CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-22 16:10:36 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 31 +1s)

Creeping

Dayroom inside the Babcock Building at the former South Carolina Lunatic Asylum. This building took nearly 30 years to complete due to a lack of funding. When it was finally completed in 1885, the beautiful structure contained a four-story central structure with North and South wings. 

#TheSouthern1800

2013-05-22 14:47:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 56 +1s)

Space Needle

During my first trip to Seattle last weekend, I took a trip to the top of the Space Needle. The view was spectacular, but I also enjoyed the strange shape of the needle against the skyline.

(Shot and edited with iPhone.)

2013-05-17 16:54:39 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 46 +1s)

No Smoking...In Bed
Cell, Military Base

The stockade was designed to be a short-term holding for inmates, before being transfered to a penitentiary in Kansas. 

2013-05-16 21:50:43 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 36 +1s)

Kremikovtzi AD (Кремиковци АД) is Bulgaria's largest metalworking company. The construction of its facilities began on 5 November 1960 and the first production capacities were put into operation in 1963 to produce cast iron and coke, with production extending to cover other areas in the 1960s and 1970s. The company was privatised in 1999, 71% of it was acquired by a Bulgarian owned company — Daru Metals (later to change its name to Finmetals Holdings). In 2005 Valentin Zahariev and Kiril Zahariev sold 100% of Finmetals Holdings for US$110 million to Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), owned by Pramod Mittal, brother of the highly successful Lakshmi Mittal. Kremikovtzi is not related to the Arcelor Mittal group.

In the "Kremikovtzi - A History" project I shows extremely poor conditions of the plant Kremikovtzi, only a couple of days before it was sold. At the sametime impressi... more »

2013-05-16 17:11:19 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 18 +1s)

Bathtub With A View
Marine Hospital, Tennessee

Today's photo is brought to you compliments of my blog. I'm currently working on a re-design of my site that will incorporate location specific photo essays, an online "Buy" option for prints and a mobile version of the site.  I'm hoping to launch it very soon! 

2013-05-15 22:35:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 52 +1s)

2013-05-15 16:34:37 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 60 +1s)

Golden Hour
Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

I'm currently watching the Google I/O keynote and am looking forward to all the new announcements today.

Google has played a big role in my life over the last few years. Nearly all of the photographers I have met in the last year and a half, I have met because of Google+. In fact, both trips to Death Valley since 2011 were with people I had also met there, so it feels very fitting to share an image from my most recent trip to Death Valley back in January. 

#dvonewaytrip13  

2013-05-15 05:23:07 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 56 +1s)

Breathing in the crimson sky
Collecting leaves landing on the lips
I feel when I touch the night.

2013-05-14 16:53:04 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

Back To the Morgue

I had the opportunity to revisit the Marine Hospital on a recent trip and I knew I wanted to spend some time in the beautiful morgue again, in an attempt to get a more refined shot. 

For the image below, I used one 125w LED panel to light the pitch black space. First, I set the panel inside the hood, aimed it upward, over the table and left it for a minute and a half on a low setting. Then I removed the light, placed it on the ground off-camera to the left and bounced it off the ceiling for another minute and a half at full power. 

#TuesDecay  
#TheSouthern1800 

2013-05-14 16:37:06 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 26 +1s)

Administration

The Babcock Building at the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum was constructed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and the footprint resembled a Kirkbride. The building was built in four phases spanning nearly 30 years. The Administration Section, shown here, was among the last sections to be built.

#TheSouthern1800 

2013-05-14 16:37:17 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 49 +1s)

DayRoom, Central State Hospital

Central State Hospital was once the largest psychiatric facility located in Georgia, within the boundaries of the former state capital. The asylum accepted its first patient in 1842, but overcrowding quickly plagued the hospital.

In 1884, this building was constructed to cope with the expanding patient population and housed white, male convalescent patients. 

#TheSouthern1800

2013-05-10 04:39:38 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 42 +1s)

What Makes Your Camera Bag Happy?

My +f-stop bag loves exploring unfinished nuclear power plants with me.

#TheSouthern1800

2013-05-09 16:02:21 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

The May theme for out guest blog posts is sunrise, and here, +Amy Heiden  talks about her process for shooting sunrise and the time leading up to sunrise, otherwise known as “blue hour”. Check out the incredible photos in the blog!

Here is a sneak peak:
"I anticipated that the abundance of clouds would lead to a nice color, so I had to wait 30 minutes from arrival to try getting the shot I wanted. Here, you see the sunlight bouncing off the clouds and the colors of the orange and yellow rock formations beginning to show."

Read the rest of the post here:

http://www.thegivinglens.com/guest-post-amy-heiden-shooting-sunrise/


Enjoy + Share 

#photography   #Sunris   #Landscape   #TGL  

2013-05-14 16:37:35 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 52 +1s)

Overcome

When it's nature vs. man, man will always lose.

(Shot and edited on iPhone)

#TheSouthern1800 

2013-05-14 16:37:49 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 54 +1s)

In the Present Past
Asylum Patient Room Door

I really love being able to share images from places that are overlooked or considered an eyesore. If only one person changes their opinion about those places after reading the history or seeing the photo, it's all worth it.

(Shot and edited with iPhone)

#TheSouthern1800

2013-05-01 16:11:17 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 45 +1s)

Single Cell
Military Prison, California

This prison was constructed in the 1960's and designed to be a short-term residency for inmates, prior to a transfer to Fort Leavenworth. 


Tomorrow I'm heading out of town for a few days, so I will see you all next week!

2013-04-30 21:56:25 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 38 +1s)

4 Years Later: Destruction

Last weekend, I set out to shoot an abandoned military base with some friends. I expected to walk into this pool and see it as it was, on the left, four years ago when I shot here.

Instead I was shocked to see the image on the right, a trashed and destroyed space. Four years had done so much to this site. There wasn't an inch of wall in the main space above head height without a graffiti tag and the wood covering the walls was smashed in many places. It was so bothersome, that I didn't even get out my DSLR and instead, took this comparison image with my phone. 

I often post the names of the locations I shoot, but there are many times when discretion is important because of this very reason.  

2013-04-30 17:05:39 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 61 +1s)

Railroad Avenue

The Mare Island Naval Shipyard contains several hundred buildings and other structures, all erected at various times throughout the 120-year operation and constructed in a variety of architectural styles. Among these structures are the Naval Weapons Station, Marine Barracks, Nuclear Power School and Combat Systems Technical Schools Command, Hospital and Power Plant. 

#TuesDecay  

2013-04-29 16:23:12 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 60 +1s)

A Solitary Pain

"Idly, up comes the sphere
vibrant daggers pierce, scorching the shadow
ashes on marble, frozen in time
and there, like just before dawn
lies a pile, 
humanistic, 
quiescent, friable, bend-able form
Hands creep round the mask
and stop."

2013-04-27 20:11:04 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 62 +1s)

No Smoking In Bed
Military stockade, California

(Shot and edited with an iPhone)

2013-04-27 04:07:11 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 56 +1s)

The dinos are trying to stow away in my +f-stop bag for this weekend's adventure.

#dinosaursmakeradpets

2013-04-26 16:05:48 (11 comments, 9 reshares, 104 +1s)

Sutro Baths, San Francisco

Sometimes I wish I could escape the real world and get trapped within one of my photographs...

2013-04-25 18:30:31 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Northern Lights Timelapse

If you read +PetaPixel, surely you saw this last week (I'm just catching up on my Feed.ly stream) but how could you not watch it again. This might be one of my favorite aurora time lapses. Absolutely incredible work by Ole C. Salomonsen. 

(cc: +Toby Harriman)

2013-04-25 16:16:31 (7 comments, 4 reshares, 52 +1s)

Solitary Confinement Cells
Weston State Hospital

Weston State Hospital operated from 1864 to 1994 in Weston, West Virginia and is recognized as the largest hand-cut masonry building in North America. This Kirkbride was originally designed to house 250 patients, but by the 1950's patient count reached 2,400. Corridors and day rooms became home to patient beds and the conditions were very poor. The hospital closed its doors in 1994 due to changes in the treatment of the mentally ill. 

2013-04-24 16:17:14 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 58 +1s)

A Little Variety

Over the past month or two, I've been trying to add variety to my postings here on G+, showing not only the forgotten world, but also scenes from San Francisco and my travels. 

In a few weeks my stream will be flooded with photos of abandoned buildings again because next Thursday, I embark on a week long road trip on the other side of the country, shooting hospitals and industrial sites. 

As many of you know, documenting modern ruins has been my first love since I started seriously pursuing photography almost 5 years ago, so it's exciting to think about sharing dozens of new images from these locations with you upon my return. 

For now, here's a photo, taken last month during the full moonrise, of another subject I have really enjoyed shooting recently. 

2013-04-23 16:06:03 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 62 +1s)

A Soak With A View
Former commune, California

This commune was founded in the 1950's and was a destination for artists for decades until 2006. 

#TuesDecay  

2013-04-22 15:59:28 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 36 +1s)

Room For Two
Death Valley, California

Inside a small, single-room miner's cabin from Death Valley. This mine opened in 1917 and was was known to have the largest body of commercial-grade ore in the region. 

#dvonewaytrip13  

2013-04-22 00:46:19 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 77 +1s)

Cloud Streaks Over San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge, 2013

Just waiting for another low fog morning...

2013-04-20 23:58:22 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 45 +1s)

Dino Glass...?

Bronty really wanted to play with +Brian Matiash's Google Glass...

#dinosaursmakeradpets

2013-04-19 17:43:46 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 69 +1s)

Sweet Misery
Sunrise at the Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley

Yesterday, I picked up a new sleeping bag for chilly weather. I realize it's still a number of months until winter (I know, I know, it's not even summer yet) but I can't wait to get back out here next winter and do some camping. 

#dvonewaytrip13  

2013-04-19 14:26:57 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 41 +1s)

Large Trees In A Tiny World
Eastern Sierras

This ranch was founded by an Italian settler and dates back to the late 1800's. The original buildings included a small six room house and a single horse barn. In the early 1900's, the house was expanded to fourteen rooms, the barn was also expanded and a blacksmith shop was constructed. It eventually became the one of the largest ranches in the area in terms of livestock and produce. 

The owner and founder died in 1933 and by the 1940's most of the ancestors had left. The ranch now belongs to the Forest Service. 

2013-04-17 15:45:12 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 61 +1s)

The Light and Darkness
Office Building, Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Sometimes the light, and lack of it, is too beautiful not to capture even if the scene itself isn't as interesting. 

2013-04-15 16:44:13 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 40 +1s)

Secured Entrance
Weston State Hospital, West Virginia

Last night, I found an old iPhone image (http://instagram.com/p/YG7fXeNy3H/) of this beautiful asylum's exterior lost in fog. It got me thinking about the DSLR images I took at this location and I couldn't remember publishing many, so I went back through the set and found a few I liked.  

This is a secure entrance to the Forensic Building at Weston State Hospital. This building housed the criminally insane, patients who may have been deemed "not guilty by reason of insanity." 

2013-04-15 04:40:47 (16 comments, 1 reshares, 66 +1s)

Florals
Weston State Hospital, West Virginia

The Weston State Hospital, also known as the West Virginia Hospital For the Insane, was constructed following the Kirkbride plan in 1863. The original building was intended for 230 patients, but at the hospital's peak in the 1950's, the population surpassed 2,000. 

2013-04-13 19:09:58 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 107 +1s)

"When the fog lifted, the dreaming world was revealed below."
Sunrise, Golden Gate Bridge. March 2013

2013-04-12 16:10:46 (7 comments, 5 reshares, 86 +1s)

"She watched the colors of the sky dance in his eyes, for in this moment he was happy."

This is for you +Amy Osman

2013-04-11 16:25:44 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 60 +1s)

The Dragon Boat House

This commune was established in the 1950's and was a mecca for the arts until 2006 when the remaining tenants were forced to leave the grounds. 

2013-04-10 16:59:39 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 56 +1s)

Magazine Storage
Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California

At the Southern tip of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard groupings of former magazine buildings still remain today even though the shipyard has been decommissioned for nearly 20 years. These buildings once stored a variety of ammunition for land and sea weaponry. 

I've been told the walls of these buildings were constructed of concrete and the roofs of a metal material, so that during an accidental explosion, the blast would move vertically instead of horizontally. 

2013-04-10 15:54:59 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 42 +1s)

Morning Walk > Morning Gym Workout

Instead of going to the gym this morning, I went for a walk around my neighborhood, then climbed the hill to the Twin Peaks lookout.

Today was particularly nice as it's a shockingly warm day in the city and the birds were everywhere.

It's funny because people always give me a hard time about living up here because it's a bit off the beaten path and everyone assumes it's always foggy here (not true!) but I love the peacefulness compared to other parts of the city.

...and having a view like this nearby is another plus.

(Taken and edited with an iPhone)

2013-04-09 22:46:22 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 46 +1s)

Patient room door at the former U.S. Marine Hospital.

This facility was constructed in 1937, after replacing a late 1800's building of the same nature, along the banks of a Tennessee river. At the time, the Marines operated in eight hospitals across the United States. 

#TuesDecay  

2013-04-09 16:18:14 (16 comments, 1 reshares, 67 +1s)

"She fumbled for a flashlight in the dead of night and the beam revealed a dream world slowly morphing into reality..."

2013-04-08 16:08:03 (6 comments, 4 reshares, 48 +1s)

Restroom inside a house on former fish hatchery property near Mono Lake, California. 

2013-04-06 00:53:16 (7 comments, 2 reshares, 49 +1s)

Welcome Bonk
Twin Peaks, San Francisco

The world is a very short place when you have a neck this long.

#dinosaursmakeradpets

2013-04-05 21:01:07 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 80 +1s)

Little Red
Golden Gate Bridge, Marin

It's always strange when I come to G+ to post a photo from a trip to find that one of my travel companions posted an image from the same spot moments earlier. (Great minds think alike +Brian Bonham). 

Instead, here's a shot from Hawk Hill one evening in March. 

2013-04-05 16:03:15 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 51 +1s)

Sutro Baths and Cliff House

On this particular night in March, +Tran Mai and I decided to grab dinner before shooting Sutro Baths for sunset. Dinner lasted longer than expected and we arrived here with about 15 minutes to spare. As soon as the sun went down, we were joined by +Hillary Fox, who was in town. I opened the shutter while we were talking and watching the waves. 

2013-04-04 16:57:46 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 44 +1s)

Dairy Farm at Twilight

I made an attempt to uncover history about this former dairy, but was unable to find much. The company is fairly well known and began in the 1970's, but there is virtually no information about when this Northern California location opened or closed. 

2013-04-04 03:01:32 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

Playing In the Street

When the President comes to San Francisco, streets are closed, traffic re-routed and tons of cops are places on the corners....

...it's also a good time to shoot photos in the middle of the road.

(Shot and edited with iPhone)

2013-04-03 04:28:42 (20 comments, 2 reshares, 51 +1s)

Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet

Today, I updated the 'Mothball Fleet' gallery on my website. It now includes approximately 20 unpublished photos, one of which is below. 

http://www.amyheiden.com/photo-essays/sbrf-mothball-fleet/

#MothballFleet  

2013-04-02 16:04:45 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 42 +1s)

Doorway
Patient room door inside a dark corridor of the Babcock Building at the former South Carolina Lunatic Asylum. 

#TuesDecay  

2013-04-01 16:10:20 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 36 +1s)

Theatre
Mare Island Naval Shipyard

The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was founded in 1854 in Northern California and was the only shipyard on the West Coast, until 1891. The base was in operation for almost 120 years before closing in 1996.