Strip malls, power lines, and parking lots ... what have you got?

[paulr]

In this thread (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=32579/), the merits of such picture are called into question.

The winner of the debate has yet to emerge, but the fact is that many of us have taken such pictures. An occasional guilty pleasure, perhaps. Or maybe a real source of shame. Regardless, most of are probably not such terrible people. We do not wake each morning and set out to destroy all that is beautiful. We might even feel we are doing some good.

And we might take comfort in each other's company. With this in mind, I propose a safe place to share. A pleasant, support group-like setting where there are no wrong answers. All vitriol and cigarette smoking should be confined to the thread linked above.

My name is Paul, and I have photographed power lines.

[vinny]

power lines, northern michigan 600mm fujinon C fp4
owens power plant 450mm nikkor M fp4

[Struan Gray]

I'm in denial.

[Michael N. Meyer]

Three are from Auburn/Lewiston, Maine and the parking lot's in Seoul. Not exactly powerlines or strip malls, but along the same idea. No mountian flowers or blue lakes.

[Norm Buchanan]

Sadly I have many more power-line photos in smaller formats. Not sure why...

[Walter Calahan]

Fun, I'm so jealous. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Ben Hopson]

I hope this qualifies.

[Jon Shiu]

4 way mini mart

Jon

[paulr]

4 way mini mart

Strip mall, parking lot, AND power lines. Tripple threat.

[Jrewt]

Heres some:

http://www.apug.org/gallery/data/500/Asheville.jpg

[Sanjay Sen]

Strip mall, parking lot, AND power lines. Tripple threat.
Did you mean tripple 'treat'?! :D

Interesting thread, interesting images. Unfortunately for me, all my power line images are in miniature format and so not appropriate for this forum. Maybe I should go out and shoot some in LF this weekend, if only it wasn't so darn cold.

[Jan Pedersen]

Here's another take on power lines but, no parking lot for miles and miles. Pt/Pd 8x10

[tim atherton]

here's one:



http://www3.telus.net/kairos/pv/large/0024.jpg

[tim atherton]

and another...:




http://www3.telus.net/kairos/pv/large/0026.jpg

[tim atherton]

and probably some more I forgot about at: www.kairosphoto.com :-)

[Brian K]

Ok I'm in, here's some power lines. One is a repeat from the other thread... Sorry no strip malls though....

[Sanjay Sen]

Brian K, your work is beautiful! May I ask where these images were made? The landscape looks so serene. Wonderful!

[cyrus]

Actually Ive been thinking about ths som more

Ironically, got some reason the BW photos aren't as mundane as the colors. Don't know why. Perhaps becajse hte color shots look more like snapshots.

ANd its not really about powerlines per se but of Eggleston-type photos which are known to be mundane and celebrated precisely for their mundane-ness

[nathanm]

Cold? I think it was about -21ºC for this powerline shot. I wasn't going to go out at first, but I was inadvertently challenged to do so via an e-mail. It felt like I was coming close to getting frostbite for this lousy shot before I went back home and switched to full-fingered wool gloves. As you can see, even glowing from inside the cupboard drawer I have it in, my stoopit darkroom timer is still fogging up shots slightly. I really gotta fix that. Oh well. :) A little fog adds to the LF filmy aesthetic sometimes.

[Sanjay Sen]

What timer do you use, and how far away is it that it still fogs your film? Just curious.

[Matt Blaze]

Vestigial wiring from the former Pennsylvania Railroad "High Line", Philadelphia:

http://www.crypto.com/private/electrified500.jpg

[vinny]

Nice shot, Matt. The crossing straight lines with the curved cables mixed in really make this nice to look at.
vinny

[Oren Grad]

here's one:



http://www3.telus.net/kairos/pv/large/0024.jpg

Very cool. The other one too. Sometimes the most interesting order is right on the edge of chaos.

[Matt Blaze]

Nice shot, Matt. The crossing straight lines with the curved cables mixed in really make this nice to look at.
vinny

Thanks for the kind words, Vinny.

That photo was after one of my favorite takes on power lines, a painting by Ralston Crawford:

http://hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/record.asp?Title=electrification&ViewMode=&Record=1

I have to say there's not a single image in this thread that doesn't impress me; eyesore, indeed!

-matt

[Mike Lopez]

Vestigial wiring from the former Pennsylvania Railroad "High Line", Philadelphia:

http://www.crypto.com/private/electrified500.jpg


I would hang that in my house. Nice work.

[Brian K]

Brian K, your work is beautiful! May I ask where these images were made? The landscape looks so serene. Wonderful!

Thanks Sanjay, the rolling hill stuff is in the Palouse which is the south eastern end of Washington state. The lighter image was taken near Utah Lake in Utah.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Could we add suburban (over)developments to this list?

http://www.echonyc.com/~goldfarb/photo/kahala.jpg

[Brian K]

What about dog walks and laundry lines?

[Toyon]

Vestigial wiring from the former Pennsylvania Railroad "High Line", Philadelphia:

http://www.crypto.com/private/electrified500.jpg

Is the "High Line" the freight cutoff that goes through West Philly? Does it still exist?

[jnanian]

sprawl is a good name for this thread :)

[Matt Blaze]

Is the "High Line" the freight cutoff that goes through West Philly? Does it still exist?

Yes, that's right; it runs above the street near the Penn and Drexel campuses. It still exists and has at least one active track (I see freight trains on it from my office several times a day), but has not been electrified for at least 30 years or so. And not to be confused with the High Line in Manhattan (the long abandoned NY Central west side line in Chelsea now at last being converted to an elevated urban park/trail).

Thanks, everyone for the generous comments on that photo; I'm blushing.

Also, I remain so impressed with every image in this thread, extracting beauty and interest from what we normally see as ugly and banal (a particular photographic interest of mine). Keep them coming!

[adrian tyler]

unfortunatley the shopping centre was on fire, and the power cables had been removed from the pylon:

[Hollis]

Suburban sprawl and an old grocery store.

[false_Aesthetic]

Somewhere in Boston.... Actually, probably more like Watertown.

[cyrus]

MY EYES! THEY BURN!

lol

[paulr]

adding to the burn ... my only parking lots in color.

[steve barry]

fire it up

http://www.altphotos.com/images/altphotos/4654d487a-7bd5-4d21-b052-e032b25e7d84.jpg

http://www.altphotos.com/images/altphotos/4d901ff18-c8ed-411f-a119-57acc26d4241.jpg

http://www.altphotos.com/images/altphotos/4505eb917-a7cd-4077-8b5c-22f59e929a60.jpg

[steve barry]

paul and ageorge - nice stuff!

first LF neg:

http://www.altphotos.com/images/altphotos/4605c9b86-f219-417f-823e-8448f1483afd.jpg