Rusty and Crusty
Here are some photos that I took while driving back from Ottawa, Kansas after we visited some of Holleigh's relatives. The first place was a beautiful, newly abandoned red barn. The clouds were very dramatic that day.
See, it is red, I wasn't making that part up ;)
We also came across a car lot that had a ton of vintage cars. I have an affinity for old cars and maybe one day I will have a gallery show with my car photos. This lot also had a bunch of roosters walking around..I just had to chase one ;)
We were told to check out an abandoned plant south of Ottawa. If you look at this Google map, the place (Buildex) is on the left. It is interesting to see how lifeless the place is compared to the business across the street on the right. I am pretty sure the place on the right is the sales office for Buildex. They still have two other plants where they mine shale.
There were a bunch of old machinery (like bulldozers and cranes), a gas pump, a couple office buildings, as well as other things that were a mystery to me. The following photo is of a crane.
This place had a quarry and they mined shale. These are the controls inside one of the buildings. Not sure what the machinery inside actually did. My guess is the machines broke the shale into smaller pieces.
Inside the office's bulletin board, there was a memo dated March 27, 1986 and it was addressed to all plant employees. It stated that "due to the current farm economy and reduced oil prices" the Ottawa Buildex plant will be closed indefinitely and will not reopen unless business improves. Looks like after 23 years, business never improved enough.
Exploring abandoned buildings is one of my favorite past times and it's always interesting to slowly learn the history that was left behind.
Labels: 2009, abandoned, chatter, photography, travel
Can I still wish everyone a Happy New Year twenty-one days into January?
Holleigh and I went to Texas (San Antonio and Austin) after Christmas and stayed through the New Year to visit friends and family. We had a wonderful time and really did not want to leave the beautifully warm Texas weather and head back to Kansas City where wearing a coat is not a fashion statement but a survival technique. To make the trip interesting and give ourselves a challenge, we did a photography scavenger hunt for the ride down and while we were in the Lone Star State. It will be interesting to see who "won" the scavenger hunt but it will be a while before I will have time to pull myself from working on PBP photos and invest in my personal photography. Here are some photos from our trip and the start to a great new year for p.binder.photography!
This is Holleigh's sister who lives in Austin; she was our model for the day.
Here is a cute puppy we came across while we were sight-seeing in SoCo (Southern Congress Neighborhood in Austin). She was incredibly soft to the touch.
Birds really DO migrate to the south during winter, and it felt like all the birds from the north migrated to this one part of Austin! ;) This is a pretty picture but it does not convey the frightening a
I was wowed by this building as it had beautiful color and the architecture was just amazing how it has different layers, shapes, and translucency. It had a different look depending on where the sun was during the day.
Here is our wonderful model again. Look, flip flops in December, I am extremely jealous!
One of the items on our photo scavenger hunt was a stranger with tattoos...looks like I can check it off my list.
I love Holleigh's big sunglasses as they are great for shooting the reflection of people and buildings.
This curious cat was in a little neighborhood of shops outside of San Antonio.
This is me stealing Holleigh's photo from her camera.
Self portrait while waiting for our food at a restaurant...also on the scav hunt. "CHECK!"
San Antonio contains some very beautiful missions; highly recommend checking them out if you like beautiful old buildings. The detail in the door and stonework is just amazing. If I remember correctly, this is 
Mission Concepcion.
We decided to drive downtown to take some photos/sight-see in San Antonio and Holleigh spotted this cool abandoned warehouse. This is my brother who now lives in Connecticut. He was our other model ;)
We found out that he has a baby on the way. I think he is pondering on what to name his future son/daughter...or hoping that I see the stop sign since I am driving AND shooting photos at the same time ;)
Later this year I should be having a gallery show that will revolve around classic cars. I found a dealership in between San Antonio and Austin that had 50+ classic cars that were all reconditioned. The ugliest car in the place had to have been the DeLorean, but who can resist a time traveling vehicle?
A random couple taking a walk in Austin during a beautiful sunset.
You guessed it, another item to capture on our scavenger hunt.
Just a beautiful sunset in Oklahoma.
Who says there isn't beauty in construction equipment?
Click here to visit p.binder.photography's main website!Labels: 2008, travel
