[Illah]

While tourists take pictures of iconic landmarks, I find this side of SF most interesting. I tend to look at things a little differently than most.


Abandoned San Francisco

--Illah

 

[mtkversion]

Nice shots, graffiti-remains.jpg is my fave.

Love going to the city every once in a while with friends and splurging on some good food/shopping.

 

[Thaddy]

These are wonderful! Are any of these available in a larger resolution?

Preferably 1600x1200

 

[MrSlacker]

wow you have an amazing talent! major props to you

 

[minya]

Great photos. Are these from Hunter's Point?

 

[mekanoplastik]

nice...i like "counterweight"..it really conunterweights the pic to the right

..

sf airport has some cool highways to picture...lots of concrete...

 

[Teerawit]

Wow nice pics!

What camera did you use?

 

[KYTGuy]

Another target rich environment for you: Western Baltimore, Maryland...

...some of the most blasted out city scapes I have ever seen - it is just astounding...

Take great care, though - one of my best friends was doing the same sort of thing in rural Virginia, and was shot twice with a .44 Magnum...he lost a part of his Liver, but he did survive...

 

[minya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYTGuy Take great care, though - one of my best friends was doing the same sort of thing in rural Virginia, and was shot twice with a .44 Magnum...he lost a part of his Liver, but he did survive...

Suffering for his art indeed.

 

[nanahachi]

mmmmm, my home away from home.

thanks for the great pics!! the abandoned, industrial side of SF...good stuff, man. nicely composed shots. I'm also interested in what gear you used.

 

[Gigabomber]

there are countless scenes like those in SF, oakland and most industrial cities it seems, but - unlike detroit - most of them are carefully shielded from the publics freeway driving view

 

[en480c4]

Don't forget that a lot of those buildings remain unused because of the cost of seismic retrofitting that would be required to occupy them now. The changes in building codes over the last 10-15 years are significant, and to renovate, a great deal of $$$$$$$$$$ is required to bring older buildings on teh West Coast up to code....

And no, I'm not just talking out of my ***** here, I'm a structural engineer...

 

[Wmcmanus]

It's all a necessary part of the progess we make as a society. Not to get political, but one of the main reasons that so many industrial sites stay in their abandoned state forever and a day is that the environmental clean up costs to be compliant with various laws makes it prohibitive for inspiring companies to purchase abandoned sites - even if their plan is simply to knock it all down and start anew. It's a terrible quandry to be in - to have masses of land that has been deemed useless - and it's also a tough cost to pass on to taxpayers, so having Government clean it up is not necessarily the answer either. Oh well, it makes for great photo ops! Nice work.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by en480c4 Don't forget that a lot of those buildings remain unused because of the cost of seismic retrofitting that would be required to occupy them now. The changes in building codes over the last 10-15 years are significant, and to renovate, a great deal of $$$$$$$$$$ is required to bring older buildings on teh West Coast up to code.... And no, I'm not just talking out of my ***** here, I'm a structural engineer...

We must have been posting at the same time. Interesting, what you've said about retrofitting. I was thinking more in terms of starting from a fresh slate, but many of those buildings still look useable.

 

[Illah]

Thanks all! I shot this all with a Minolta Dimage Z1 and did a little cleanup here and there in Photoshop. It was shot mostly in the Dogpatch/China Basin area of SF, not Hunter's Point. I don't really want to be biking around Hunter's Point with a camera to be honest

And about the delapidated buildings, I think the code issues are a major factor. Many of the buildings are marked with big 'UNSAFE' signs. Also most heavy industry has left SF, it's not a very cost effective town for that type of thing these days. The north end of China basin is being torn down and redeveloped into Biotech labs and residential/commercial stuff. Hell, the loft I'm in is surrounded by factories, but in 20 years I bet it's a power yuppie neighborhood (Potrero Hill). Half of Potrero Hill already is.

--Illah