Photo: "Violent Ward Doors"

 

Female violent wards at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, NJ.

 

The Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital completely shut down a few years ago, but many of the outer portions of the wings, such as the female violent wards, have been in-operational since the 1970's.

Sadly, this hospital is currently on the list for demolition and is scheduled to be torn down sometime this year.

(Follow the 'Preserve Greystone' Facebook Page to stay updated  - https://www.facebook.com/preservegreystone )

Photo: "Memories of Four"

 

Painting in the female violent ward

 

Four years ago, I had the opportunity to shoot the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey. I spent a mere few hours wandering the halls, feeling incredible rushed and unable to cure the longing in my heart for seeing the whole complex and spending countless minutes staring and photographing every detail of the asylum. 

When I returned home from that trip, I discovered about 30 of the less than 100 images I had taken, were missing off the memory card; I was devastated. 

Earlier this month, I had a chance to return and the asylum was as glorious as I remembered. Unfortunately, there is a lot more graffiti and destruction from the people who have set foot inside the walls since, but the natural decay was just as beautiful as I remembered. 

I saw this painting, in the female violent ward, four years ago. It was one of the images I lost and when I stumbled upon it again, I remembered exactly how it felt to stand in front of it and take a photo years ago. 

Photo: "Patient Ward Kitchen"

Kitchen inside the Wingdale patient wards at the former Harlem State Hospital in New York. 

The former Harlem State Hospital property was recently purchased by a religious university and state of New York caught the new owners performing illegal abatement on many buildings in November 2013 and put a hold on the construction process but not before this beautiful building was stripped. This kitchen is one of the few rooms in the building that was still in tact. 
 

Photo: "Chapel Ceiling"

Chapel inside the Administration Building at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

Greystone Psychiatric Hospital was constructed along the Kirkbride plan and admitted its first patient in 1877. The outer portions of the male and female wings were abandoned in the 1970's, but most of the remained in operation until 2008 before fully shutting down. Sadly, this massive, gorgeous hospital will be demolished later this year. 

Photo: "Blueberries"

 

Administration Building at Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York.

 

This asylum was constructed along the Hudson River in 1871 following the Kirkbride plan. The facility closed in the early 2000's and experienced a major fire in the male wing in 2007, leaving most of that wing collapsed. 

Photo: "Personnel Tunnel"

 

Dark interior, lit with Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M Flashlight. 

 

Tunnel leading to the Antenna Terminal of the Beale 851-C Titan I Missile Base in California. 

Dorcy Flashlight: Metal Gear XL-M (618 Lumen) Review

I recently received the Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M 618 lumen flashlight and since I've enjoyed shooting with the light over the last few weeks, I felt like it was time for a proper review.

Flashlight comes packaged with wrist strap

Features:

  • High (618 lumens) and low (173 lumens) output settings, powered by (6) alkaline AA batteries 
  • High setting run time = 5 hours, low setting run time = 25 hours
  • IPX-4 Water Resistant
  • Impact Resistance, up to 3 meters
  • Polycarbonate lens
  • Made of Aerospace Grade Anodized Aluminum
  • Comes with wrist strap

Construction:

The Metal Gear XL-M flashlight is large, but remarkably light for it's size, especially compared to some of my smaller, less bright lights. It feels good in your hand and the textured body really helps me feel like I have a good grip on the light while navigating and light painting. 

The on/off and brightness mode button is made of a neon yellow rubber material, which makes it easy to find in dimly lit or dark places since it's easy to feel around for.  

As I mentioned above, the light is large, so it won't fit in my tiny pant pockets, but recently I have been shooting with a lens pouch on my belt, and it fits perfectly inside there, or in an exterior pocket on my camera bag.

This light also has a great bezel, with an anti-roll feature, so I often place it face down or on it's side while resetting my composition. 

Polycarbonate lens

On/Off and brightness mode switch

Left to right: 4Sevens Quark AA tactical, Coast HP7, Nite Core MH25 Night Blade, Streamlight Stinger, Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M 

Left to right: 4Sevens Quark AA tactical, Coast HP7, Nite Core MH25 Night Blade, Streamlight Stinger, Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M 

Output/Beam:

Let's cut right to the chase, this flashlight is bright! It has 2 brightness modes, a high setting which is a 618 lumen output and a low setting which has a 173 lumen output. At the high setting it can throw up to 1,100 feet and run for approximately 5hrs. At the low setting, it still throws around 600 feet and can run to up to 25hrs! (In all my shooting over the last few weeks I have not had to replace the batteries yet.) 

I have used both brightness modes while navigating through dark spaces and shooting and each one has its own perk.  The low setting tends to work better for light painting because it's not too bright and the hot spot is less obvious. The high setting works better for trying to light up things in the distance or look for something to photograph.  

High output setting (Same camera settings as the low output image)

High output setting 
(Same camera settings as the low output image)

Low output setting(Same camera setting as the high output image)

Low output setting
(Same camera setting as the high output image)

I am very fond of the color temperature of this light, because it's in between a cool LED and warm incandescent. (See image below comparing 3 lights) I tend to prefer my light painted images to be on the warmer side, but I also like the long run time and bulb sustainability of an LED, so I feel like this light accomplishes both of those things.  

Left to Right: NiteCore MH25 Night Blade, Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M, Streamlight Stinger (incandescent) 

Left to Right: NiteCore MH25 Night Blade, Dorcy Metal Gear XL-M, Streamlight Stinger (incandescent) 

 

Titan I Missile Base tunnel, pitch dark
13 seconds, f/9 @ ISO 1600 - Flashlight remained on, in a static position, for the duration of the exposure 

 

Recommended Uses:

  • Photography: This light works well for light painting, especially when using an f-stop of f/9 or f/11, which reduces the trails of the light's hot spot as you are painting. Because this light is so bright, it also works well if you cannot stand close to what you need to light. In addition, the high brightness setting also allows for cool beam effects in fog or dusty landscapes. (See sample images below)
     
  • Navigation: This light is fantastic for navigating through the dark, especially if there are no concerns of being "spotted." The high setting allows for long distance spotting of lurking wildlife, dangers ahead or for a great view of what's in front of you while you're hiking, navigating tunnels, etc.
      
  • Vehicle/Emergency: This light would be a great go-to light for an emergency (especially for your vehicle) as it has a long run time at the low setting, but it also bright enough to call attention, for example, if you had car trouble on the side of the road in a remote place. In addition, if the power goes out, bouncing this light off the ceiling will help illuminate your space until the power is restored. 
     

Sample Images:

Battery Godfrey, San Francisco
15 seconds, f/9 @ ISO 1000 - Flashlight remained on for the duration of the exposure. 

Battery Godfrey, San Francisco
118 seconds, f/9 @ ISO 200 - Flashlight was used to 'light paint' the foreground for the duration of the exposure

Battery Godfrey, San Francisco
120 second, f/10 @ ISO 250 - Flashlight was used to 'light paint' the scene for the duration of the exposure

Battery Godfrey, San Francisco
15 seconds, f/8 @ ISO 1600 - Flashlight remained on for the duration of the exposure

Sutro Bath Ruins, San Francisco
20 seconds, f/8 @ ISO 1600 - Flashlight remained on for the duration of the exposure

Titan I Missile Base tunnel, pitch dark
2 seconds, f/7.1 @ ISO 800 - Flashlight (in my hand) remained on during the exposure

 

Titan I Missile Base tunnel, pitch dark
55 seconds, f/11 @ ISO 200 - Flashlight was used to 'light paint' tunnel for approximately 45 seconds. 

 

If you're interested in purchasing this light, visit  - http://www.dorcy.com/p-438-41-0435-metal-gear-xl-m-extreme-618-lumen-led-flashlight.aspx

(Thank you to Dorcy for providing the flashlight.)

Photo: "Equipment Terminal"

 

Light seeps into Level III, the 'Launch and Checkout Room,' of the equipment terminal at the Beale 851-C Titan I Missile Base.

 

The equipment terminal contained 4 floors, accessed by personnel elevators and ladders connecting the levels. The walls were 18" thick and suspended in such a way that they would not be damaged if there was an explosion in the nearby silo.

"Missile Launch Silo No. 2"

 

Looking into the no. 2 launch silo inside the Beale 851-C Titan I Missile Base

 

During the base's operation (1962-1965), the 165 foot deep launch silo would have contained a crib structure to support the 52 foot tall Titan I missile. 

Photo: "Blinding Perspective"

Construction on the Hartsville Nuclear Plant came to a halt midway through the process, leaving the plant looking other-worldly. It's full of abstract shapes, rebar poking out from cement, steps leading to incomplete floors and some beautiful patterns around the lower ring of the unfinished cooling tower. This particular tower had been completed and stood a few hundred feet tall, looking down on the disarray below.