Photo Project 2013 Recap

Can you believe how fast this year went? Here's the summary of the year in pictures from week 1 to week 52:

There's definitely some variety, but you can see the influences if you look carefully. This was the year I got a macro lens (actually, last Thanksgiving technically), I started driving around looking for decay a lot more and took several out-of-state trips (CT, RI, OR, WA) over the year. It was also the year I joined Photo Flood St Louis - one of the best decisions of my life. More on that later.

Still working on Photo Project 2014. I've still got some time! 

52/52 - Photo Project 2013

Well, well, well, here we we are at the end of this project and almost at the end of this year. This last week of the project brought many photo opportunities. An amazing and unexpected sunset, another stab at the Garden Glow (which included waiting until the crowds dwindled for some of the shots), Raja's 21st birthday at the St. Louis Zoo and an urban exploration trip.

Thought it is really tempting to crown the Garden Glow here once again, I have to go with natural beauty:

This gem came during an all-day baking fest at my parents. I looked out in the backyard while waiting for a timer to go off and saw the rainbow-ish colors, went out the front door, and saw this. I ran inside, grabbed my camera and ran pell-mell out of the house like a fool. I took this shot just down the street, then raced back for my keys to get a better shot. By the time I got a half mile away, the colors were disappearing. As much as I love sunsets, they are so fleeting and I feel lucky to catch them when I do.

Veryclose runners up:

      

What a wonderful project this has been. I'm still mulling over ideas for 2014. We'll see what I land on. Stay tuned!

51/52 - Photo Project 2013

Surprisingly, I had a lot of photo opportunities this past week. With Photo Flood, I wandered around St Louis city in the early freezing hours of the morning on Sunday, a hawk came and visited us at work unexpectedly, a visit to the warehouse in the previous post and wandered around the Botanical Garden in the freezing rain with a macro lens.

It's kind of a toss up, but I really am happy with the results of my trek into the early morning freezing rain.



A close second - a brick from the Servco warehouse.



One more week! I'll have to start prepping an overview post and really start thinking about what I want to do next year...

Servco Warehouse

With Photo Flood St. Louis, we made it to one of my favorite areas in downtown - an old industrial district with all sorts of aged warehouses. Most of them are not in use, but this warehouse caught my eye because of the bright red building topped with a silver building.



On Monday, this building inexplicably caught fire (4 alarms). Thankfully, it was only housing one tenant. However, said tenant had furniture and mattress which in fire speak equals a high fuel load - a lot of stuff that burns and I believe burns hot. (I'm no fire expert but I've read a few books on the subject).

I kept meaning to go visit all week, but finally made it today. I was not fully prepared for the devastation that had befallen this warehouse.

Here's almost the equivalent view from the visit in August:



And more:



























I had no idea that the building was triangular in shape, because of the rail line that runs behind. I met a guy there who worked in one of the neighboring buildings (the one right below the Servco silver top), and he said that what saved the two adjoining buildings were the fire doors. The one closest to the Crunden Martin one was all cinderblock and had a fire door, though its roof caught on fire. The other one between his and the demolished one also apparently had a fire door that saved it. While that building doesn't have power back, the 3rd one apparently does.

He and I walked fully around the building -though the media seems to believe the homeless started this fire to keep warm, he doesn't believe it. I've found more reports that seem to say that the fire started on the third floor which leads me to guess that it was electrical. Again, I'm no expert, but I would expect the homeless to stay on the ground floor to make a quick escape.

I'm curious to know what will befall this land - he didn't know, but he suspects it'll be cleaned up quick.  It wasn't an exciting building like some of the others in the district but it was classic in its architecture and had historical significance to the district though I can't find much data on whether it had any other significance. I'm hoping one of my more researched friends may help me out there.

Update:  Paul of Vanishing STL wrote a well-researched post here.

50/52 - Photo Project 2013

Week 50 was super busy… our major holiday production "Little Dancer" was so popular that we ADDED a whole production. The 'art' that's central to our dances this year wasn't from SLAM but from photographer Stewart Halperin. His work is just breathtaking. In addition to providing the art, he and fellow photographer, Jeff Hirsch, photographed the entire process from rehearsal to production.

This photo was taken by me, while at the light board during photo call. I was inspired by their rehearsal photography which definitely dabbled in the slow shutter speed realm to capture the dancers movement.  I really enjoy their silhouettes in the picture which make it all the better - several people have mentioned the MST3K quality of that.

There weren't really many other choices this week but it wouldn't have mattered. This was a clear favorite - it's one of seven. You should check the rest of them out.

I missed a good snow day because of work, but that's okay. There'll be plenty more if I have my way...

Whoa… 2 more weeks of this project. What SHALL I do next?

49/52 - Photo Project 2013

Well, we had our first snow of the season, but it was mostly at night, so no photographs were taken. It was also a light, powdery snow. The kind of snow that everyone like except photographers because it doesn't stick to the trees, etc.

Though I took other photos during the 'week', this is one of my favorites:



Happy 8th night of Hanukah which fell abnormally early this year. This year's gift (to myself, with help) was a brand new camera - at long last, I upgraded to a Canon 70D. Lots more features without completely breaking the bank for a full-frame. And I got myself a nifty new lens. My next purchase? A wide-angle for the landscape photography I love so much.

I must remember to get the camera out this week because I fear it will go quickly. And even though we have a Photo Flood event this week, it isn't until Sunday and falls outside the week.

Happy shooting to those who take photographs!

48/52 - Photo Project 2013

Week 48 was a holiday week for me - some work and some time off. Yet I didn't pick up the camera as much as I thought I was going to. St. Louis finally lost its early deep chill and became much more tolerable.

This week's selections come from a last minute outing to the Anheuser-Busch holiday lights and a brief stop at the Planetarium to see what all the colors are about. Years ago, the Planetarium had been lit up but those lights have been broken. Now, they're back and better than ever. When we visited, the guy in charge was outside in the chill, programming with a pretty fancy light board. He and I chatted - it was a real coup for him to get this project underway.

Thusly, here's the winner for the week:



Close second? Frosty exploration in Forest Park:



And third, fun buildings at the brewery:



Hope your Thanksgiving found you surrounded by family and/or friends. I definitely got both this week and thankful for it.