James Robinson ~ Caution Series
click thumbs for big...Across from our house there are trails leading to Saranac Lake High School and various other parts of town. I discovered these two abandoned sleds over the summer beside one such trail. While taking these pictures last week, I also noticed an embankment about 200 feet off the trail with more discarded machinery circa 1970 and older...boats, cars, sleds and innumerable parts from all three are half buried and sliding down into the woods. Aaron's photo and mention of snowmobiles in the previous post made me want to go through my pictures again and begin developing a series around these sleds/etc. rusting away in the woods behind our high school.
I have a few reasons for wanting to do this. First, there's nothing more "wild" than snow measured in feet and machinery designed to travel over it at ridiculous speeds. Second, debates over how sleds impact the wilderness ethic of the park are always raging here and also of interest to me. But most important to me on a personal level, my friend and high school teammate was killed in a snowmobile accident about 7 years ago. It's interesting to me how I react to all these "things" with a camera in my hand.
Wilderness Close to Home
in James Robinson
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6 Comments
Reader Comments (6)
This thing is kinda scary. Whenever I find this kind of abandoned human stuff in the woods it's rather disconcerting. It seems so incongruous, despite being all over the place. How did it get there? Why did it get there? I approach with caution, whether there is warning tape present or not. It could be booby trapped. It could have aliens somewhere nearby. I don't know. I'm getting outta here!
I like the idea behind the idea for a series.also like the light in these images.
damn man! I need to hire you as a location scout...this place rocks. directions again please!
This is my favorite kind of subject matter. Some photographers like to create images of people. I'm more interested in the echoes left behind long after the people are gone. You can tell a lot about someone by what -- and how -- they discard their possessions.
Kent…the “disconcerted” feeling you described is important feedback for me…thank you. In addition to what we bring as individuals, there might also be a universal fear that exists…like the way culture teaches us to avoid/fear the poverty that often leads to a place like this…makes it hard to address the problem. Not sure about the aliens though…
Aaron...there are a few ways to get there. The easiest is to enter the woods by way of a trail behind Saranac Lake High School’s faculty parking lot (at the far right of the building). Take that trail up the hill…you‘ll see two trails on your left and one that continues straight. Take the second trail on your left.
Within a few hundred feet you’ll pass between the two sleds. Look to your right and start walking off trail in that direction…toward the embankment with 3 old cars sitting across the top. You can’t miss it… half buried cars/boats/trailers/sleds of styles and colors circa‘70s and earlier.
Just remember your “location scout” when you’re selling prints for 50k a pop like Burtynsky! Seriously though, it’s cool…enjoy sharing these places and seeing your work. I don’t know how you like to handle your shoots, but I’m down for heading to a location(s) some weekend if it’s not a distraction to have another guy with a camera running around.
Sean...dig your "echoes of people" idea...a great way to describe it. I do find people interesting also, but I tend to be more at ease shooting their "things" and how they fit into wilderness in general. It's the small stories an image creates that I've become most interested in lately.
Sean,
You're right on about the fascination with the junk people have left behind. I don't really understand portrait photography, although Avedon and others make it more accessible. But I certainly understand our continuting archeological investigation of the environment.
James, how do you find this stuff? It reminds me of an entire field near here that is filled with abandoned farm machinery. It's a story/history that is yet to be told and photographed.
Kent...it's really not all that difficicult to find places like this where I live...sort of a part of the history of neglect and redemption that takes place here, environmentally speaking, as well as the ongoing struggle to balance civilization with wilderness. Now go start shooting that field and tell your/its story...look forward to seeing it.