Copyright Matt Farrington
I have a tendency to keep revisiting places I’ve been before. I find a place I like, and keep going back hoping to capture something new or to try again with a subject that didn’t work out the first time. This morning I stopped by an old factory I enjoyed photographing a couple of years ago. There are several buildings on the property, but at least one had been razed since my last visit. I recently read that another old structure, the ore dock in Ashland, had been demolished, too. That news was a little disappointing, because I was fascinated by it since I first laid eyes on it. The good news is, there are even larger ore docks in Superior, WI.
With that news fresh in my mind, I went back to this abandoned building. On my previous visit, I ran into a homeless man collecting scrap metal inside. Vince. We chatted a for a few minutes and before I left him to his business, I asked if I could take his photo. He obliged, and now I have a 16″ x 24″ print of it. To this day, he’s the only stranger I’ve asked to take a photo of. I think because of that encounter with Vince, it will be kind of sad when this place gets demolished, as it inevitably will.
Copyright Matt Farrington
Copyright Matt Farrington
Copyright Matt Farrington
I didn’t meet any new people today, but I did get a few more photos of the buildings before they disappear.
“I have a tendency to keep revisiting places I’ve been before.” Kind of like an arsonist, or a serial killer.
Exactly! Finally, someone who understands me.