This is an abandoned dormitory at the site of the old Redstone Quarry, near North Conway, NH. This is one of the few building left visible, and is the most intact—although, as you can see, vandals have had there way a bit. I find old building like this fascinating, and this and the other artifacts in the forest at the old quarry site are particularly fascinating (all open to the public).
My intention with these photographs was to record the scene in two very different ways—using the same base image files. I wanted to focus on the dilapidated, ruined, trashed, vandalized, and almost “club house,” scene that the passing years (and the passing youth) have created. I particularly like the green moss growing on the furniture.
The first thing I did was to take a series of exposures that would give me details in the darkest shadows (behind the booze bottles), as well as in the brightest highlights (the various blown-out window and door openings). Then I exposure-blended the images to get a base image, correctly exposed in all areas. And then the fun began. I processed the “before” image in a fairly traditional manner, ending up with the typical look of an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image (HDR images always have “the look”), but with a soft, almost glowy twist (using a technique I won’t divulge); in the end making the scene almost inviting—in the booze and reefer sense. In the “after” image, I went all-out grunge, making a high-contrast, nasty scene that should make us all want to run away screaming. One image, two very different processing outcomes.
Here are the two Flickr images. Dreamy and Grunge.
Meta: Pentax K-70, Pentax 15mm f/4 lens @f/8, ISO 100, several shutter speeds, fill-flash, several image exposure stack
