OT - Eastern State Penitentiary

I am currently out in Philadelphia for 3 days and went to go photograph Eastern State Pen. This prison opened in 1829 and was the first prison to pursue penance as the main focus of rehabilitation. As a result it was the first prison in the world to really offer solitary confinement. The prisoners couldn't even speak to one another and spent 23 hours a day in their cells when it first opened. The prison was open for 142 years and closed in 1971 following a riot in 1961 that prompted the Philadelphia towns-people to request the prison be closed.

Hope it is okay to post a few pics (not being wildlife and all). I also wanted to show what the NIK HDR Efex was like. Keep in mind, I am going for an artsy look...not necessarily a totally natural one, but this software is certainly capable and I love it MUCH more than Photomatrix.

The gaurds used this mirror to see down into another cell block.

and this barber chair was not used for haircuts. If a prisoner was caught speaking, he would be strapped to the chair and a horse bit placed into his mouth and left for up to a few days as punishment.

Beautiful, creative images of a grim place! I am most drawn to #1 for the complimentary colors and the symmetrical composition.

I'm thinking there actually might be some wildife in there, come to think of it! At least a rat or two...

Can we borrow that chair for Todd?

Kurt, I knew a guy on another forum who did these ruined building shots all the time. I must say you did very well here. #3 is really a great comp and very well done. The only suggestion I would make in photographs like this is to not be afraid to use the darkness to your advantage. It adds a bit of reality and mystery to these buildings, as they don't have power and are supposed to be dark and mysterious. The shots you posted seem overly bright to me, and that is why I like #3 the best, but even there I wouldn't mind seeing some more shadows and darker areas.

Thanks a lot for the comments guys. Koveh, thanks for your honesty on them. I have never really done anything before with abandonded buildings and have just as little experience with HDR. On the forst 2, I decided I didn't want to oversaturate the entire scene, so I used a different filter in NIK to begin with....it was basically starting with a monochrome HDR and then I saturated only certain colors I wanted to stand out.

Pretty wild...#1 seems overly bright, but its a cool shot, and i love 2&3, theyre appropriately eerie!

A great show of your creativity......any subject is deserving in the world of art in my opinion. Funny that you used Nik HDR....I just received my copy by UPS today and now I really want to try it out. Thanks for the post.
Joe Rogers

These are great! #1 is my fave, followed by #3. #2 is interesting but the composition doesn't quite work for me. I think I'd like the mirror to be more prominent and the scene reflected in the mirror to include either more of the left side of the scene or more of the right side.

I love this type of work, Kurt. Good job on all, but I'm also inclined to think #1 is a bit bright. BTW, how did you obtain access to this place?

This is the type of work where HDR processing really shines. Other comments notwithstanding, I thought this was very interesting! Thanks for sharing your story and images about this place here.

These are great Kurt! Love the details and that red chair really stands out.

Very interesting and spooky place. A great place to investigate. Nice work.

Great stuff Kurt. That green really makes the shots.

Wow, glad this place is defunct! What a shrine to our inhumanity! Sometimes I am as guilty as any of thinking some criminals may deserve this kind of treatment because of his or her inhumanity, but this is a reminder that history will judge us on our treatment of all.
Your exceptional images impacted me, I guess, Kurt. Superb set.

Great shots of a very "dark" subject.

I would be proud to own any of these. The barber shop chair is just perfect. Spot on.

RichieV