Part of my shoot from yesterday

[olivermoss]

So Vernonia was cooler than expected. Their city park has an abandoned cedar mill in it with lots of cool bent metal and graffiti art. I need to spend another day shooting out there. I need to stay for a while to hit better lighting conditions. I just hadn't planned on being there so long. I am cool with going back, though. Hitting it when the trees have leaves again and the bracken and moss green up more will be awesome.

This was my first (*cough*successfully*cough*) photography outing as part of my project to Map Complete Oregon. I drove a section of Route 47. It's possible I thought I was hitting all of 47. 47 follows 26 for a long way and I didn't see the southern half of the route on my map. Oops.

Part of the drive was very nice. I passed trails, towns, a broken railroad trestle.



North of Vernonia was less scenic. There were clearcuts with annoying ':) Of course it's been replanted :)' signs. The road was narrow and sagging in areas from soil erosion due to clearcuts.



This shot would be awesome in different light:

There is so much to do with texture, leading lines and even minimalism:

In addition to the one building, there are still lots of other remnants of the old mill:

Behind the mill:



There was also rebar in the ground like roots, almost like from an steampunk or dystopian illustration. It didn't photograph great, though. Again, later in the season this should pop.



I need to go back and spend the day there when I get the chance. For now, at least I have more fodder for my galleries and articles.

Comments

[teigh_corvus]

These photos are FANTASTIC. That mill is an amazing site, very evocative. I LOVE those shots of the outer walls especially - such beautiful lines. I can't wait to see how the location shifts through the seasons.

[olivermoss]

Thanks! The shoot went better than expected, but I feel there is a lot more I can pull out of the place. It's such a cool place. I don't expect places like that to exist outside of movie sets, with the trees growing inside like that!

[rattlecatcher]

These are great! Thanks for posting. Now that I've been back in Oregon, I really need to get out and see more.

[olivermoss]

There is a lot to see and Vernonia was better than expected!