040720: A Little Diversion

A few days before the floor fell out from under the world (as we knew it) I got a call from a person interested in some of my prints. They were from a series I did a number of years ago on the old Burden Iron Works in Troy. Today’s first two images are part of that project. 

Not having viewed them in a while, I dug them up in my photo library. And that act took me down a photo “rabbit hole” that resulted in the contents of this post. It became a pleasant diversion for me. I don’t know if these images string together in any way, other than in my enjoyment reacquainting with them. So without thinking too much about it I thought I’d share them with you. We all deserve some little diversions these days. 

Ammonite

Barnacle Laden Bivalve

Gastropods in a Tortoise Shell

Brachiopod

Brachiopod in Hand

Butterflies, La Specola

Devonian Drawer: Gastropod

Abstract Concrete 1

Abstract Concrete 2

59th Street Bridge

Railroad Spur, Long Island City

Railroad Overpass, Long Island City

Triboro Bridge

Thanks for the visit.

120717: Remnants of Industry

One of my last projects shot on film focused on various industrial ruins found in and around the Albany/Troy area. Chief among them was the Burden Iron Works, whose history includes the massive production of horseshoes for the Union Army during the Civil War. While there is a museum on the site, much of what I photographed has since been demolished.

Most of today’s images are from the Iron Works. There are a handful of other images from the broader project as well. In all cases, though, they speak of a time long gone by, when factories produced immense amounts of quality products that changed the lives of many. Examples such as these depicted today can be found across this country – modern ruins that tell an ultimately sad story about jobs lost, communities decimated, and a middle class way of life diminished.

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Thank you for the visit.

0514: Backgrounds

I’m always looking for different backgrounds to match up with the fossils I find. Sometimes it’s a rock background. Sometimes it’s a rusty metal plate. Today it’s the cover of an antique tin box. This first group of images show some of that exploration.

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This gastropod has become a recent favorite of mine. It’s shape seems to be so particularly appealing as a design object as well as an element of deep time. In the image below it’s a Devonian bindi on the head of Ganesh.

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And what’s left for today is a small assortment from recently travelled paths:

Quarry Wall

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At the Car Wash

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Mall Skylights

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Fisher Center Interior

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Leger’s Cornet

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All those recent cornet images had me thinking about an earlier project I did at the old, crumbling Burden Iron Works, with all its pipes and Rube Goldberg-esque machinery. So here are a couple from that structure that is no longer. It was torn down several years ago.

Thanks for the visit.

Earlier Work

Sometimes it seems like I’ve been photographing fossils forever. In fact, it’s been my focus for about five years. And, while I find time to aim the camera in other directions, I have become rather obsessed with these 385 million year old former neighbors of mine. The image above, from my new “Devonian Drawer” series, is full of miscellaneous marine invertebrates from that time.

The other day I was busy making selections for some upcoming juried shows and found myself trolling my photo library. It’s not uncommon to spot images that were initially overlooked, that fell through the cracks, so to speak, and became “seconds.” And what a pleasant surprise it is to look again, from a new and possibly different perspective, and enthusiastically reattach and re-engage with an image. Fresh files to work on in the middle of February (when it’s just too damned cold to go out exploring) are the perfect antidote to cabin fever!

Revisiting the photo library also brought up previous projects that had been out of sight for too long. And as I re-evaluated, re-viewed, and remembered so went the remainder of an afternoon.

What follows is a small selection I gathered together from that session and I’d like to share them with you today. The first image was taken while on assignment for the Metropolitan Museum of Art – a view from the bell tower at The Cloisters in upper Manhattan. The following four images are from an urban landscape series across New York City. And the final image, a seeming “Rube Goldberg” contraption of pipes, was taken in Troy, New York, in the old (and recently demolished) Burden Iron Works. I hope you enjoy.

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Thank you for the visit. More images at www.artmurphy.com