Today was a surprising day for me. I went to the post to get the mail, and had a couple of envelopes. They all looked like junk mail to me. I normally just tear shit up and toss it away, but today... I didn't. I am glad that I actually looked!

One of the envelopes had a postmark from Denmark. I about lost it when I opened it up. It was an autograph from Tom Kristensen. If you do not know the significance of this guy, google "Tom K., Tom Kristensen, or Mr. Le Mans". He has won the 24 hours of Le Mans seven times. He is one of the drivers for Audi. Yeah, I am excited!

On a side note, I was out looking for subjects to photograph when I drove by a dealership and saw this. I laughed for a few minutes, then took a couple of pictures.

Does anyone see the irony of this?

Another week, another dollar! I am still not getting used to the third shift hours, but it does provide me some beneficial time to shoot some awesome locations.

It may be a short lived journey on third shift as I will hopefully find out Monday what kind of deal will be extended to me if I go to work for Global Facilities. I spoke to my contact yesterday about it, and he has to wait until the H.R. rep gets back in state on Monday before he will know anything. I will be hoping for the best, but expecting the worst...

Anyway, onto the photos:

Well, week two is over! I am still alive, and still working.

And this is a studio light that "helped" me in my journey to the photos.

It is now into my second week of working third shift. To be honest, it is not that bad. The hours suck, and getting filthy sucks, but I actually enjoy the work. I am sure that I will run into some less than desirable jobs, but hey, I get to do something that is not on a computer all day long.

Aside from that tidbit, I have been pretty much offered a job doing Auto CAD work for "Global Facilities Management". I need to call the guy and set-up an appointment. From what I was told on the phone, I would probably take a hefty pay cut... I don't know... I guess I will find out when I have the meeting with the guys.

Onto the photography side of things: I ran to an old farm house that is across the street from where I work. The place looks to be all but abandoned. Okay, I know that it is no longer being used, and has sat like it does today for at least ten years.

It is kind of spooky once you get close to it. Everything is rotting away, and falling down. To me, it is a perfect place to take some shots. I did find an old "Buda" tractor out back that has sunk into the ground over the years.

Without further ado, the photos:

Tiny Series.

Another day closer to the inevitable... I got a letter today that states "in the next sixty day, more of us URS folks will be laid off". No one (of course) knows who will be gone, but I may be on the block.

So as of Thursday, all that remains of my former work life is a file box, and what is sitting on top of it:


I went out to shoot some stuff on my last weekend of normalcy, and I got very few good pictures. Well, here are the only ones worth a damn:

More today

Well, seeing as I am going to be starting 3rd shift on Monday, I figured that I should go take some pictures. It took my mind off the impending doom for roughly 1/200 of a second. Fuck it… I will just work it, and take solace in having a job.

Anyway, onto the pictures that I took today… I once again drove around some back roads and found a few places. The light was not working with me, nor was the fact that I was always on the wrong side of the object that I wanted to shoot… Barbed wire, and no path and no way to get to where I wanted, I shot anyway. The results are mediocre, but I still had fun.

These were taken in a field on the northern border of Mossville:

The next couple were on a few miles away:

And lastly, a self portrait.

Yesterday I had to get away and take some pictures. Very few things are relaxing for me, and this is by far the best way for me to cheer up. Regina and I drove for a while heading north of Peoria, and turned off onto some random road. Five or ten miles up the road I saw this old ass farm.

This place was literally falling down. I don’t think anyone has touched it in many, many years. Well, seeing as there was not a “No Trespassing” sign posted, I figured that it was fair game. Oh, who am I kidding? I would have gone if there was a sign. I should say that I do not damage, disrupt, or desecrate any of the places I go. And with that, I have a clear conscience.

I would love to know when the last time the switch was thrown.

This is my favorite photo here. I can picture some old farmer out here beating on a broken piece of farm equipment. Whatever went on here, I like the end result.

And lastly, I was bored that night and ran downtown to take some more pictures. The only photo that came out right was the McLugage Bridge.

Today my friends, marks a glorious new day within the history of the world; today I started a blog spot. This blog is really noting but my photographs and thoughts. I will try to add a description of where I took the pictures, or at least a little what I think of the damned thing.

Since this is my first posting, I will be posting pictures that I have already posted on “Facebook”. Deal with it guys. Most of my pictures are of old buildings and pretty much dilapidated structures. I love the look of this type of thing. There is something that just grabs me when I see an old warehouse, or an old barn. I don’t know what it is, but I love to just walk around and find new stuff. Well, enough with my filler material, and onto the pictures.

This was taken about 30 miles north of Peoria. There is a wind farm there, and for some reason there is an access road leading to one of the generators. I guess it is there for people like me to drive up and take pictures? Who knows…

These were taken at Peoria’s warehouse district. There is nothing but run-down buildings, and more importantly, subject matter for me!