FINALLY !!!!!!

Waverly Tioga 4-27-11
Originally uploaded by Louis Q

Well, I did it.....went out on my own in quite a few days to shoot some baseball on a SUNNY day. Waverly hosting Notre Dame with ND coming out on top 9-0 after pummeling waverly pitcher for all 9 runs in the top of the first. It felt great to shoot for a change and was even able to submit a few to the Towanda Daily Review for todays sports edition. It wasnt long before the rain, wind, hail started hitting us hard again as can be understood by just looking around Bradford County from your canoe. More storms are predicted for later today, tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be better but I am sure most fields are soppy soaking messes at the moment. So stay dry everybody

The Photography Room

The Photography Room
Originally uploaded by Louis Q

Many "shout-outs" to Kevin, the owner of the Valley House in Sayre, PA, for granting me access the second and third floors of his establishment this past Saturday. The old building was built during Sayre's booming railroad and hosptial heyday of the late 1800's and served as a hotel and inn for many generations and continues to operate as a bar on the first floor. Kevin explained to me that several very old and interesting items still "lived" on the upper levels including turn of the century furniture including beds and dressers as well as numerous smaller items. He further stated that a well know local artist made the upper levels his home for over 15 years. It was clearly evident that an artist had lived up there from what I found while I carefully walked around the creaky and dusty old floors. I saw murals painted on walls and furniture and dozens of old painings on glass, wood, fabric, cardboard boxes and other things. I found very interesting art items from plaster, etching supplies, paint, pencils, brushes, old tins, block cutting and sculpting items, many old wooden frames, old photography equipment and so on. One of the neatest items I found was an old handmade doorbell type messaging system devised of old pulleys and cables attached to metal objects, an old pan and other items that could be used from the first floor bar area to summon the artist upstairs. Weird but different. The walls and ceiling on these upper levels were in great decay with mostly the bare lathe and plaster showing and falling. There were several leaks that have been fixed however Kevin showed me an inventive way the past owners solved the leak problems years ago. Plastic was hung on the ceiling in a manner to funnel the water into large 55 gallon barrels with a long hose attached to them near the top so that when the barrels would fill, the water would through the hoses, out a window and onto the alley way below. Two things that I found very neat were a box of old, metal crucifix's at the top of the stairs leading to the third floor, they were cool and unique but a little creepy. I wondered how old they were and where the came from originally. The second item I thought was very interesting was this old camera with old B&W photos near it. The smaller photo looks like the RPH Patterson building from the 1930-1940's perhhaps. It is a picture of a nurse pushing a patient in an old type wheel chair with possibly a family member looking on. There is an old car in the background as well. If anybody has any info about this photograph (if you can see it close enough that is) please feel free to share. I am having a great time exploring these old archaic ruins and hope to venture into more soon. I need to remember my face mask/breathers however as I am thinking the dust and air in these places is not the cleanest or healthiest.

Sayre Baseball

Sayre Baseball
Originally uploaded by Louis Q

Well, I have been laid up from any productive and lucrative shooting due to a few factors beyond my control, including this stinking rain. It seems last year at this time I was shooting at least 2-3 paid gigs a week. Now I havent shot for at least a month other than my own creative HDR stuff; but I guess there is a silver lining, I have booked at least 1 wedding and am learning more each day about HDR and hope to do more with my archaic art sets that may hopefully pan out soon. I was able to grab a couple shots of some local baseball in between raindrops this last week. Hopefully I can get out tonight for some more hardball shooting action. At any rate, i am supposed to have an HDR tutorial and LR-PM workflow tutorial, AND I recently learned my 1D will bracket up to 7 shots. SO COOOOOL

Abandoned Junk Yard / Interstate Fairgrounds

Abandoned Junk Yard / Interstate Fairgrounds
Originally uploaded by Louis Q

My friend Andy and I were able to gain access to the old Max Cohens junk yard buidings in East Athens, PA. During the late 1800's and early 1900's the facilities and land were used by the Interstate Fairgrounds with harness racing and other community activities. Max Cohen purchased this area in the 1930's and turned it into a monster junkyard that operated well into the 1970's. In this picture you can see where the grandstands once were with the diagonal line on the upper right side of the building that had been built over with the addition of the current building you see here. The left side of the building is actually a more recent addition. It is funny that this is the part of the building that is in the most dire of standing and is falling down. It goes to show how well older buidings were made. Andy and I spent about 3 hours this past Saturday exploring the old buildings and structures. There is not much left inside except for a rstray chair here and there, an old cart, some tags and yards and yards of rows of shelves and storage units that once held millions of auto parts from Model A's, Studebakers, Chevys, Dodges, and Fords. So many makes and models it is was hard to believe. Another cool thing we came across was the old "crusher" used to crush autos to oblivion. The area was filled with green, slimy toxic sludge along with so many shards of glass and metal we thought the ground was made of this. Andy met a killer "badger" that ran across his path back into this building. There were several animal tracks in the 1/4 " dust on the floor of this building. I am definately sure this place is extremely spooky at night as it sure had a spooky feeling during the mid day hours. I am thankful to the owner for letting us have free reign of this place as well. I had learned who he was and contacted him only an hour before when were granted access. Look for more archaic art shots comiing soon of this place and others.

1952

unopened coke bottle 1952
Originally uploaded by Louis Q

I was going through some of my old belongings and came across this old coca-cola bottle that my dad got right before the demolition of the Coleman Memorial Parish House in Sayre, PA in 1981. (where the RPH -BSU buiding is now) I have fond memories of that old stone building that was used by the community for years. It housed a rectory, a large auditorium and gymnasium, library, community rooms, kitchen, and other cool rooms. I remember the dumb waiter elevator as well as the tight spiraling staircase in the Southwest corner of the building that led to an apt. on the top floor. The basement had a cool, clubhouse area with pool table and youth group rooms. My dad ran a youth group for area teens in the mid 1970's. Sadly, I was too young to participate, but I do remember some. I remember helping Father Ennis son with a magic show in the large auditorium, I remember a band playing that my dad hired for the youth group, I remember the old wooden regulator clock that hung in the auditorium that now hangs on my living room wall. My dad also salvaged that as it was a gift from the church. I remember finding old military style clothing that were in a storage area and under the stage that I later learned were from the old boys battallion that was ran through there. I remember the church's Christmas bazaars that were held there. I remember playing hide and seek in the building and there being hundreds of cool hiding places. I remember being spooked out of my mind at times also in that creepy place. There were many stories of it being haunted. I miss the old building. If anybody has any stories or memories of the Parish House, please share.