Urban Decay in St. Louis

I know it's strange, but I LOVE urban decay as a photographer. If I was a resident near any of this decay, I'm sure I'd think differently. There's something tragic about it. Not all of it is beautiful in my eyes - I like urban decay with history. For example, last Spring, I had a chance to walk through an amazing building, the former St. Louis Southwestern Freight Depot. I was accompanied by a very burly male photographer who was tattoo-ed and he happened to know the homeless man who watches over the building. I would never venture in there again without being accompanied by him.



We also found these two houses that MUST have been hit by bad weather because the damage is pretty hit and miss:



Here's what looks like an old funeral home:



Falling down alleyway:



A boarded up buildling:



But the gem of the trip was this building on Mallinkrodt. This building was falling down and had been for a long time. Looked like a victim to a hefty fire. My companion and I drove slowly around the entire building and were enraptured by the decaying tragedy before us. I really really wanted to know the history of this building and I found it after some internet research.

The building is called the Nord St. Louis Turnverein, and was home to the Turner Society, a German organization. Check out the link to see what the building used to look, and check out the photos below to see what it looked like today:



More info here about the building.

Up next, a visit to Bellefontaine Cemetary.

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has definitely sprung in St. Louis - and thank goodness. I love Alaska and all, but I was really looking forward to warmer temperatures. Despite craziness during my time at home, I managed a trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. What a treat - here are just a few pics from my trip:



Beautiful huh? I didn't have to work too hard to capture the natural beauty.

#25 - Complete!

25. See Northern Lights in person.

I have waited and waited for this day to come when I could see the Northern Lights in person. Every time I came up to Alaska, I had hoped and hoped that the conditions would be right. And finally, they were. I was so excited that I couldn't set up my tripod properly at first.

Words cannot even describe the ethereal beauty that is the Northern Lights. They move like the wind and change intensity at the drop of the hat. We briefly saw them overhead but they were mostly on the horizon. We saw them two nights in a row, but the first night was the most intense and beautiful. I hopped between my DSLR and my G12 camera like a crazed bunny, much to the amusement of my companions.

It was totally worth freezing for.

Here's just a few pictures- they're mostly unedited and unadjusted:















Check out the rest here