Photo: "Lost Stories Inspire Me"

Tonight, I was a guest on a Google+ 'Hangout On Air' where we talked about inspiration.  I shared this photograph and explained how finds like this are what drive me to continue photographing forgotten places. Not only do I enjoy the beautiful architecture, but I strive to document the stories that aren't being told; stories about patients, employees and visitors to all these empty spaces. 

The suitcases have been sitting in the attic of the West Tennessee Hospital for the Insane' for decades. When patients were admitted, they carried one suitcase of items to the hospital. Some contained curlers and hair brushes, others contained photographs and letters from loved ones, but all of the suitcases you see here were never returned to the patients and these stories remained lost inside this attic forever. 

Photo: "The Sun Will Always Rise"

Sunrise over San Francisco, November 2013

 To say my life has been hectic lately would be a bit of an understatement, but even amongst the craziness, I know that eventually things will slow down and I'll get to plant my feet back on solid ground.  

I did manage to squeeze in a bit of camera time on Saturday shooting sunrise with a few friends. The conditions weren't exactly what we'd hoped for, but it was nice to be out and feeling the crisp wind on my cheeks at 5am. 

Photo: "Sea Of Green"

Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia when the Georgia Lunatic Asylum, later known as Central State Hospital, was opened in 1842. Overcrowding quickly became a problem and expansion projects began in the 1870's and continued well into the 1960's.  The Walker Building, designed to house male convalescent patients, was constructed in 1884. 

Photo: "Two-Toned"

Blue hour light mixes with sodium vapor streetlamps inside this day room.  

Central State Hospital is the oldest psychiatric facility in the state of Georgia, admitting its first patient in 1842. This building, the Walker Building, wasn't constructed until 1884, but remained in operation for almost a century. Today, much of the top floor of the building has experienced severe damage due to the humid, wet conditions of the area. 

Photo: "Streetlight Cures"

Light from a streetlamp, just before dawn, seeps into a patient room at the Mont Alto Sanatorium in Pennsylvania.

The roots of the sanatorium began in 1901 with one shack in the mountains of Pennsylvania. This building, Unit 2, was constructed in 1938 and designed as a Children's Preventorium, to treat tuberculosis.

Photo: "Light Inside"

I had the opportunity last week to make a return trip to the beautiful St. Joseph's Church in San Francisco. 

In 1906, an earthquake and fire destroyed this building. It was reconstructed in 1913 and remained in operation until the 1989 quake when it was deemed structurally unsound. The church has been vacant since. 

(Print - http://smu.gs/16K169Z )