Photo: "Corner Desk"

Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California

The Administration Building was construction in 1870, however many modifications have been done since. Here, you can see the drop ceiling and light fixtures.  

(Print - http://smu.gs/17eKKjm )

One another note, I'm really excited to see what +SmugMug has up their sleeve during the unveiling of the new design today!

Photo: "Break the Mold"

Glacier National Park, Montana

It seems that lately, friends of mine on G+ are sharing photos that are outside of their comfort zone, so I thought I'd share one of mine that falls into that category. 

I shot this image during a recent trip to Glacier National Park with family. Having lived in California my entire whole life, I never really had a chance to see mountains like this until this trip and I'll just say, they were glorious! 

When I began editing the images, I saw this shot and loved the snow patterns and clouds, but didn't feel like it had the impact I had hoped for. I mucked with it for about 15 minutes and then suddenly realized it had to be in B&W. 

Those of you who know my work, know I engage in minimal processing for 98% of my images and rarely convert to B&W, so this is definitely an image I feel is unique for my catalog, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

(Print - http://smu.gs/19sY35M )

The Impacts Our Environments Have On Us

Many studies have shown we are largely affected by our environments. Often we are subconsciously molded by the spaces we frequent. For the patients admitted to asylums, they are surrounded by calming colors to subconsciously assist with their moods. Those colors include pastels, such as blues, yellows, pinks and of course "institutional green." This asylum day room is much different. It contains white tile, very little color, no artwork or ambiance. 

This building is the forensic building at Weston State Hospital in West Virginia. For those of you not familiar, forensic buildings are designed to house the criminally insane, those deemed "not guilty by reason of insanity." For all intents and purposes, the forensic building was a prison, with the sole difference being that some mental health care was provided. 

Many of these patients were diagnosed as "incurable" and would spend their lives institutionalized in a building such as this, so I would like you to think about the sort of feelings one might experience in this stark, cold, and lonely environment. It is certainly not as conducive for healing as the colorful, decorated wards of the asylums that held the less dangerous patients. 

 

Photo: "Fallen Plaster"

Corridor inside the Walker Building at Central State Hospital, Georgia.

The Walker Building was constructed in 1884 for male convalescent patients. It remained in operation for 90 years before being abandoned in 1974. Three decades of heat, humidity and rain have taken a toll on the building and the hallways have become a collection of falling plaster, moldy walls and stale air. 

Photo: "You've Got A Way"

Glacier National Park, Montana 

There is something about nature that changes me completely. I've always been an observant person, but in nature that escalates to an even grander scale. I observe every vibrant flower, falling leaf, crawling inchworm, tiny singing bird, glimpse of a snowcapped mountain and still pond. I notice things most people don't see, but I rarely photograph those things because in nature, sometimes I love just being an observer. 

During the hike to Avalanche Lake a few weeks ago when I visited Glacier NP, I saw this still patch of water along the river and the only way I could imagine it as a photograph, was if I shot it with the camera resting on the ground. I guess a part of me always imagines what the world would look like if I were 2" tall. 

 (Buy a print)

USS Holland AS-32 Being Recycled

The USS Holland, the second Hunley class submarine tender, was removed from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on Thursday, July 10, 2013. She was transported to Mare Island where her hull will be cleaned, by Mare Island Ship Yard, prior to her final journey to Brownsville, Texas to be recycled.  

For me this is a big moment, as USS Holland was the first ship I ever visited in Suisun Bay back in 2010. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to wander her corridors a few more time over the years, exploring the memories and artifacts left behind by the men and women who served aboard her. 

Docked at Mare Island Ship Yard, taken during twilight

Just before the workers arrived to begin work on the hull 

The bow of USS Holland in the Mare Island Ship Yard dry dock

USS Holland was built by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company in Mississippi and commissioned in 1963. Her mission was to service submarines, replenish food supply, fuel and weapons. She carried a machine shop and was capable of repairing any portion of a submarine. 

Her first major mission began in 1964 across the Atlantic Ocean in Rota, Spain where she took over for U.S.S. Proteus, restocking missiles and supplies to the Polaris Submarines.

During her thirty three years in service, USS Holland was recognized ten times for battle efficiency. 

She was decommissioned in 1996, while in Guam, and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet shortly thereafter.  

Looking towards Mare Island, from Vallejo, at the dry dock 

The ship name has faded since being moored in the Fleet 

Read more about the USS Holland here.