Abandoned - North Star Inn

I read in the Daily American last week that the owner of the North Star Inn in Hooversville is going to have the building torn down. Now, I admit that I never heard of the place before reading the article, but apparently it's a "blight" on the town and residents have been wanting it down for years. The idea of an abandoned hotel was pretty darn cool so I figured I'd better get my butt over to Hooversville before the wrecking ball arrived and the hotel was turned into a pile of rubble.

The old hotel was pretty impressive. Signs on the outside walls read "Condemned" and "No Trespassing", which actually just fueled my desire to climb inside via one of the many broken windows on the first floor. But seeing as how a dozen or so residents were chilling outside and within view, I relegated myself to taking photos of the exterior.

Abandoned - Color or B&W?

The past few weeks I've photographed several new buildings for the Abandoned project. This weekend I was processing the newest shots and I ran into a bit of a mental stumbling block. I'm torn between whether to keep the images in color or convert them to black and white.

As a photographer, I've always loved black & white images. To me, they just feel more like art. But viewing these photographs in color, I realized that the color images sometimes do more to tell the story of the buildings. I'm almost leaning toward keeping everything in color. I guess it's really not a big deal at this point in the process, as I keep the originals of every shot, but I always tend to get caught up in the minutia. I'm posting this set in color to show some variety. I have also realized that I really, really hate stray power lines that are impossible to shoot around.

Anyway, here are a bunch of shots from the past couple weeks. Leave me a comment and let me know whether you prefer color or black & white.

The house in the last shot was especially interesting to me. I remember the house from years ago. We used to see it from the highway when we took my grandmother to the shopping mall in Lavale, Maryland. From the road, you could clearly see that it was abandoned but it was in pretty good condition. The windows were intact and I would always see cats sitting by them, soaking up the sun. I sort of imaged the house to be a feline version of Watership Down and assumed there must have been dozens of cats roaming around inside the giant, old house. When I went to photograph it, it had been years since I passed by. I was sad to see the house is now, quite literally, falling down. It was a beautiful building. And I wonder where all the cats have gone...

Road Trip in less than 2 weeks

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I'll be away from the studio from April 10-15. I won't have access to email or voicemail while I'm away so if you need anything, please contact me prior to April 10 or after April 15.

The reason I'll be away is because I'm going on a road tip! I'm tremendously excited as it's the first time I've been able to have a "vacation" in several years (aside from a weekend in Cleveland, OH and a weekend in Charlestown, WV but those really can't be considered vacations now, can they?).

I'll be traveling through PA, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut during the adventure. Since I'm not exactly a traditional person, I won't be hitting too many "touristy" spots, instead visiting little towns and places I've read about over the years or seen in movies. I'll be shooting hundreds of photos during the trip and I'll definitely have lots to blog about. I'm also hoping to do some photography for "100" as I think it will be beneficial to get a wider cross section of society than I can find in Somerset County.

Here's a full list of the towns I'll be visiting. If any of my blog readers are in those areas and want to say "hi" just send me an email.

Road Trip - April 2008

Centralia, PA
Amityville, NY
Coney Island (Brooklyn, NY)
Kent, CT
New Preston, CT
Westport, CT
Blairstown, NJ
Hope, NJ
Chadd's Ford, PA

Limited Edition Prints now available

For a limited time, I'm offering prints of two of my favorite abandoned buildings for sale.

16x20 Prints of "The Homestead" and "The Clubhouse" are available for $100 each. This is the first edition for both pieces and they will be signed and numbered with a limited edition of 50 of each print. The pieces are printed on fine grade Kodak Professional Endura Supra Luster Photo Paper. The pieces are unframed and as you will see on the images below, there is room to have them matted before being framed. The pieces will appear exactly as they do on the below images (minus the copyright notice, of course).

Either piece can be ordered by visiting the Prints page on my Fine Art Site. Please contact me with any questions.

Bryant's Senior Photos

This afternoon I had the opportunity to work with Bryant and to shoot his senior portraits. I had a great time with him and his mom and I do believe Bryant was my first senior from Indiana, PA. He was such a cool guy and a complete natural in front of the camera. It was hard to pick out just a few photos from the blog as I has so many great shots, but these are some of my favorites.

Seeking Class of '09 Senior Spokemodels

I'm currently looking for spokesmodels to represent my senior portrait photography for the class of 2009. I want spokesmodels who are cool and outgoing to model for my website and myspace/facebook. I'm seeking 1 spokesmodel from each area school and a few have already been claimed.

Spokesmodels get a free 2 hour superstar session and 20 free wallet sized photos. The sessions will be shot in late April/early May. You must want amazing, fashion inspired senior photos, not boring, traditional stuff. I want to shoot photos that look like they could be in a magazine. If you're a member of the class of 2009 and interested in being a spokesmodel for Tony Urban Studios, please message me asap to see if your school is still available.

Sarah & Matt's Engagement Photos

Friday I had the chance to meet Matt and Sarah to shoot their engagement photos. The couple is getting married this summer in New York, but wanted to have some portraits shot in the area before then and I had a great time working with them. They're a really sweet, kind couple and I hope their wedding is amazing.

Abandoned - The Clubhouse

My longtime blog readers will remember the first time I visited The Clubhouse, way back in December of 2006. Back then, the building was in far from good condition. A fire had burned out much of the upper floor and water ran through to the first floor. But, aside from that, it was a gorgeous building and one that appeared to be structurally sound.

I made another trip to The Clubhouse on Thursday and was saddened to find it in terrible condition. The entire front roof had collapsed inwards and the left side of the upper floor had also fallen in. I don't know whether it was the strain from a winter's worth of snow or if the old building was simply nearing it's end, but finding it like that really bummed me out. I guess for all of these glorious, forgotten structures are on borrowed time.

Anyone want to be a part of my 100 project?

I haven't had the chance to photograph anyone for 100 in the past several weeks and the lack of progress is driving me batty. In case you're new to the blog, the 100 project is something I've been working on for about a year now. I'm shooting portraits of 200 different men and women from ages 1 through 100. So, upon completion, there will be a different person for each year.

If anyone is interested in being a part of the project, please let me know and be sure to check out some of the photos from 100 on my collection page.

Sale ending soon

Just a reminder that the big sale ends on 3/31. My schedule is mostly full but I have a couple openings throughout the week so let me know if you're interested in a shoot.

Deekota & Navneet's Wedding

Yesterday Sharon and I shot our second wedding of the year - that of Deekota and Navneet. It was an especially fun day for me because I've known Deekota since we were in kindergarten together and we were classmates throughout high school, so it was really cool to be able to photograph her wedding.

The entire day went great. The ceremony was in Friedens and the reception was at The Inn at Georgian Place in Somerset so it was even a local wedding - a rare, but nice occurrence for us. Both Navneet and Deekota were so much fun to work with and we had a great time being part of their big day.

Abandoned Places - 4

I found some great, new abandoned places today. I'm always fascinated at the variety of places left to rot under the strain of the elements. I've seen a lot of very large homes, and today also found a community center. On the other end of the spectrum was a "house" that was one of the strangest structures I've ever seen. I think, at one time, it was the "trailer" part of a tractor trailer, but someone converted it into a house of sorts. Windows were cut in the sides and a ramshackle roof was weighted down with old tires. It's definitely one of a kind.

2008 Weddings & stuff...

As I mentioned several months ago, I decided that we were only going to take 20 weddings this year. Last year was great and I met so many amazing, incredible people, but the workload was just more than I want to tackle again.

In the past two weeks, I've booked 6 weddings, with one of those being for '09 and the other 5 for '08. As a result, we're up to 18 bookings for the year which means I only have two slots to fill before considering us fully booked for the year. So, if you're thinking of having me shoot your wedding, please check in to see if your date is still available.

In other "news", I will be out of town from April 11-15. I'll have more details on that shortly but I just wanted to put that out there as I won't have access to email or voicemail during those few days.

A little while ago I mentioned that I had began reading Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I finished it yesterday. I don't get to read often, only when I'm on the treadmill, so it takes me a while to get through a book. I have to admit the book was a bit disappointing. I don't need tons of action in a book to hold my interest, but it would be nice if something of significance happened before the last 5 pages. The "Pulitzer prize winner" thing sold me. Oh well.

On a totally unrelated note, my "spring fever" hasn't gone away. I desperately want to put my Jeep away until next winter (16 mpg sucks!) and bring out my Mustang. I've missed driving it so much.

Abandoned Places - 3

Yesterday I visited a few more abandoned buildings. Later in the day the sunlight was pretty harsh and gave some wicked shadows, so I have 3 spots I need to shoot in the morning light, but some of the places turned out pretty good. I'm especially in love with the first house in this blog entry. The shots aren't necessarily the best, but the structure of this house is just stunning. The stone walls are so thick! I swear, you could take the walls and build a new house there if you wanted to and had the money. If it's still there in a few years, maybe I'll do just that. I need to find out who, if anyone, owns it though...

Much to my delight, several blog readers have comments on the "Abandoned" photos and many have contacted me asking if I was going to offer prints for sale. I actually am, and those prints will soon be listed on my art page. I'm unsure what sizes people are interested in, so feel free to comment with ideas and/or suggestions. I might do signed, limited editions of larger print sizes
if there's a call for it. I'm also planning on pitching the collection to book publishers when I feel it's "finished". That won't be for several months, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Anyway, here are the most recent photos.

New abandoned buildings

Yesterday I decided to hit some back roads in search of more abandoned buildings and was lucky enough to find a few. I don't think any are quite as cool as the farmhouse, but they're still pretty neat.

I've decided to make a collection of these images and will be pursuing it throughout the year. I think it'll be a really cool project.

Abandoned Farmhouse

This afternoon Sharon and I were driving down some of the back roads and enjoying the sunny weather. We've both got a bad case of spring fever and just wanted to spend some time outside. I had taken my cameras and new wide angle lens with me, hoping for the chance to take some photos.

As we drove, I realized that we were close to an abandoned farmhouse that I'd seen a few times over the years. I decided to head in that direction and as we reached it I pulled the Jeep to the side of the road and switched on the four ways.

The old farmhouse loomed ominously on the small hillside. Five leafless trees stood in front of it but in the barren days of winter they did nothing to conceal the houses' presence. At one point in time, someone had wrapped the front porch in plastic. Over the years, the steady whipping of the wind saw the plastic become tattered, almost shredded and the result was a facade that looked almost like giant sharp teeth. The entire house leaned slightly to one side, sinking askew into the soft ground.

The rear of the house wasn't as ominous - or impressive. Layers of siding peeled away in places, almost like rings in a tree stump revealing it's age. Behind the house, a pool of water, filled with muck and mud, hollowed out the ground. The brick chimney could be seen easier from here, crumbling from years of exposure to the weather. The back door was gone, in its place a sheet of plywood in surprisingly good condition. The water made approaching the rear of the building impossible.

I circled around to the front of the house. I didn't bring my flashes with me so I knew going inside would be pointless. I started back to the Jeep, but noticed the very loud sound of running water, seeming to come from inside the house. I somewhat tentatively approached the red basement door and pushed it slightly with my boot. A scared rabbit bounced away, startling me a bit. I pushed the door a bit further with no result. Satisfied that I wasn't two seconds away from becoming the victim of a hockey mask wearing, machete wielding madman (or more realistically a wild animal), I kicked the door open the rest of the way.

Peering into the darkness, it looked like a normal enough basement from what I could see. I didn't step inside, but far in the distance I could see daylight shining through the rear wall of the foundation. Water was gushing inside, the water from the pond in the back. The water was filling the basement floor, at least an inch or two deep. Hopefully I'll make it back in the coming weeks and I'll remember to bring a flashlight and a flash for the camera so I can explore and photograph the interiors of this dwelling that time forgot.

HUGE sale begins on 3/10!

As a photographer in an area that experiences harsh winters, much of my work is seasonal. Around May, things go crazy and I have more work than I can handle. However, right now, not much is happening and I'm going a little stir crazy. So, to help fill my schedule and find some cool, new clients I'm having a HUGE SALE which begins on Monday March 10th.

The sale features discounts as high as 50% off on session prices for all sessions shot between March 10 and March 31st. Below are the sale prices. Call or email to book a session now.

Senior Portrait Session - 1 hour session=$35, 2 hour session=$65
Family Portrait Session = $60
Maternity Photo Session = $50
Boudoir Photo Session = $195
Engagement Session = $125
Modeling Shoot = $175
Actor's Headshot = $65

Krystal's Senior Photos

Yesterday I had my first "winter" senior portrait session. Krystal and her mom came to me through a referral and I had a blast working with them. We did some fun stuff in the studio before heading outside. Although there was snow on the ground, it wasn't terribly cold and the shoot went great. Throughout the shoot, I kept trying to think of who Krystal looked like and it wasn't until I started editing the images that it hit me - Denise Richards. Am I crazy or isn't there a pretty strong likeness there?