PHOTOGRAPH INFO

These photographs were taken Saturday at the old Bethlehem Steel plant in nearby Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They're part of a series I'm posting this week from my six-hour trip to the plant. For more information, please read the 'comments' section on the previous four posts.

This is a selection of signage I found in several different areas during the first hour or so. I'm not sure how much explanation each photo requires so I'll leave it up to anyone with questions to ask. I'll post the answers here tomorrow night.

I still have a few more to post; the blast furnace pictures should be next.

Post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens as follows:
1) 32mm, ISO 800, 1/320s, f/8
2) 24mm, ISO 800, 1/60s, f/7.1
3) 24mm, ISO 800, 1/30s, f/4
4) 24mm, ISO 800, 1/640s, f/5
5) 24mm, ISO 1600, 1/30s, f/8
6) 24mm, ISO 800, 1/100s, f/8
7) 24mm, ISO 800, 1/500s, f/8.
No noise reduction on any of these. Adjusted white balance for more warmth, multiple curves adjustments for contrast and saturation, some color balancing for tone.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

--Kathleen

That place really is a goldmine isn't it ;)
All brilliant! and would probably be worthy of singular shots IMO

I really do find the signs quite funny :D

So fabulous! And you've really nailed the saturation in these. Even the fence in the Main Entrance shot only enhances the mood...

Another wonderful set from the series.

My personal favorite is #2; the tree coming through the door amuses me. I also like #6 a lot.

As the pp said this place is a real photographer's goldmine.

What a gift to see all these photos. The Welcome to Bethlehem Plant is like being in a dream. Somewhere between reality and another world. Your treatment of each photo is outstanding.

wow... way impressed with the results from such high ISOs. Nice pics, indeed. the second on this page is my favorite with the tree/bush pushing it's way into the building. Very nice!!

the way the reflection in the last image matches up with the windows in the background is pretty cool as well!

And, of course, the rays of soft light in the "Main Entrance, Bethelehem steel" is quite marvelous!

great photos, i love the first one. I'm curious why you shot it at iso 800 though

what I find interesting about these Bethlehem Steel photos is the way your style and vision illuminates each photo.

There are several blogs that have focused on abandoned industrial locations as source material. I've been following them for a while, and they're excellent.

But these are different - a different set of things to pick out, a different sense of how to use the space, a different sense of composition and color.

Awesome.

This is a wonderful set of images. The last one is my favorite. It sums-up quite well the story being told.

There's an old munitions plant near me in Kings Mill, Ohio, right along the Little Miami River Bikeway. It looks like it would present similar photo opportunities, but they have it all fenced-off. I wish I could get in there.

Another great batch of pictures. You've did a wonderful work in that old plant. Your mastering of color is really great.
Maybe it would be perfect if you correct some wide angle lense distortions on few pictures with a tool like PTLens : http://epaperpress.com/ptlens/ or DxO.

My favourite photos are the same as Lauries'; 2 and 6. Beautiful.

Hi there!... about time I looked around in here! Very nice photos. And the latest series, very nicely done! Great atmosphere! Keep it up!

Best regards

These photos speak VOLUMES about the plight of American manufacturing today. Aside from the quality of the photographs themselves ... they are a photographic statement to say the least.

This series is fantastic. Your spotting and including the signage in each of these is brilliant!

This poignant series is made all the more surreal through the vibrant colors and saturation. The final chapter is a killer. It's a heartbreaking story, very well told.

These are incredible well done. The tree coming through the door and the reception area are my favourites.

You make that 24-70L sing. Nicely done once again.

I like how you make everything look so cheery and colourful which, I suspect, contrasts with how the place must feel.

These are all wonderful, historical documents and works of art, as well. Buy USA is an idea that is all but dead, and that's really too bad. The broken window in that final shot is certainly symbolic. Wonderful work, as always.

No need to compliment you on the photographs. Rather, I'm moved to say what sadness is evoked by abandoned buildings: how they must have hummed with human vitality in their heyday, hard work and happiness abounding, and how many lives were thrown into turmoil and even despair when all were shut down.

I love it when you go all 'Urban' on us Kathleen.

I've enjoyed your site for some time now and I like this series quite a bit. You definitely have an eye for composition.

I do notice on the, "Partners For Progress" shot, some pretty awful barrel distortion from that lens. And why the high ISOs?

Not sure if you're using a tripod, but that, coupled with a lower ISO...and perhaps a few better-corrected prime lenses...would really make these shots outstanding.

Just my opinion on the technical side.

Take care.

Great series here!

These images are amazing... I love places like this, and you captured the sad ghostly decline of America's steel industry perfect in all of these photos. Very nice work...I like them all.

The third one really grabs me and the OOF fencing really works as "rays". Absolutely gorgeous.

Must say that this serie is simply brilliant - you manage to capture and show the place in such a lively way. It is not so hard to imagine this place full of life.