENTS MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE WORLD CHALLENGE -IN MANS BEST FRIEND LOVE CHALLENGE – IN YOU’RE ACCEPTED AUGUST FRONT PAGE FEATURE CHALLENGE – APBT LOVERS GROUP NEW AVATAR CHALLENGE – LOVE IS GROUP PRECIOUS MOMENTS CHALLENGE – GOOD NEWS GROUP KIDS WITH ANIMALS – THE WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHER
Two new American Pit Bull Terrier puppies from Sparkle and Buster. / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN THE ALL SOFT AND CUDDLIES GROUP / FEATURED IN SLEEPING CREATURES 3RD PLACE – SLEEPING PUPPIES CHALLENGE – IN THE SLEEPING CREATURES GROUP PLACED IN THE TOP 10 – IN THE TWO’S CHALLENGE – IN THE YOU’RE ACCEPTED GROUP
There’s nothing like a warm soft Mom to rest on when you’re a tired little pup. My beautiful American Pit Bull Terrier “Rose Petals” and her baby “Sweetpea”. / Taken in Amherst, Virginia with my Canon Powershot SX110 iS / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN THE ALL SOFT AND CUDDLIES GROUP / FEATURED IN THE LOVE IS GROUP / FEATURED IN YOU’RE ACCEPTED / FEATURED IN PETS ARE US CHALLENGE WINNER – TWO BEINGS ASLEEP TOGETHER – APBT LOVERS GROUP CHALLENGE WINNER – MOTHERS DAY CHALLENGE- PAWS N CLAWS GROUP TOP 10 PLACEMENT – WHAT LOVE MEANS TO ME CHALLENGE – IN THE LOVE IS GROUP TOP 10 PLACEMENT – RESTING ANIMALS CHALLENGE – GOOD NEWS GROUP
Two of my 9 week old American Pit Bull Terrier puppies that I have right now. This is one of their favorite toys. When you press on different spots, it makes noises or plays little songs. Little Girl on the right adores it and lays on it all the time. Charlotte is just listening. :)) / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / 3RD PLACE IN THE FAVORITE TOY CHALLENGE – PAWS N CLAWS GROUP / /
I love Freckles so much I had to download another one of his Image. / Sorry everybody for seeing Freckles again. Freckles is Deaf and has 1 leg amputated after abuse. He was at the NSPCA but got adopted by his Foster Parents. My Magic Place is at the NSPCA Canon XTi / Aperture: 5.0 / Shutterspeed: 1/200 / Lens: 70-300 Featured in: Canon DSLR, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in: That One Great Shot, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in: Image Writing, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in: Canon Vs Nikon, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts Featured in the Shoshin Group, May 2009 / Thanks to all Hosts All proceeds will got to the NSPCA The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
This is a puppy called Uno. He is an “American” Pit Bull Terrier. I was splitting a litter with a girl who got his Mom from me in 2008. Tragically he was the only puppy of 11 who survived. He is now in a wonderful home with a Mom and Dad and 3 kids who just adore him. His breed is truly American, and little Uno was Made In America! :)) / FEATURED IN CATS AND DOGS / FEATURED IN COUNTRY BUMPKIN / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN OUR K9 FRIEND / FEATURED IN THE SCAVENGER HUNT PLACED IN THE TOP 10 IN THE PATRIOTIC PET CHALLENGE – PETS ARE US CHALLENGE WINNER – OUR 4TH OF JULY PETS – IN PAWS N CLAWS / / Also available in a T-Shirt HERE
Done as a collaboration with MATT MAWSON This was digitally painted by MATT on an original photo I took of Yo Yo with my Cannon Powershot. / FEATURED IN CATS AND DOGS / FEATURED IN PAWS N CLAWS / FEATURED IN OUR K9 FRIEND / FEATURED IN PLAYFUL PHOTOGENIC PETS Available in original photo of Yo Yo and in a FEELING BLUE t-shirt / / /
Meet Mia! She is a puppy from a previous litter from my beautiful boy Buster and a sweet girl called Sparkle. Mia is 5 weeks old in this shot. She was an excellent model! :)) Mia is an American Pit Bull Terrier. Her coloring is called Blue Brindle. She is just over a year old now and in a great home with a Mom and Dad and a little girl who loves her to pieces. / Taken with my Kodak DX3900 in Amherst, Virginia FEATURED IN YOU BIG SOFTY / FEATURED IN CATS AND DOGS / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP / FEATURED IN MANS BEST FRIEND TOP 10 PLACEMENT – BRINDLE DOGS CHALLENGE – MANS BEST FRIEND
taken at gallilee steel’s NY offices.
This is a picture I took a few years ago of my beautiful American Pit Bull Terrier Penny. Here she is shown at age12 in her wheel cart, in my yard in Amherst, Virginia. FEATURED IN PAWS N CLAWS / FEATURED IN THE APBT LOVERS GROUP Penny was a puppy that I bred and was born in my house. She was always a special girl. She grew a little tall and lanky for a while, and back then I was showing dogs in the UKC (United Kennel Club). I didn’t think she would do too much at a show…but I brought her to her first show as a puppy just for fun and she took Best Puppy! She stood like a true champion for the Judge. I was so proud of her. She went on to become a UKC Champion. She loved to go to the river and swim. She liked to splash as she jumped in most of all, and would jump in and out most of the time we were there. Such a silly girl. At home she loved to chase the ball and just about fly in mid air and most every time catch it like a pro and bring it back wagging her tail happily and wait for you to throw it again. Over and over. She just never seemed to run out of energy. At age 10 one day she fell over in the front yard and couldn’t get up. It was horrible. She went off to the Univerity for just about every test that could be done to see what could be wrong. Nothing really showed up and the best they could tell me was that she had had what is called an embolism..and most likely a small piece of cartalidge or bone had broken free and lodged in her spine and she couldn’t walk. I was devistated. I went to get her at the University and she seemed quite depressed. Myself and Victor (the person I live with) were showed how to walk her with a towel under her to hold her up while she moved with her two front legs. We toweled her out to potty and then to the car to take the ride home. Well I brought her ball with me…which she had always loved…and as we started down the road I took it out and showed it to her. Her ears perked up and a light came in her eyes. So I threw the ball right at her…and she lifted her body up a bit and caught it!!! Her tail did an ever so slight wag. It was then that I knew she wanted to live. So as soon as I got home I called the doggie cart place and ordered the cart. It took about a week to get here. In the mean time as we toweled her out…she tried to run with us. :)) Such a tuffie. And every day she went to Hardee’s for a bowl of vanilla ice cream in the car. She loved that. :)) The cart arrived…and as soon as she got strapped in and I put her leash on and walked her a few feet…she realized that now she could go…so I unhooked the leash and off she went all over the front yard. If you took her ball or her tire…another very favorite toy…she would run you over trying to get it!! Such spirit. Her embolism happed and age 10 and we lost her at age 13 due to an enlarged heart that began to press against her lungs.She had a wonderful life and a true enduring spirit. She was put to sleep humanely at the Vet before she began to suffer. I told her she was going to the Rainbow Bridge where she could run free again and fly through the sky and I would see her again one day on the other side. This is a dog who truly made a huge difference in my life and my outlook on it. / /
This is Spots on the left and Dottie on the right…two of my American Pit Bull Terrier puppies. They are in a doghouse that is set up in my backyard in Amherst, Virginia, where they play. Here they are 15 1/2 weeks old. They grow so fast!!! / Taken with my Canon Powershot SX110 IS
This is “Spots” wearing a sweater for the first time. He was not too happy about having it on. lol He did run around in the yard with it on, with his litter sister Dottie, while she just tried to pull it off and drag him around by it. Poor Spots! / The day after I took this, a wonderful family with 2 little boys and 1 on the way came and took him home to be a part of their family. Lucky Spots. :)) / Spots is an American Pit Bull Terrier. / Taken in my yard in Amherst, Virginia with my Canon Powershot SX110 IS / /
RedBubble is a great place to find art, design, photos and writing from over 80,000 talented people.
On stunning greeting cards, awesome t-shirts or beautiful prints to hang on your walls.
It’s really simple. If you’re not happy with your purchase for any reason, we’ll fix it.
Since February 2007 we’ve shipped over 304,800 items to more than 70 countries around the world.
Sign up for your free account, upload your work, join some groups and share your creative genius with the world.