Adventures in Tamron: No Trespassing

By Jillian Bell

Have you ever been driving along, and come across a great photographing opportunity? And did you stop? This blog post is about exactly that….

I was driving in Louisiana with Jeff Allen and David Akoubian (two other amazing Tamron photographers) looking for lunch after an early morning shoot. Back past the road, stood this worn down silo with "Paper Mill" written down the side. Not sure how to get back to it, or even what the building looked like, our stomachs won out and we kept on driving. The thing is; something in my gut knew I had to go investigate. It didn't take much convincing; we headed back in that direction after our appetites had been satisfied. Down along a winding gravel road, behind a garden shop stood the run down, overgrown factory. It was amazing! Parking the car, I jump out, camera in hand inspired by such a great find. Stopping only for a moment to see "NO TRESPASSING" posted throughout the grounds. "Now what do we do?" I asked. "There are always two options" David replied, "shoot until you are asked to leave, or find a way to get permission". Here is my advice, get permission. It is always easier to plead your case beforehand, than ask for forgiveness after you get caught. Finding someone on the grounds was not difficult. With the garden shop abandoned we found a mechanic working at another nearby building. He was shocked! No one had ever asked for permission before and was surprised by our forethought. A little kindness goes a long way. He allowed us access to wherever we needed to go. The lighting this day was perfect. Having a harsh mid-day light allowed dark shadows to project dark lines on the brick giving my 2^nd photograph more interest. I decided to focus on lines and ended up with three amazing photographs. I used a polarizing filter with these to even out the extreme dark to light contrast. The first photograph shows part of the silo, with what is left of the outer wall/roof. You can see the water tower from the nearby town in the background. The other two I enjoyed the aging process, first in the graffiti and overgrowth, in the other, the decomposing of cement. They work well as a pair, one being dramatic and colorful, the second more of a gritty B&W, both having a similar subject and composition. They were all photographed in Aperture Priority mode, F11, a half stop overexposed for the shadows.

There is a reason a good photographer always has a camera on them. It is moments like this I would have regretted. Overall, never be afraid to ask the right questions, but never assume you have the right to be there. Keep your eyes open, and as always THANK YOU for reading – Jillian