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So I travel for work, and I am in a different city each weekend.
I made a post a little while ago about New Orleans and sadly I was unable to connect with anyone, however that trip went absolutely amazing and I was able to discover some awesome swamplands, a PowerStation, and an abandoned Civil war fortress!
I will be in San Francisco this weekend, and have time from around 11am- 4pm to explore on friday. I am hoping that anyone local may see this and be down to connect and possibly explore! I have maps of some cool places already, however underground is my absolute favorite!
Anyways, these are some of the results of the New Orleans trip!
This was on the flight in and I was not used to environments looking like this!
I saw this massive ship being worked on a short distance from where I was staying. I am sure it had security but id kill to explore a ship like this some day! :
On this trip I was working 9am-5pm so I really could only explore nights.
First up I wanted to try light painting some swampland, and this location was the only place I found where I could get a decent view without a boat.
Before I left for the swamps of Dagobah, I was given warnings this area was not that nice and to watch out for junkies. I asked the coworker if they thought it was likely my camera could be stolen, and they replied that it depended how much money the person had for crack hahah.
Despite warnings I made the 40 min drive just to see this location and it was totally worth it. I have yet to ever find such a surreal enviroment in nature as this. I saw many many pairs of eyes watching me as I started to light paint, but it felt very relaxing to hear nothing but the sound of the trees and animals in the woods. saw lots of toads and fish, but nothing still enough for me to capture.
Day two after work was really my day to explore, it was the last chance id have to see the areas around New Orleans so I decided to forget about sleeping and hit as much as possible, despite lack of local guides.
First up I drove about an hour to see this massive PowerStation.
This location was right in the city so I had many fears about exploring this alone at night with cameras and such, but after asking around at a bar up the street it seemed the cops in this city "will not do anything unless you are actively murdering someone."
Taking a strange comfort from that I decided to risk it and found a way into this massive structure. I cannot describe how big it was only that I knew I was not going to capture it close to how I wanted, even more so when I started to see more and more signs I was not alone inside.
I came across a stairwell and made my way to the roof before anything else as I had started hearing clear sounds of others inside, and figured roof would be a good lit place.
This was the main room, and I wanted a more wide shot above looking down, however the area I wanted to take the shot from was near a homeless camp and after they tossed some blocks/ pipes around I decided to stay clear.
This room was one of the ones with a clear camp setup directly to the right of where this was taken. These guys have actually ran extension cords and have power to a certain extent!
(I saw the light from the cable).
While taking this image I was actually more sketched out than I had been on most other explores because I knew there were people and had to walk out into the open and light paint knowing they could see me fully and I had no idea where they were.
Eventually after banging some pipes a guy yelled out HEY!! and asked what I was doing. I said I was just taking pictures and asked if he was the cops. He misheard me and asked if I was with the cops. (lots of echo)
after yelling back hell no I was not the cops, the guy said that was fine and wished me a goodnight, seems my bright lights made them think I was a cop and he said they have an ongoing thing. He also told me to watch my step and I told them Id be out of their hair after a few more pictures.
The funny thing about that interaction is that I still do not even know where he was, the room was so vast I think he was a floor or two below me but I cannot be certain.
More on the rooftop!:
After these rooftop shots and watching a police chase unfold on the Mississippi river ( police boat with spotlights,)
I decided to head down. After getting lost a few times trying to make my way out I finally made it out of this massive building. I would love to explore this place so much in the day or again at night with more people than just myself as a guide.
I had messaged an online fort page about potential access to an abandoned civil war fort before I explored the PowerStation, and to my surprise the guy had replied, and entry seemed as easy as my quick searches made it seem!
I then hopped in the car grabbed some snacks and water and headed another 30 mins to the site of the fort. I am not used to swamp, but driving through dense foggy swamp roads where I was the only person around was a hell of a fun adventure. I was unsure if it even existed or was an underwater collapsed mess, and the guy online was also unsure of its status, however this ended up being my favorite spot of the trip.
After finding my way into the site I kept hearing animals jump into the water or rustle the bushes so that totally added to the ambient feel to this location. It seems it is mostly surrounded by water too, so it made for a really interesting walk. As I started to see the shape of a large door a shape ran out of the shadows at me and I realized it was a big dog. At that moment I realized this was stupid and I was possibly about to alert security (was next to an active marina) or get mauled or both.
The dog did not even bark more than just a low woof from being startled, it seemed pretty friendly. I then saw it had on a leash and collar and thought maybe this poor guy wondered in here and was lost. He quickly lost interest in me and jumped in the water. I walked further up to the front, and saw the door was locked, however just then the dog ran up behind me and jumped through an open window where the bars had been removed. I followed him in and as I did I started to hear voices. I realized this dog was not lost, but with its owners, and decided it was worth the risk and walked out into a clearing.
I do not know what I expected but it was not two butt naked men wearing nothing but loin cloths sitting around a Bonfire drinking beers.
They also got startled but after a quick talk seems they were just some hippie type and were just camping in this amazing place for the night.
I walked around these ruins as much as I could but I feel I missed so much as I had work the next day.
This place still had such an amazing atmosphere and was such a cool historic place with no vandals or graffiti that I saw.
This massive crack in the wall reminded me of Indiana jones entering some ruined buildings, so I tried to light it up to look like daylight above (this actually was a hole to the top area of the fort (wish I'd had time to see more)
Hope some others find these places as cool as I did, and I hope I can connect with someone in San Fran area! Id love to do something like this again on friday!
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Nice set man. Awesome light play!
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Always amazing stuff from you! Cool to see that plant shot differently for once.
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