Itinerant Dispatches

Urbex: That creepy farmhouse

2012-02-11T15:26:00.000-05:00

There is an abandoned farmhouse not far from where I live. I pass it often and have been inside a couple of times. I do not usually like exploring old houses since the hazards are increased. Things like collapsing floors, angry property owners and vagrants I would like to avoid.

I neglected to shoot any photos on previous visits and wanted to get a few while the light was right.

The natural concealment of summer was also lacking and "police interaction" is not on my list of things to do today.

Back to skull

2012-02-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Sometimes life allows a person to choose their paths and have some modicum of control over their future. Other times, live has events that change the course of a persons life.

I left active duty last year. I loved the Navy, but it was clearly time to move on. I took on a civilian job but disliked it intensely from the get go. The company itself is up for sale and the day to day management was focused on revenue and only paid lip service to taking care of employees.

At the insistent urging and support of my better half. I am going back to graduate school. Way back in 2006, I started my Masters Degree in History and was doing rather well. Life intervened as it often does and I deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti in rapid succession. This served not only to interrupt, but sever my efforts.

I have been looking at schools and have narrowed it down to two schools. Whichever one I decide to go with will determine the type of masters degree I will earn. One will lead to an M.A. in Military History and the other will result in an M.B.A. in Acquisition and Supply Chain Management.

One degree is for me, the other is more "career enhancing". Either way, I will have homework and papers to write to a degree I have not seen since the early to mid 1990s!!

Urbex: Cotton Mill Power Plant

2012-02-09T13:07:00.000-05:00

Coal was delivered on this spur line and dumped downwards into four concrete boxes.

This particular mill was first built in 1822 and was powered by a 30 foot water wheel. Sometime around 1900 the plant was converted to a three boiler, coal fired steam system.

Originally used to make canvas for sailing ships, the plant kept up with the times and made canvas for the US Army for use in vehicle covers, tents and uniforms during both World War I and II. The mill closed in 1947.

The mill has since been converted to other uses, but the power plant remains in place rotting away silently.

There is still a good amount of machinery that dates from 1900-1918. I especially liked the riveted construction of the piping and boilers.

Strange Weapons: KS-23

2012-02-06T22:44:00.000-05:00

Although a shotgun by design, the KS-23 has a rifled barrel and is thus listed by Russian weapons designers as a "special" carbine.

The shotgun fires a 23mm round which using US standard would be a 6 gauge shotgun and 4 gauge by European standard. The shotgun is pump action and only holds four rounds. This impressive weapon was designed using 23mm anti aircraft gun barrels that were rejected during the manufacturing process. The intent was to use this large gauge scattergun to suppress prison riots.

Ammunition for this beast includes buckshot, rubber "non lethal", CN and CS gas and a steel solid shot that can go through an engine block at 100 meters.

Urbex: Return to the Thistle Mill

2012-01-29T16:31:00.000-05:00

Went back to the old mill yesterday, this time with my friend Marc. The memory of my run in with a homeless (and quite clearly mentally disturbed man) was still crystal clear in my mind. 

This trip was quite different, every time we turned a corner, we ran into other people.  They were all quite friendly, but it kind of kills the mindset and mood for me. I prefer the isolation, quiet and solitude of exploring an abandoned place. 

No crazy homeless guy, no desolate gray skies. It was warm for a late January day and the sun was shining. 

This time I got to see the uppermost floors and other parts of the facility I did not get to see last time. 

The lighting was great this time. It was an overcast and miserable day last time. 

I do not know if there will be a return trip to this place. I have seen everything and there are plenty of other sites to go see.

Urbex: A study

2012-01-27T17:20:00.002-05:00

This old farmhouse is located not too far from where I live. I wanted to see how many moods I could get in just a few shots. The use of black & white vs. color. Saturated vs. desaturated color and other effects can do a lot to change the way the viewer feels about the subject. The composition of the shot also has a huge impact.

Urbex: Glass Factory

2012-01-25T19:01:00.001-05:00

Last weekend one of the sites Marc and I got to investigate is an old factory that made cobalt blue glass for medicine.

There were not a lot of artifacts left behind from the operating days except for some shards of glass and electrical controls on the walls. The old warehouse next door was a gallery of graffiti, most of it was rather well done.

Urbex: Abandoned Trolley, Bridge and Tunnel

2012-01-24T11:30:00.001-05:00

While out wandering about after finding and exploring two major sites. A good friend and I continued to scout out a likely locale for urbex sites. They seem to be in clusters and today was no exception!

I spotted the salvaged bridge first, Marc spotted the trolley immediately next to it. The trolley car was in pretty bad shape overall. The flooring and roof were gone, it appeared to be on blocks as well. I suspect this trolley was used for spare parts to restore another car or keep others running. The interior and ground around the trolley was littered with cat food cans. The municipal workers nearby must have been feeding a whole herd of strays.

The era of the trolley looks to be 1920s or so judging by photos of different trolley cars I have located on the web.

Trolley 7059 rusts away in peace....

The bridge looks to be the right size for trolleys. It looks similar in design to the Bollman truss bridge I had posted about a while back. It was up off the ground on old rails and had cross beams bolted to it in two large "X" and painted black to differentiate them from the bridge itself. It would be great to see this bridge reused as a footpath bridge someday.

The last thing we spotted was a tunnel quite nearby. It was blocked off 50 meters back and the area that was accessible was full of dirt half way up from the old rail bed. It is easy to surmise that way back it was a trolley tunnel. The old station was nearby and it was narrower than a usual train tunnel. It was brick lined and in remarkably good shape. Just a shame it was back-filled with dirt. From the mattresses and other debris, it looked as if this man made cave was a place for homeless to sleep.

Harry's bubble wrap fort

2012-01-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Put down any kind of bag or box and Harry will go hang out in it. He's the adventurous sort, more so than the average cat. This bubble wrap is almost impossible to pop. The air chambers are connected, cool material and Harry agreed.

Taken with my Nikon D7000 and my new fixed 35mm f1.8 lens. Decided not to process these, but i may mess with the "attack mode" shot.

Attack mode.............

Urbex: Coal Breaker recon/explore

2012-01-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

Despite the outside air temperature hitting Fifteen degrees Fahrenheit and a windchill that dropped the temperature to damn near zero. My better half and I loaded up early and headed out to a site that must be experienced. This particular coal breaker was built in 1932 and opened in 1933. As it stands now, this breaker is the largest in the world. It could process over 12,000 tons of coal per day through it's two lines.

The structure is quite imposing. So much so my better half decided to stay on the ground floor for the most part. I did a quick ascent up to the 6th level and took photos rather fast. There was something cool at every turn. I could easily spend a whole day here.

It was so cold, my Nikon D7000 was starting to act up a little. In addition, Voodoo lady went back to the truck to warm up and was asked of she was okay by a local. That was the cue to pop smoke and call for extract.

I will most certainly return to this site again and again. There is mush more to see and spots I did not get to this time.

Urban Exploration: Site Z

2012-01-14T22:40:00.004-05:00

Arms room

Ladder well up to first deck

Basement access

Freight elevator

I got a chance to see a pretty unique building thanks to my friend Fred. It was a USMC barracks in the 40s-60s time frame.

It had later been used as apartments for families and had been vacated fairly recently. Sadly, the upper floors no longer retained any trace of the USMC era.

The building had once had it's own galley, laundry, arms room, brig, offices, and rooms for the Marines.

The entire building is slated for demolition, but still had power and heat. That is a luxury for Urbexers. Usually is is cold, and damp and smelly!


Cage door to supply storage space.

Laundry area.

How To: Urban Exploration Tips And Tactics VI

2012-01-12T16:48:00.003-05:00

PROTECTING THE LOCATION

One of the major disappointments of revisiting a site is to discover a building had been burned or that new vandalism and graffiti has appeared. Worse, that scrappers have come and gone.

This disrespectful and ignorant activity directly leads to the accelerated degradation of a site. The property owners may decide to demolish rather than restore a site if too much damage is done.

Vandalism on the order I have seen in some sites is on par with the scrappers. Walls are partially or fully demolished, floors and ceilings are compromised. The whole structure becomes more unstable. It makes the site more dangerous for anyone.

These ill-minded people are the natural enemies of the Urban Explorer. We leave only footprints behind and take only photos, right? Those that seek to damage a site for a cheap thrill or for monetary gain should be looked upon with scorn.

There is a way to prolong a sites tenure.

1. Do not geo-tag a photo or give exact locations. When posting trip reports, blogging, putting photos up on the web or on Facebook, avoid using street addresses, the name of the facility, and even the city. Disclosure will only speed up the demise of the site.

2. Do not use the proper name of the location. It may seem elitist or snobbish to not share with other urban explorers. While there are some people like this, generally this is not the case. Most of us have learned the hard way not to use the sites name or giving directions. I am even cautious not to post photos that may give away some sort of landmark that can be used to deduce the location.

One well used tactic is to give the site a fake name. Some use a nearby street, but this is not the best idea if it is a unique street name. I either use a name other Urbexers have already previously established as a pseudonym, or I use initials. That way I am not giving away information. Initials are hard to decipher, the made up names sometimes contain a clue.

The sad fact is eventually all sites go away. Some are reconstructed/remodeled/repurposed, some burn down or are demolished. It is the duty of Urban Explorers to help forestall this as long as possible so that others in this hobby may enjoy a site.

Three Places..............

2012-01-09T21:00:00.002-05:00

If I could go to three places that are abandoned to both explore and photograph. There are they....

"Battleship" Hashima Island, Japan

Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine

Picher, Oklahoma

It is mainly a function of distance and personal finances that I have not been to these places. The distances are great in all cases. Two of the three are contaminated, one by radiation and the other by toxins to include lead. While the drive to explore is great. The desire to preserve my health and very existence are also just as great.

Perhaps in years to come the opportunity will arise to explore such unique places.

Strange Weapons: Borgward IV

2012-01-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

Note the size compared to the Assault guns.

The Borgward IV next to a Panther tank. Note the Borgward IV does not have a charge installed on the front.

Previously, I posted about the Goliath remote controlled mine. Most devotees to military history are aware of that weapon system's existence. Later two larger remote mine systems were developed, the failed Springer and the slightly more successful Borgward IV (Sd. Kfz. 301). These systems are lesser known. The Borgward IV had decent operational range and speed, 75 miles and 25MPH respectively. The main usage was for demolition of obstacles and enemy strong-points and bunkers.

Unlike the previous two versions which were completely destroyed when used in combat. The Borgward was a light tank that could be either driven by a human or remotely controlled to the target and drop off it's 990 pound charge. The vehicle would then withdraw to safety and the charge detonated via electric to time fuse.

They were harder to conceal than the smaller Goliath and Springer in frontline situations. The system had minimal armor, 13mm on the sides and 10mm on the front. Thus making them easier targets. Only around 1200 Borgward IV systems were completed and saw moderate success in combat.

In Soviet hands, note the 6 barrel rocket launcher .

One variant that did work well was to mount a six barreled panzerschreck rocket launcher for an anti-tank role. It's small size that was a hindrance before made it good for hiding in ambush for Soviet and other Allied armor with a manned crew.

Only three examples survive in museums today. The most recent was uncovered in March 2010 during train station construction in Vienna Austria. That example is currently undergoing restoration.

Strange Weapons: Progvev-T

2012-01-01T22:01:00.002-05:00

Looking like something out of a sci-fi movie. The concept was simple to imagine. Take a jet engine and use the considerable heat and blast effect to clear and disable mines. Easy right? The Soviets tried to do just that with the Progvev-T......

The only problem with the design is the size of the tank and noise generated do not make it a stealthy beast at all. Weighing in at 37 tons, it is not light. The MiG-15 engine used a lot of fuel. The T-55 hull could take the weight with no problem however. It just was an easy target and no assurance that every mine would be cleared.

This was simply a good idea that did not work out. Even if modified to take two MiG-21 engines. This time the idea was to use the force of the engine's blast to knock out oil well fires. It was marginally more effective than in the mine clearing role.

The Shaker Movement

2012-01-01T19:50:00.004-05:00

Spent the day at a preserved Shaker settlement. This particular one started in the 1820s and survived until 1910. Following the collapse of the commune, the lots and buildings were sold off piecemeal. It became a regular town until a preservation trust was formed and started buying back as much of the land and buildings as they could get. Shakers were a communalist religious movement that valued hard work.

What killed off the Shakers was a combination of three factors according to some of the personnel working there. 1. The movement was one of celibacy. They relied on people joining the movement to keep it populated. 2. The industrial revolution made it easier for an individual and smaller families to survive. The ability to mass produce goods also did not bode well for the Shakers hand made items. 3. Post civil war, Shakers attracted mostly widowed women and their children. The men of the order were growing older and had more people to feed that could not necessarily help in the fields. I found the theory quite interesting. There is currently only one active Shaker community in Maine with just three members.

This former Shaker village one of the more well preserved and maintained of the former Shaker communities. They have found multiple ways of accruing financial support. They have over 30 miles of hiking trails also used for horseback. They have an inn that uses rooms in multiple buildings on the property. They also have a great restaurant. Naturally, the trust also sells handmade items made in much the same way as the Shakers did.

Urbex: Cutoff

2011-12-31T20:36:00.002-05:00

Today on our way to our day's activities. We took a rural two lane road instead of the soul draining main highways.

For Urbex possibilities, back roads offer more chances of finding a site and to stop and possibly investigate. The first stop was a now disused tunnel. The new road cut around the rock outcropping and proceeded towards the bridge.

The second is a style of gas station popular in the 1920s and 30s. The curbside station allowed a traveler to simply pull over to the side of the road. The pumps were located perilously close to the roadside.

This one met it's demise sometime around the early 1960s. The rural highway was rerouted and the local town dried up. That killed any chance of the station making it any longer.

Urbex: Abandoned Jail

2011-12-30T22:31:00.000-05:00

Having already done all necessary research as to the location of this site beforehand. It was easy to drive out to it and take a look around. Although there is not much left save for three walls and what is left of the barred windows. It is interesting to see nonetheless...........

The top part of the windows has rails from train tracks used in the construction. The walls were not exactly as thick as one would think for a jail or prison.

Ghost Paint

2011-12-26T20:56:00.001-05:00

I always liked to see different ghost advertisements when out running around. They can appear in major cities and I have seen some wonderfully preserved advertisements in some really small towns.

Montreal's old town is no exception. The use of painted signs on buildings was the accepted norm here for a long time. They held up better in cold weather than "normal" signage. The wind cannot knock them down. They took little maintenance and if the company moves or goes under, a coat of white paint is all it took to remove any trace. Thankfully, many of these old business signs and advertisements still remain despite the cold and despite efforts to remove them.

I had a wonderful time walking around with my lovely wife. The only downer is our favorite cafe, Cafe St Paul had been closed since our last visit and replaced with an Indian food establishment. SACRAMENT DE TABARNAC!!! CIBOIRE DE CRISS !! Oh well....we'll find another cafe.....

2x Urbex Recon: Hebrew Orphanage and Mayfair Theater.

2011-12-19T11:07:00.004-05:00

After the excitement of the day before. I wanted to do some more urbexing, but was feeling a little sore and did not want any more unpleasantness to occur like the day before.

I decided to recce two sites for future hacks. If there was an easy ingress and egress presented. I might have just gone for it. However, both sites were inaccessible at the time. Neither would have been too smart to tackle on my own anyway.

The Hebrew orphanage was open in the 1870s as an orphanage and closed in 1923. In 1924 it became part of West Baltimore General Hospital which in turn closed in 1989. The more modern section has been torn down leaving the old orphanage standing empty. It is on the list of historic places, but preservation dollars are scarce. It appears the floors are held up by internal bracing (never a good sign) and it sits in a "less than welcoming" area of the city.

Not far away is the Mayfiar theater. It was also built in the 1870s and was open until the late 1980s. Externally, it looks like it is in great shape, However sometime in the 1990s. Lack of preservation and care resulted in a total roof collapse. There are still parts of the structure that can be explored, but with the fragile nature of the structure. A second or even third person would be needed for safety. It also sits on the edge of a economically depressed area.

Solo Urbex: Thistle Mill II

2011-12-18T20:21:00.002-05:00

More photos from Saturday............

Solo Urbex: St. Mary's College and Another Train Tunnel!

2011-12-18T17:12:00.003-05:00

After my urbex afternoon was derailed a bit by the batshit crazy homeless guy. I was determined not to let that ruin my day.

Very close to the Thistle Mill is a set of train tracks that lead to another tunnel in a series along this same track (see earlier posts).

The bridge was built in 1941 and the tunnel was rebuilt and expanded in 1903 and is 1405 feet long. After shooting the tracks, and being very conscious of trains since three had passed in about an hour in the area. I noticed a set of stone steps going up the hillside. It then hit me I stumbled upon my next site of the day.

St. Marys college was a all male prep school/seminary run by a Catholic Order called Redemptionists that opened in 1866 and closed its doors in 1972 the last class was a mere 10 students. Once the college could have upwards of 200. The buildings sat empty until the main building burned on 1 Nov 1997, halloween weekend. In February 2006 the shell of the main building was razed for "safety concerns".

I did locate a "basement" of sorts and climbed down through the hole to investigate. The structure had a poured concrete roof, and the walls were made of limestone fragments and bricks. It only had three rooms and was not too exciting. Apparently it was partly a garage and party a workshop for the schools vehicles.

Apparently there is another set of ruins of the former second building that burned in 1968 but I have yet to locate it. Again arsonists and vandals have destroyed a perfectly good place to explore.

Dec 2011

1868

Solo Urbex: Thistle Mill

2011-12-18T12:58:00.001-05:00

So I went on another solo explore yesterday. Everyone was busy so it was going to be Me, Myself and I. I really so not mind going anywhere by myself. I just amp up my situational awareness and stay extra careful.

I got into the abandoned paper mill with little difficulty. There are numerous entrances. This should have alerted me to potential trouble. The mill first opened in the 1840s and closed for the final time in 2003 after a major fire.

The first thing I see is a couple, one guy and a girl both in 20s-30s. Doing some photography in front of a large graffiti mural, sans culottes. They were as surprised as I was. I made a quick joke about it being too cold for such a thing, they laughed and I quickly went a different direction.

Going down a very dark second floor hallway with large rooms off to each side, I heard a voice talking. Other urbexers perhaps?

Encounter 1: A clearly homeless man was standing in a room that was only lit by a single glass-less window. He was alternately muttering at the ground and at the ceiling. I was trying to back away when he saw me and started saying some babble about photos and me taking his photo (I didn't) and he wanted my camera, NOW. As he came at me I pulled my Gerber auto folder and using my best commanding voice demanded he stop and asked if he really wanted to do this. He backed away and so did I. At this point I was going back to the couple photographing themselves to warn them. I retrospect should have bugged out right then.

Encounter 2: Before I could even get to where the couple were, the homeless man came out of nowhere. My senses were in full on combat mode, yet I never heard him approach. He lunged at me screaming from a pitch black room to my right and I saw a flash in my vision. Perhaps I got hit, but I do not remember it. He was not a big man. Perhaps 5'5" at most and in his late 40s. I reacted with all the years of training Tae Kwon Do and the Navy provided me. I used a middle block with my right arm and with my left hand hit him as hard as I could on the side of his head just forward of his ear. He fell to the ground and lay there. I redeployed my Gerber and shuffled back two steps to gain space. If he had attacked again. Well, I knew what I would have done.

I retreated back the way I came and saw the couple bug out from a window. They must have heard the yelling and got scared. I worked my way across the buildings (the floors were full of holes and fire damaged) to the far end. I found a pretty badly damaged staircase and descended. I was outside now and even more confident I could defend myself here with no problem.

Encounter 3: As i made my way back down the buildings outside, the river to my right. I came around a corner and there he was again. He was standing facing me, shoulders hunched forward (a sign of aggression) and fists clenched (ditto). He was muttering in complete gibberish. He looked ready for another scrap. I was ready because my adrenalin stayed high. I was also getting pretty sick of this.

I put up my hands, palms open and backed around the corner out of his line of sight. I pulled out my Gerber and took up a defensive position. He would only get that one chance to blindside me. I slowly peaked back around the corner of an open loading dock door to see him making his way to the exit (a hole in the fence/gate). I then took this photo (see below) as a souvenir to remind me to stay alert when doing this hobby. Complacency kills.

The mutant that attacked me and lost.

I made my way back to my truck and was putting gear back into my truck when three mountain bikers, two female and one male asked if I saw a crazy guy here. They had come from the direction he went and apparently he lunged at one of the women and tried to grab her bike.

This will not stop me from doing this hobby. I wish my regular urbex partner was with me, but I will continue to go solo if necessary.

I ended up having a migraine from hell last night and my jaw is sore today. In all a weak punch on his part. I only hit him once and knocked him out or at the least a severe stun. I only had 5 inches in height, 50+ pounds and a shit ton of anger in my favor.

Violence is always the last option. I do not pretend to be a tough guy or a bad ass. I know my limitations and capabilities. I am very aware how lucky I am. Had my assailant had a weapon such as a knife or pistol. I may not be here writing this.

Solo Urbex: Power Plant II

2011-12-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

My attempt to make a "WPA: 70 years later" style poster

Some more photos from last weekend's explore. This particular power plant appears to be in the process of being cleaned up in anticipation of demo sadly. I need to revisit this site soon with more daylight to spare.

Listening to:
R.E.M. - "Finest Worksong"
Nitzer Ebb - "Control I'm Here"

I love the textures in this shot.

Urban Exploration: Then and Now

2011-12-12T20:41:00.002-05:00

Occasionally, I come across a photo of a site when it was still occupied by people. I have earlier posts on Dachau and other sites.

Today, I discovered a photo of the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Maryland that was open and in use until around 1965 or so. The wife and I came across the site on a walk in 2010. What a difference a few decades make!

Photo Shauplatz

2011-12-12T14:43:00.004-05:00

Here's a plug for a new tumblr blog of my good friend Eric's photography....

http://spiderwerks.tumblr.com/

I recommend keeping an eye on this page...........

Solo Urbex: Power Plant

2011-12-11T18:52:00.001-05:00

Went out today to do a solo explore. My better half wrenched her back at the barn and after putting her to bed with advil and a heating pad on the affected area. I set out.

This particular plant was coal fired, and drew water from a nearby small river to turn into steam to run the 8 turbines. This plant closed in 1972. There seemed to be some recent activity, but I am not sure what is going on.

There was, much to my dismay, a newish looking chain link fence topped by barbed wire around the entire facility. It took me a minute or two to figure out a way in and entry was gained fairly quickly.

The plant looks kind of small on the outside, but inside was cavernous. There is a lot of damage to equipment and graffiti. Although there was still some gear and even paperwork scattered around.

In all I spent an hour inside. The sun was going down and not wanting to navigate in the dark. I decided it was time to go home. I could easily make more trips here, there is much more to see and document.

...and now for something completely different

2011-12-09T00:59:00.001-05:00

Been writing way too much on urbexing and reenacting. I got asked tonight what albums have had the most profound effect on me.

The two lists below are in no particular order.

I tend to like making "lists". Perhaps when I get old and have one marble rolling around my skull. I'll sit and scrawl lists on walls or babble them to myself.....

1. R.E.M. - "Green"
2. Uncle Tupelo - "Anodyne"
3. Lush - "Spooky"
4. Joy Division - "Unknown Pleasures"
5. R.E.M. - "Fables Of The Reconstruction"
6. They Might Be Giants - "Lincoln"
7. Ned's Atomic Dustbin - "God Fodder"
8. Archer's Of Loaf - "Vee Vee"
9. Poster Children - "Flower Plower"
10.

I also am taking some writer's license here. I am including books that have had a huge influence on me as well. It is tough to just list 10!

1. John Krakauer - "Into The Wild"
2. Jack Kerouac - "On The Road"
3. George Orwell - "Down And Out In Paris And London"
4. Hunter S. Thompson - "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas"
5. George Orwell - "Homage To Catalonia"
6. Jim Goad - "The Redneck Manifesto"
7. Ray Bradbury - "Fahrenheit 451"
8. Robert Heinlein - "Starship Troopers"
9. William Faulkner - "The Sound And The Fury"
10. Tim O'Brien - "The Things They Carried"

Urban Exploration: Not necessarily how to....Music.

2011-12-08T00:18:00.001-05:00

I had been thinking about this when a discussion online with another Urbex aficionado prompted me to post this topic. Music has played a part in the Urban Exploration hobby for me ever since my start in the hobby all those years ago (26 or so!). One could call all it mood music, or a soundtrack. What I listen to before an explore and especially after, when I am processing the photos can direct the mood of the photos. Certain buildings have a certain presence that i try to capture in the image. Foreboding, loneliness, defiance, whatever. There is a sound that matches what I am trying to capture. I first used this technique when I was painting. I let the music move me in one direction or another.

Abandoned churches lean towards Sons Of Perdition or Those Poor Bastards. A factory might make me listen to old industrial or EBM bands like Nitzer Ebb or Nine Inch Nails. A summertime explore on a sunny, hot and hazy afternoon screams R.E.M. or Uncle Tupelo to me. I let the site and the weather dictate what I listen to.

When safe back at home. I let the music help me recapture the mood to facilitate processing and get the right feel in color and texture.

I never, ever listen to music when on a site however. You will often hear someone else before you see them. Hearing is essential to keep from being caught in a bad situation.

Here is a list of some of the music I listen to:

Skinny Puppy
Dead Can Dance
Joy Division
Those Poor Bastards
Hank Williams III
Sons Of Perdition
Uncle Tupelo
R.E.M. (especially older stuff)
Bauhaus
Peter Murphy
Ministry
Nitzer Ebb
Nine Inch Nails (older stuff)

Urban Unusual: Broken Neon, Ghost Signs

2011-12-06T12:43:00.001-05:00

I personally really enjoy taking the older highways and back roads when I am out on a road trip. You tend to see more and the pace is a little slower. You are forced to take a little time to see the countryside.

Super highways are built for speed and lack any sort of style. It is the same scenery mile after mile. Back roads and old highways like Route 1, Route 144 (old National Highway) have more to offer. I have found the best diners and antique stores, abandoned places and old signs to businesses long past.

I have been going through my older photos and processing them to a finer standard. These are some of my favorites.Ghost neon tends to be Gas Stations, Motels, Diners and Drive In theaters but just about any old business can have a sign like these.

It is always curious to me when I find a sign for a hotel or other business and only a stub of a driveway remains. The building is long gone and only a field, the sign and the driveway remains. It is up to the viewer to decide what the building looked like.

Urban Exploration Tips & Tactics V: Archetypes

2011-12-01T15:35:00.001-05:00

To the unfamiliar Urban Exploration is simply running around empty places where we should in all reality not be. There are sub-genres like in any hobby. I figured it is a good time to break down some of the major types of Urban Exploration.

Abandonment: I believe the most common and the most known archetype. This can range from Amusement parks, Factories, Jails, Hospitals, and Churches/Cathedrals all the way down to smaller fare like Houses. Lots of Urbexers seem to specialize in one type or another and it is all predicated on personal preference and what is available. In my early days of UE, my friends and I were limited to bike riding range (we were 12). So that restriction meant we were limited to local factories, houses and other close places. Now, I can drive up to several hours away for a good explore. This is my main area of focus. I especially like old hospitals, jails and schools. More bang for the buck, so to speak.

Rooftopping: This is the act of getting onto rooftops of mostly still active structures. This can be skyscrapers, major bridges, cathedrals, etc. The amount of preparation to actually pull it off seems to be extensive. Since 9/11, many buildings have heightened security and measure to keep people out of places like rooftops. This seems to be one of the more dangerous genres of the hobby. Several have been killed while attempting to get out onto some pretty lofty places. I have dabbled in this area, but only rooftops of already abandoned places. The idea of getting struck by lightning or falling to my death only makes me want to hide in a couch cushion/blanket fort for several days. This genre of the hobby has gotten very popular in recent months. Unfortunately it will lead to accidents and fatalities.

Caving/Draining : The exact opposite of the rooftopper. These intrepid adventurers go underground to find their fun. Storm drains, sewers, and even real caves are the ideal for this genre. Some storm drain networks can extend for dozens of miles. There are chambers that can be the size of a High School gymnasium that branch off in multiple directions. The types and configurations of drain systems is staggering and varies from city to city and country to country. The main hazards in this area are flash floods, oxygen displacing gasses, and getting hopelessly lost/stuck. I tried this area early on and after emerging from a storm drain covered in spiderwebs and their angry eight legged residents, decided to try something else. I also had an experience where the water level went from a gurgling ankle deep to knee deep and rushing quite fast in seconds. Scared does not begin to describe. It was not even raining anywhere near to where we were.

Active Buildings "Infiltration": Similar in intent to rooftoppers, this is the genre that likes to see what is beyond the "no admittance" signs. The intended areas tend to be maintenance floors, sub-basements, mechanical rooms, elevator rooms, and abandoned or unused floors of active buildings.The biggest hazard is getting arrested here. It seems to happen more often in the world of post 9/11 paranoia.

Steam Tunnels & Transit Tunnels: Just like it sounds, exploration of disused or active tunnels. Similar to draining, but less sewage. This one can lead to still civil penalties and run ins with hostile homeless people. The worst possible outcome is getting hit by a train. I have checked out several older train tunnels still in use. I keep looking behind me to make sure nothing is coming my way!

Rail Lines & Roads: Perhaps the smallest and least known group traces the paths of abandoned rail lines and roads/highways. This would also include bridges and tunnels also associated with the road or rail line.

There are almost endless permutations of overlap between these different styles of UE. What types of sites are hacked is almost as unique and diverse as the explorers themselves. I developed my style and what I like to explore over years. The descriptions above are just rough sketches. The experiences and amount of fun to be had is filled by each individual.

"Take Nothing But Photographs, Leave Nothing But Footprints"

Abandoned Rural Baptist Church

2011-11-27T14:43:00.001-05:00

Out roaming around this weekend past, we found a condemned church that looks to be very near collapse. Although only condemned last year. I think the parishioners of this church attempted to make repairs, but a little too late.

It appeared to be just one room with no basement or back rooms. In fact, the bathrooms were outhouses located next to the building. Not much to explore really............

About 100 yards down the road was an abandoned store. I felt as if this was not entirely abandoned and that there were occupants watching from a darkened window.

How To: Urban Exploration tips and tactics IV

2011-11-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

The "Tank Park" in Kabul 2007

Winter Urban Exploration

Daylight: Naturally the night comes on a lot faster than in summer. Exploration trips must have more preparation to execute. Travel may be hampered by snow, ice, etc.

Flashlight Usage: If a night hack is planned, the use of unfiltered flashlights may give away position to those who you do not want to know you are there. Even red or amber filters can be seen. The worst thing is to complete a hack to get busted. Not a welcome surprise.

Also on that note, flash photography is also a dead giveaway. I tend to either shoot low light shots or not at all if it is dark outside.

Gear/Clothing: Instead of one heavy jacket. Layers are advised. As you exert yourself, you will perspire. In cold weather conditions, that can lead extremely quickly to hypothermia. I have gone into structures that were warmer than outside as well. The ability to de-layer and re-layer is essential.

My winter urbex clothing would consist of a t-shirt under a long sleeved t-shirt or thermal long sleeve. Then a hooded sweater followed by a medium weight jacket. Trousers with long johns underneath if it is really cold. A hat, gloves and scarf. All dark to neutral colors (grey, brown, tan, black, dark green). The outer layer may be a white anorak I have if it is really snowy outside.

I also carry small extras with me, like a heavier pair of winter gloves, watch cap, heavy scarf, etc. In case the weather turns and you cannot get off the site. Disposable hand warmers or an emergency blanket are also useful. Spare heavyweight hiking socks in case feet get wet. I keep them in a ziploc freezer bag.

Footwear consists of heavy winter boots I got for deployment. They will keep your feet warmer and drier than hiking boots or sneakers. Footwear is a purely a personal preference. Some explorers wear hiking shoes or cross trainers for firmer footing while climbing. I wear Keen hiking shoes almost all year around unless it is extremely snowy or muddy. Then the combat boots get worn.

Another gear item that is a necessity is some power bars or granola bars. If you are feeling really cold, eating a granola bar will make you feel warmer as the body digests. If you do get stuck on site and have to wait out the night or weather. Having some food is a necessity. In the past, I have even packed a messkit and a few cans of soup or stew. That is true for hacks that have longer distances on foot that are more rural. The further from civilized areas, the more food and survival gear I carry.

I also carry a bic lighter with me and a pill bottle with cotton balls smeared in vaseline. If things do go from Urban Exploration to a survival mode, the ability to build a small fire to stay warm may be the key between living and dying. The cotton balls and some vaseline on them will ignite no matter what. Care should be taken as to where the fire is built. You do not want to ignite the structure nor ignite any chemicals that may be nearby.

Timing: Winter weather can pop up quickly. A check of the forecast before heading out is key. If the weather seems to be turning for the worse, it is better to leave and be able to come back later. Far better option than getting stuck on site in a blizzard or other inclement weather. Most cell phones have weather services. In winter especially, I check often when stopped on breaks or to get bearings.

The sites we explore usually have a lot of natural overgrown foliage concealment to cover movement.. Clearly this is not the case in winter, also deep snow may restrict movement through woods or normally clear paths. This also opens explorers up to getting spotted. Night does provide good cover, but also opens you up to spotting through use of flash lights and don't forget about lower nighttime temperatures.

Urban Unusual: P.J. Gilligan Mercantile

2011-11-20T17:20:00.001-05:00

Today was a rainy and dark Sunday. Christiane and I decided to head over to Burkittsville to visit a general store we both like to visit.

The general store has been in nearly continuous operation since 1821 and during the civil war supplied items to troops passing through (to both sides!). The battlefield for Crampton's Gap is very close by and the main street in Burkittsville is the road leading over the mountain ridge.

Bainbridge NTC / Tome School exterior shots

2011-11-20T00:34:00.001-05:00

1964

2011

The Tome school buildings.

Bainbridge Naval Training Center Urbex

2011-11-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

Marc and I headed out early to explore the Tome School / Naval Training Center Bainbridge. Tome school was built in 1900 as a college prep school. The school was bought in 1942 and transformed into a training facility and a "boot camp" for new personnel. The Naval training base operated from 1 October 1942 until 31 March 1976. The last use of the facility was by job corps, which used the base until 1990.

We had no real difficulty in getting onto the campus, the sheer size makes it hard to keep totally secure. Some of the later buildings we encountered first by the sizable drill field. The newer buildings held little interest for us and with daylight fading, we decided to return to the upper campus at a later date.

In the memorial hall, we ran into four fellow urbexers. Two of them were a couple from near Toronto Canada who were in the US on an all Urbex trip!! They hit Henryton, a power plant in Hagerstown Md and Tome school. It is nice to run into fellow urbex devotees.

The old lower campus with the buildings constructed in 1900 were our focus for today. This site is well worth the visit and time spent walking through the extensive site. Shots of the base when open....

Strange Weapons: Convair Pogo

2011-11-17T18:40:00.001-05:00

The Pogo in flight

In the early days of the cold war, the US determined that the sea lanes were especially vulnerable to attack. US and Allied shipping needed to be able to defend themselves until help arrived. The US and it's allies only had so many aircraft carriers to go around.

On land, the threat of Soviet and Warsaw pact strikes against airfields presented an additional threat. Airfields present a large, fixed, and easily hit target. The runways get damaged and no takeoffs can happen.

The idea of a vertical take off and vertical landing aircraft and the versatility that came with it had been a dream for a while.

The Navy was looking for just such an aircraft and started a design competition to get what they wanted. Lockheed (the XFV Salmon) and Convair (the XFY Pogo) both entered designs.

Convair's design first flew in November 1954 and the last flight was in November 1956.

The Convair Pogo was unique from the start. It is a tail-sitter aircraft. Meaning it took of and landed on it's tail section. It was intended to sit in sheltered cones on the deck of various ships. Take off vertically, transition, and engage the threats with four 20mm cannon and up to 48 70mm rockets until help arrived. The top speed was around 600 miles per hour. The pogo would then transition back to vertical flight and land back on deck.

The difficult part was transition from vertical to horizontal flight and back again. Additionally, the pilot had to land looking back over his shoulder while only using throttle to control flight. There was also no air brakes or spoilers to slow forward flight. This made the aircraft hard to slow down near it's landing site.

Only one aircraft of each prototype was made. Though a failure, lessons learned by the prototype were applied to future designs including the harrier and Osprey VTOL aircraft. It is also the first fixed wing aircraft to make the transition from vertical flight to horizontal and back again. The one prototype exists at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Range Day

2011-11-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

After nearly 25 years of promising. I finally took Eric to the range and taught him how to shoot. I like teaching my friends and family how to shoot. It is a sport that takes keen concentration and correct body position to hit the target with any consistent accuracy.

He was initially a little shaky, but took to it pretty quickly. He shot the K98 Rifle, Walther P-22 pistol, and Type 58 assault rifle. I am particularly impressed with his handling of the P-22. At 15 yards, he was getting consistent center mass hits. Not bad at all for a first timer!

Next time he visits, it will be the M-4 Carbine, the No4 Mk1 Enfield rifle and perhaps the M-1 Garand rifle.

November Henryton Urbex

2011-11-16T12:42:00.000-05:00

Took my old friend and urbex partner Eric to Henryton. My other urbex team mate Marc is dead right, it has become a too well used, local hangout. There were several other urbex teams, a scrapper group of four people, and about thirty airsoft people running about. Henryton has become a local park and not an urbex site like it was...........

Sadly, it ruined some of the ambiance for me. Everyone was all friendly and took pains to stay out of each others way however. We still managed to get some good shots and used some insight regained to get some recent experimental low light shots.

Eric had a good time, as did I. The loss of urbex creepiness was replaced by a lack of fear of cops. Sop many people around, the alarm would have been raised quickly.

One of the buildings lost an entire top floor to fire (staff housing), it was the first structure Marc and I explored last year. I am afraid this site is on it's last legs. It cannot be too long before everything is bulldozed or burnt to the ground.

Quote of the day: "You guys look like ghost hunters" by one of the scrappers.........um, yeah. I personally don't like to have asbestos lined lungs. They were ripping apart pile lagging and walls with no filter masks or anything. So i hope they spend their ill gotten gains quick before they die of cancer.

Lebow Clothing Factory Recon and Hickey School Recon

2011-11-15T00:09:00.001-05:00

Today was a perfect example how timliness in this hobby is everything. It is also why we do recons before entry.

Marc, Eric, Kelsey and I went first to the abandoned Lebow clothing factory. i was really excited. This site is unique and I really wanted to document it. It had been closed since 1987 and still had suits and such on rack systems and all the machinery for making fine men's clothing.

To my utter dismay, the enemy had beaten us to the site. No not arsonists, vandals or scrappers. Asbestos abatement "environmental reclamation" contractors. The site is in the process of being scrubbed, sanitized, and refurbished. It looks like we were just a bit late to the party. The site sat abandoned for over twenty years and we got here just a smidgen too late. Shit.

So, on to plan B. I found another site online that looked promising. It was a juvenile detention center that supposedly closed in 2005. We found the address, and lo and behold, we found it. Only thing is, it was most certainly open and in operation!! We even saw lines of youthful offenders walking in lines to their cell blocks.

Now, did we miss something? Another site? Perhaps buildings on campus abandoned, but the site partially open like Springfield or Rosewood? We decided to walk in through a back way to check it out. All we found was what we assume was the old back gate guard house. Although interesting, not what I wanted to see.

We consoled ourselves with dinner at a great sushi place and some drinks by the fire pit at my haus. All in all, we had fun and that is what matters most.

Night Gallery

2011-11-13T01:09:00.001-05:00

My old and bestest friend Eric came down from the Windy City to hang out and catch up.

After a day of Urban Exploration, Sushi and a sit down around the fire pit with good friends Marc and Kelsey, we decided that an attempt to get good shots of the full moon was a good idea. The catastrophic failure of trying to get the Moon in focus, we turned to other ideas using light.

The camera was set to ISO 100 and f4.5 the exposure time was set manually with the remote shutter release. The color was "painted" using various filters on my surefire flashlights.

New sub-blog

2011-11-09T00:38:00.004-05:00

http://itinerantdispatches.tumblr.com/

Flashbacks: IJN Mikasa Dreadnought, Yokosuka Japan

2011-11-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

Forward 12 inch twin turret

enlisted berthing

Starboard side 3 inch gun gallery

On my trip to Japan in January 2006 to teach at the Naval Base in Yokosuka, I had an opportunity to visit the Japanese Dreadnought Mikasa. The ship fought in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905 in both the Battle of The Yellow Sea and the Battle of Tushima.It is the last pre-dreadnought battleship preserved anywhere.

The ship was actually built in the UK for sale to Japan. The day of my visit was very cold and windy. The ship is pretty well preserved, it is actually "beached" and no longer afloat. She is heavily armed with 4 12 inch main guns, 14 6 inch guns, and 20 3 inch guns as well as torpedo tubes.

The visit was a highlight of the trip for me........

Flashbacks: Heidelberg "Thingsatte"

2011-11-02T12:56:00.001-04:00

In early December 2005, I was lucky enough to get sent to Germersheim Germany to teach a class at the Defense Logistics Agency facility located there.

My colleague Pete A. and I both speak German and he was stationed in Germany with the Army for several tours of duty in the 80s and early 90s. Armed with a knowledge of the general area, we decided to make the most of time off after class and the weekend in between.

One of the stops was a hill across the river from Heidelberg. The hill formerly had a cloister (9th century ruins were nearby) and in 1934 the Nazis built an amphitheater for public gatherings and speeches. The idea was a return to nature through the "blood and soil" program. These ampitheatres were constructed on or near sites of hisotrical or mythical value. Over 1200 were planned but only 40-50 were built.

Josef Gobbles gave a speech here as did other leaders of the party.

Now the same site is used for concerts and even one act plays. If someone stands on the stage and speaks in a normal voice without the benefit of a microphone and speakers, they can be heard all the way back at the top clearly.

Flashbacks: Enroute to the sandbox

2011-10-30T17:35:00.002-04:00

The bag contains postcards, candy and rum.

I went through Individual Augmentee training in South Carolina at Camp McCrady in late June 2006. It was hot, humid, and rife with bugs.

Our class of cannon fodder boarded a commercial chartered flight and took off North. To have enough fuel to make the transatlantic crossing, we had to land and refuel.

Gander Newfoundland Canada has been a transit stop for military personnel flights for decades. The air was cool and crisp, quite a change from South Carolina in June.

It was also the last chance to buy some booze for the flight (the cabin crew claimed they did not have any). Several of us purchased minis and had a few rum and cokes before we landed in Kuwait and advanced training began.

Communist sneak attack

2011-10-29T14:40:00.000-04:00

Today I picked up my buddy Lucas from BWI airport and we decided to head over to "the store", Full Metal Jacket. It is the best surplus store on the East Coast and my friend Dale owns it.

Today was the first snowfall of the year. Naturally everyone is driving like complete yam bags. I saw 7 pretty bad accidents and spin outs on the way to the airport and I was being extra careful behind the wheel. I keep my truck in 4 high (all wheel drive) and was pretty defensive on the road. I kept a good stand off distance from other cars and trucks.

Almost NO damage!!!

We got only partway to the surplus store. We were in the far left lane on I-295 when from out of nowhere, a minivan hit our right side door. Both vehicles pirouetted to the right across three lanes of traffic and slid into the guardrail. It is a minor miracle that we did not get hit again by other traffic.

My truck took the brunt of the damage from the initial impact and from the guardrail. The driver of the minivan, a Russian woman, admitted blame immediately and even told the police it was her fault. Her teenage daughter kept apologizing as if that would fix everything.

Now my truck is disabled, but with some new parts and insurance money paid by her insurance. My truck will come back to life in short order.

Needs new right side doors (2) , hood, front bumper, left quarter panel, head lights. The right side door frame (rocker panel) is also bent.

UPDATE: The grand total is nearly 8600 in damage. They decided it is still better to repair than total. I will get my truck back on the 15th or so.

Flashbacks: Tuna Can Bridge

2011-10-27T22:29:00.002-04:00

One of the things that separate those that were actually overseas and those that obviously were not are the little things. This is a little footbridge over a ditch at a major base in Afghanistan. When I read the sign I laughed. The relief felt by the LTC and CSM that nearly stepped on a "mine" must have been palpable. The base still had cordoned off areas that had the red and white "mine" warning signs.The potential to step in the wrong place was everywhere in that country. Which is why that some lame ass that has never served or inflate their service gets any modicum of credit due to those that have been in country.

Too many times, I have caught a faker who claimed to have been "over there" yet could not name ANY details like these. Sad the lengths some people will go to when they have a hole in their personalities where they have to inflate themselves to feel better.

If you are reading this and have made up or inflated your service. Be advised. Those of us who actually were in the sandbox are watching and listening.

Strange Weapons: NK-101 Mine Exploder Tank (MINENRÄUMER)

2011-10-25T15:47:00.002-04:00

There is only one of these beasts left in existence, it lies in the Russian armor museum in Kubinka. It looks like something from "Star Wars" and is the grandfather to the modern MRAP vehicles used today.

In 1942, the NK-101 mine exploder tank was designed to roll it's way through minefields, detonating anti-tank mines and clearing a path for regular armored units to follow.

The NK-101 was overbuilt with extremely thick armor. Each tread "shoe" was thicker than the frontal armor of most regular tanks. It had a reversed tricycle design so that it would clear a wide swath with each pass.

The body was mounted extremely high. Modern MRAPs are built in much the same way, the more distance you have between the explosion and the body of a vehicle the lesser the effect of the blast.

They were slow, but speed was not a factor given the mission requirement. It had a Panzer 1 turret, with two MG-34 machine guns mounted to suppress incoming fire. Later versions were supposed to carry Panzer 4 turrets with much heavier armament and armor.

The design was clearly ahead of it's time, but arrived too late to participate in blitzkreig attacks of the earlier part of the war.

Flashbacks: Newseum & The Bosnian War

2011-10-21T10:44:00.001-04:00

I was looking back over recent-ish photos and found several shots I took at the Newseum covering the war in Bosnia. It seems so long ago but it really is recent history. We still have forces in Kosovo as part of the KFOR peacekeeping forces as of 2011.

The Balkans have historically been a friction spot between Christians and Muslims and bad blood runs back many generations here. It was only political differences that kept a uneasy peace during the Cold War.

The road linked the city to the airport, making it a natural area for snipers to do their work. In Iraq this was played out again along "Route Irish" between Baghdad Airport and the City.

The actual sign is on the right side of the photo in sniper's alley outside Sarajevo....Note same spray paint and hole under the blue "Tranzit" section of the sign. *Photo found on web

UN peacekeepers from Norway on patrol through sniper's alley. * Photo found on web

Random Photo: Harry

2011-10-20T16:56:00.000-04:00

I have been working on remodeling our downstairs bathroom. Harry (one of our three cats) had decided he would supervise painting operations. The sink being a good location for observation, he made himself at home......

The best photographs are not forced or posed but the accidental ones. This falls in the latter category. I am just lucky i had my camera phone nearby. It would have taken too long to go and get my Nikon since he would have moved to follow me, losing the shot. The lighting was also pretty nice, coming in from the propped open door. I had not turned on any lights and was just stirring the paint when Harry dropped by.

Strange Weapons: APS Underwater Assault Rifle

2011-10-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

Easily one of the strangest rifles and certainly one of the strangest AK-47 derivatives. The Soviets provide ample fodder for Strange Weapon posts on this blog. The APS assault rifle was designed in the early 70's to be used by Soviet frogmen to defend ports from unfriendly frogmen incursions, namely British SAS and Navy Seals.They are built at the famous Tula arsenal factory alongside some of the more iconic Soviet weapons.

The weapon fired 5.66x39 MPS cartridges that were designed to fire a sharpened steel bolt. They could penetrate just about any piece of scuba gear (Tanks, masks, helmets, regulators) worn by the enemy frogmen and thus eliminate the threat. The weapon was designed to allow for the flow of water and not impede the firing of the rifle. A special shield was designed to break up the bubbles after firing to assist in aiming and to disperse tell-tale bubbles that give away location.

The rifle used a large flat 26 round magazine to house the rounds. The range decreased as the depth underwater increased. The barrel had no rifling, the hydrodynamic effect of the bolt traveling through the water kept it on course.Maximum range was around 100 feet in 20 feet of water and so on. The weapon could be fired on dry land, but it tended to wear out the weapon after only 180 rounds or so, range was also limited to under 100 feet. Underwater, the rifle could fire over 2000 bolts before it wore out components.

Strange Weapons: Korobov TKB series of rifles

2011-10-18T19:49:00.001-04:00

TKB-011 2M

TKB-022PM

In the late 40s through the 60s, the Soviets were trying hard to improve upon the AK-47 design to make it lighter and more compact. The TKB-11 and 22 series of weapons utilized a "bullpup" design, placing the magazine behind the trigger group much like the currently used British L85A2, French FAMAS and Austrian Steyr AUG.

The weapons body was made of the ubiquitous Soviet red-orange Bakelite, reducing overall weight. Calibers were either 7.62x39mm or 5.6x39mm. Both very capable rounds. The designs were very ergonomic and comfortable to hold and fire. It was capable of 560 rounds per minute, and a weight of 5.3 to 6.2 pounds.

Sadly, they never entered the full scale production phase and stayed as experimental and test weapons. The accuracy was phenomenal, but Soviet leadership considered them too futuristic at the time. Bakelite tends to wear quickly in field use, and that was a concern as well.

To me they look like they should be carried in a science fiction TV show or movie. I can see a cast member of Firefly or Stargate carrying one of these.

I personally like the look of the TKB-22. Perhaps the design will be resurrected one day. Replace the Bakelite with a carbon fiber composite stock and I think this will be an effective weapon.....

TK-022PM Note fire selector switch and sling swivel. Circa 1965....

TK-022PM Note charging handle.

Earlier version from around 1962....

Cutaway showing operation......

Fantastic Fall Foliage Family Fun!!

2011-10-15T12:39:00.002-04:00

Went to Sugarloaf Mountain with my better half to see some fall colour before the rain knocks it all down.

New Impression: Luftwaffe Kriegsberichter

2011-10-13T18:44:00.003-04:00

One who did not make it..........

After the success of my photos from last weekend. I am being encouraged to step into the role of Kriegsberichter or War Correspondent. I used to wear the same cuff title, but took it off when I was elected Commanding Officer of the unit I am in a year and a half ago.

I intend on keeping shooting with my modern camera, but I am discovering that film cameras from the 40s are not expensive at all and a good kit can be acquired for little. Some of the additional gear, like DRGM (wartime marking) marked tripods are all under 50 dollars.

Wounded, but still has his camera!

I know there were both enlisted and officer photographers and cameramen. Many paid the ultimate price for reporting from the front and had to put down the camera to use their MP-40s and sidearms to defend themselves.

Major commands had combat photographers attached and there were companies of cameramen established to cover specific areas of operation.

I do not intend to stop participating in events as a unit commander. However in light of recent economic developments and may people drop away form the hobby. Picking up a camera at events instead of a weapon may be the trick to keep my interest.

I also really want to utilize film as well. The cost of processing and acquiring film for some of these not 70 year old cameras will prevent me from shooting as many photos as I would digitally (over 2000 shots at the last event alone). I can still shoot film for portraits and other "special moments" that would warrant the expenditure.

Field expedient sun shade!

In a way, I have always been a bit of a war correspondent. I kept both journals and a blog through multiple deployments to include two desert tours. I tried to while in Haiti (no connectivity). It seems natural to keep that going in my hobby as well.

Going "semi-pro"

2011-10-11T15:20:00.003-04:00

This last weekend I had an avalanche of requests for photos I had taken. To fulfill every request and remember who wanted what shots would have been crazy.

Some resources like Flickr have limited bandwidth unless you pay for "pro" status. I decided to go with SmugMug for my photo sharing service. That way, people can buy any prints they like and have them sent directly to them. I also make my photos available free of charge for download.

I have suffered a bit of heartburn over this and two divergent trains of thought on the matter.

1. I like to share what I have been working on. It makes my friends happy which makes me happy. Hoarding my photography and not sharing them with friends and fellow reenactors is akin to owning a Van Gogh and storing it in a vault where nobody can ever see it (in no way do I consider myself anywhere near Van Gogh in ability, just an example).

2. I am afraid of someone else taking credit for a photo that I took, and possibly making money off of what I consider my intellectual property. I spent the money on the appropriate photographic gear and the computer program to process them professionally. It also steals my photographic "eye" and artistic ability. Each shot is processed and adjusted with attention to detail, it is a painstaking process than can take 15-30 minutes per shot to do correctly.

I flip flop from moment to moment on this. Although I tend more towards point one. It is better to share. I still have the concerns in point two. It would be great to make some money off of my two hobbies. I know others that have sold prints they have taken of people at events.

In the end, I just ask for photo credit to recognize my work and effort. No different than anyone else.

My latest efforts are now located here........

Collings Foundation: The Fi-156 Storch and more!!!

2011-10-11T01:33:00.000-04:00

I am sitting in the observer's seat in the Fi-156 Storch minutes prior to takeoff. The fuselage is canvas over tube steel. Still quite sturdy. I really enjoyed the ride.

Lucas and I did the long ten hour haul drive up to Stowe Massachusetts for the Collings Foundation event. I did not know how good the event was going to be. I knew that a lot of cool vehicles were going to be on hand. I also knew I would have access to the display items that the general public would not have. Boy howdy did I underestimate that statement.

I am more excited than I look. I had just a few hours sleep after being up for nearly 40 hours....

Rob at the controls........

Lucas just after takeoff.....

Lucas happy after a great flight........

We were guests of a brother reenacting unit FJR 2 (Fallschirmjager Reginent 2), German Paratroopers in World War II.

The absolute highlight of the event for me was the ride on the Fi-156 Storch (Stork). The whole ride lasted perhaps 15 minutes, but it is something I will remember for a lifetime. Being able to touch history and hitch a ride is quite special.

The Storch was built as a light observation/reconnaissance aircraft. It is capable of virtually hanging in the sky like a kite. The wing is metal, but the fuselage is canvas stretched over a tubular steel frame. There were variations built to carry two litter cases to hospitals and a machine gun was also installed in the now rearward facing observer's seat to ward off any attacks. The extremely slow speed and ability to turn very sharply helped defend it from speedy fighters that could not go slow enough to get at it. Some were modified to carry three small bombs and operate as a light ground attack aircraft.

Operationally the first Storch aircraft flew in Spain during the Civil War with the Condor Legion for testing. The aircraft was used by quite a few nations after World War II. Notably the French Air Force and Navy. They were used in Indochina and Algeria for observation and patrol duties. In all around 2900 were built in Spain, Romania, Czechoslovakia, France and other places as well as Germany. It could take off in as little as 30 meters and land in as little as 50 meters. Remarkable for any aircraft.

Both myself and Lucas had turns in flying in the Storch (I did the 1st flight/battle Saturday, and he got to fly the 2nd battle on Sunday). The aircraft seemingly jumped into the air and needed little runway to take off. The control surfaces are so large that we hung in the air like a seagull at the beach. Several times I felt as if we were near stalling, but the airframe is designed for very slow flight. At one point we were moving slower than people on the ground walking!!

The amount of armor and other heavy equipment made the public battle more authentic and was a treat for all reenactor participants.

Good camo if you are flying REALLY low.....the enemy might just mistake your a/c for a huge bird....

Collings Foundation: Impact!

2011-10-11T01:18:00.001-04:00

BOOM

One of the best parts of the Collings Foundation event is the use of "effects" for the public battle. The right application of flashpowder, gunpowder and smoke can make for some great realism.

I was lucky enough to have my camera lens pointed in the right direction with (hopefully) the right settings. The battle scenario was scripted and following the action allowed me to be ready for those moments. The battle is the draw for the public, since this is not really an airshow or a standard living history event. It is a bit of a hybrid.

Each year has been a distinct improvement over the previous year. I cannot wait to see what further developments are in development!

End of the M24

Escape!!!

Bucket Lists

2011-10-06T17:16:00.000-04:00

Talking with a friend about relationships and life in general recently. The concept of bucket lists came up. I realized I have accomplished many of mine already. I started wondering what else I could possibly add to the list. Some items have fallen away as interests change over time. Others get added on.

The list: Some have been accomplished, some are still in process....BOLD indicates accomplishment.....

Skydive/Parachute
Get a Commission As An Officer (from about age 12)
Fall In Love With The Perfect Woman For Me
Become A Father/Dad
Own A Classic Car/Vehicle (the Jeep Project is underway)
Travel World Wide
See London, UK
See Paris, France
See New York, NY
See Tokyo, Japan
Publish a book
Learn to play a instrument
Solo hike for at least a month
Road trip across the US
Get a tattoo
Have a photograph published
Speak in a public setting
Be a big V Veteran instead of a small v veteran

Urban Unusual: Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory

2011-10-06T12:32:00.001-04:00

From 1899 until human obsolescence in 1982, the Latitudinal observatory in Gaithersburg Maryland has been charting the "wobble" of the earth. Along with observatories in Ohio, California, Japan, Italy and Russia the "Processional Drift" has been tracked. All of these observatories are located in the same latitude as this one.

What is Processional Drift? Well, if you have ever spun a top, the spin produces a wobble that eventually leads to the top tipping over. The earth has a similar wobble that takes 26,000 years for one revolution to occur. Polaris, the North star will no longer be our North Star in 13,000 years. That spot will be taken by Vega. Gradually and many many thousands of years from now. The earth will "tip over" and what we know as North, South, East and West will be vastly different.

By keeping precise measurements of the processional drift, astronomers can make alignment adjustments to take the drift into account when observing a given star.

Christiane, Marc, Kelsey and I decided to stop by despite the cold rain coming down. The site has been turned into a little park and it is free to all.

Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory

Next Project: Hotchkiss Jeep

2011-10-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

I have always wanted a jeep. I can remember my days in elementary school wen it was raining too hard to go outside. I was the only happy one. Why? Mr. Murphy, the principal, showed filmstrips of the TV show "The Rat Patrol". Two jeeps tearing around North Africa giving the Germans a hard time.

I also remember seeing photos of my Dad in Vietnam next to jeeps. It is an iconic symbol to say the least. Aside form owning a tank, this is reasonable and much more affordable.

So..I decided I am going to thin out some of my excess gear and save up to have one restored by a reenactor owned and reenactor friendly business in the local area.

My better half also likes jeeps. So if I save up enough to get it accomplished and do not forgo bills and regular obligations. I am cleared to make it happen.

I intend to keep the vehicle clear of markings, so it is useful in several time periods for reenacting. If I do add markings to it. I will use French bumper markings like the ones seen below.

I envision trips around the countryside and drives to the grocery store or local ice cream stand. Something different.That would be pretty cool. Our little town has a founders day parade, it would be cool to have several of us dressed out in Legion uniforms to do the parade.

Strange Weapons: German WW II Concrete Ordnance

2011-09-28T19:24:00.000-04:00

German pioneer (combat engineer) planting a stockmine. Note ZZ-42 bakelite fuse at the top connected to the 100 gram Bohrpatrone 28 charge.

Concrete Stockmine

During the latter stages of the war in Europe, German industry was struggling to keep production going through persistent Allied day and night bombing. The borders of the Reich were being squeezed together from two sides. With the loss of territory also came with it the loss of resources and factories.

In an effort to keep troops at the front armed and to equip the Volkssturm (Civilian Militia) with ordnance.

Concrete was used as a replacement for metal for the bodies of grenades and for mines.

Bohrpatrone 28

Concrete fragments were just as lethal as metal shrapnel. The concrete stockmine and some of the grenades had shards of scrap metal embedded in the concrete in an effort to increase the lethal range.

The bohrpatrone 28 was often used in the construction of these weapons, the charge was designed for demolition work and could be ignited with a variety of fuses. They were made of compressed or waxed paper and contained a 100 gram charge of either picric acid or TNT.

The blast was more than enough to do the job at hand. The grenades and stockmines came in a variety of forms and the grenades resembled their metal bodied cousins. Each local factory produced a wide array of variants based on the materials at hand.

The effectiveness of the various types was mixed, but reports indicate that quite a few casualties were caused among Allied forces.

What condition my condition is in.........

2011-09-28T13:15:00.003-04:00

Port Au Prince Haiti, 2010 with Senior Chief Reid. Note the haziness in the background. That is from smoke from debris fires.

As of late, I have been getting a lot of out of the blue calls concerning potential jobs. I do not know what I have been doing differently. The only thing I can think of is the update I did to my resume. I retooled some of the wording and added the fact that I am being promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Nothing else has been done differently!

This puts things into a new light for me. I was resigned to the idea that I would be stuck in my current "job" for at least the next year or two. I am woefully underpaid for the work I am doing and for the level of experience I bring to the table. It was only going to be a stepping stone to a career based civilian job. It looks as though I may escape earlier that thought!

What do I want to do now? It was kind of hard adjusting back to a semi-civilian type after 13 years in the Navy. I want a position back in Government in some way shape or form. I do not have any particular inclination towards a GS (Government Service), Contractor or FTS (Full Time Support) position that will make the path an obvious choice. FTS would place me back squarely on active duty, but as a different officer designation. The difference is mostly on paper. The other two have different qualities that attract me. One pays more, and the other is more stable. I guess the capricious selection process of Human Resources and hiring managers will make the decision for me.

I have had contact from several companies about contracting work. Someday I hope to break the code on getting my foot in the door for GS employment.

The marriage front is hanging in there nicely, we enjoy doing things together very much and are both working on making the house more "our" home. Our weekends are absolutely full with local travels and adventures.

I have been pondering further options for myself. I'd like to attend some college classes on various topics. There is the possibility of my finishing of my Master's Degree in History. I want to expand my photography into other realms such as celestial and night photography.I was even thinking of taking a class in French so I can watch Christiane cringe as my German/American brain mangles pronunciations of some words. Strangely, I nail the pronunciation of others.

Way back in my mind there are two old hobbies scratching for attention, bass guitar and painting. The bass was a big part of my down time growing up in my latter teens and twenties. I still have my old left handed bass sitting in our bedroom. The other is painting. I worked in both acrylics and oil paint. I miss the calming nature of spreading paint out on a freshly readied canvas. I ran the gamut from abstract expressionist to figurative to impressionist. I would incorporate photos I had taken into the works or as an adjunct to the painting.

I feel that at 37, I have plenty of road left ahead to explore. I am salty and grizzled enough to know what I want out of life and how to get it. I no longer have to prove anything to anyone except myself and perhaps my spouse. I am in good health (despite the return this July of my old nemesis the kidney stone). Overall, I'd say that I am fairly happy with the direction of my life. So let's see what happens!

Strange Weapons: Type 4 Ceramic Grenade

2011-09-26T22:11:00.000-04:00

Developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1944, these grenades were the answer to increasing shortages of raw materials in Japan. Allied strategic bombing laid waste to Japan's industrial centers. US and Allied submarines were sinking Japanese merchant ships, sending badly needed materials to the bottom.

The design was simple. Ceramic or terra cotta spheres were constructed. The dimensions and color (white, brown, black, tan, glazed, unglazed) varied wildly from kiln ti kiln and by each manufacturer. A five second fuse was crimped onto a blasting cap. A wooden plug covered by a friction material was inserted and the whole opening covered by a small rubber plug to keep out moisture. The neck of the opening had a groove for a length of twine for a carrying lanyard. The grenade weighed less that one pound, and shattered relatively easily.

They were deployed by the thousands to civil defense units and to the front lines. There is evidence they were used on Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Leyte Island in the Philippines.

It is unknown just how effective these grenades actually were. They were primarily concussion, and since they were fragile. They may not even have detonated after throwing if they hit a solid object and shattered.

The idea was similar to a concrete grenade developed by Germany as a last-ditch weapon when resources started running low in Germany towards the end of the war.

Not a Type 4 grenade, just a cool photo.........

HSW Photos Part III

2011-09-26T11:53:00.002-04:00

Only one way to hold a rifle, the ARMY way!!! Photo by Voodoo Lady

Our humble French Foreign Legion Display

I wanted to get close to the style of color film from the 40s. It seemed to be washed out and over saturated at the same time.

Second take on this shot. This time in B&W with some retouching of highlights and shadows.

Blue filter to highlight shadow and facial features.

High contrast, blue filter to make the maxim and shield seem more ominous......

Easier to photograph friends without the gun shield!

More shots form the weekend. One day at the event and I have over 700 shots. Some taken by my better half, Christiane aka Voodoo Lady, and other by fellow photographer and reenactor Natasha. Trying hard to convince Natasha that Nikon is the way to go compared to other camera makers.Christiane needs no convincing since she just uses my camera!

Christiane is getting really good with the D7000. Although she subscribes to the "crop the photo later" crowd. I like to frame the shot in the lens, it saves time. Her shot at the top of this post only needed minimal cropping to take out a modern cooler and a bystander. The result is a good candid shot, the lens allowed for some distance to be covered. She is responsible for nearly half of the photos taken this weekend.

I have been experimenting with different color filters to achieve different effects. Removing blue, yellow, red, or orange from shots each has a different effect (even in black and white). A high contrast blue filter on the shot of the Maxim gun and shield highlight some of the scratches and marks and makes a more ominous presence.

HSW Photo Part II

2011-09-25T15:50:00.003-04:00

I am feeling MUCH better now......

More shots from the weekend. The shots of my Imperial Russian friends I wanted an authentic feel with all the graininess and imperfections of vintage photos form World War I. Hopefully, I have come close to that.

Fort Mott Observation Tower

2011-09-25T13:21:00.000-04:00

This weekend at Fort Mott, we discovered at the far end of the Fort an Observation/Rangefinder tower in a state of disrepair and abandonment.

I found the subject fascinating and took quite a few photos of it. The further apart the towers, the longer range the guns they supplied data to. The ones at Fort Mott were fairly close together. I have seen others miles apart for 12 and 16 inch gun batteries elsewhere. Fort Mott only had to defend the Delaware river from incursions by enemy ships, and the avenue of approach was fairly narrow. It follows that the potential range of the weapons was limited to those approaches. The two towers at Fort Mott would have done range finding duties for the 10 and 12 inch guns stationed here during World War II.

How the towers were employed.

A coincidence rangefinder like this may have been in the tower

Depression Position Finder and Azimuth optics like these were also used.

Depression Position Finder with silhouette charts behind the crew.

Fort Mott Batteries were as follows:
Battery Arnold/3 Guns/12" Inch/Disappearing Carriage/1899-1943
Battery Harker/3 Guns/10" Inch /Disappearing Carriage/1899-1941 /guns and carriage to Canada, guns still at location in Canada
Battery Gregg/2 Guns/5" Inch/Pedestal Mount/1901-1910
Battery Krayenbuhl/2 Guns/5" Inch Guns /Balanced Pillar Mount/1900-1918
Battery Edwards/2 Guns/3" Inch/ Casemated Mount/1902-1920

More on Fort Mott

More on Base End Stations

More on Fire Control Towers

Historic Soldiers Weekend, Fort Mott New Jersey

2011-09-25T10:43:00.002-04:00

Historic Soldiers Weekend is a timeline event that covers Roman era through Vietnam and everything in between. Previous years the event was held in Burlington, New Jersey and Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. This was the first year at Fort Mott in Pennsville, New Jersey.

This year was fun, Voodoo lady and I set up a French Foreign Legion display between friends doing Confederate Civil War, German World War II Heer Pioneer (Combat Engineer) and Russian Imperial World War I troops.

There were fewer reenactors than last year at Fort Mifflin, but I feel that next year will be bigger. The rain and mosquitoes did a bit to keep people at bay. Moving an event always takes a little to readjust as well. I am working on getting more friends to come down with various impressions, since this is not solely a US or a World War II themed event.

Although we only did one of the two days this year, next year we intend on staying overnight and camping out (with a lot of bug repellent!).

R.E.M. 5 April 1980 - 21 Sept 2011

2011-09-21T19:50:00.002-04:00

If you knew me back in High School or in College, you knew exactly what music I listened to. If you hung around me long enough, I might have even bored you to death telling you all about it. Among all the bands that I listened to, there was one above all others that I liked best. The bands music was a sort of soundtrack to my childhood. It was like a small exclusive club, that is before 1991's Out Of Time was released. I am pretty sure that i was the only one who listened as intently as I did.

Stipe, Mills, Buck, Berry

R.E.M. did not have a pre-packaged easily consumed sound as many of the bands of the early 80s did. From the very beginning, they were hard to categorize. Peter Buck took the Byrds jangly guitar sound and added a distinctive twist to it, Mike Mills spot on harmony and bass guitar rhythms influenced me to play bass myself. Bill Berry's economical and tempo perfect drumming defined the sound as much as any of the other members. Then there is Michael Stipe. His lyrics, when there was lyrics to be discerned, contained oblique references that took time to unravel and interpret. One had to work at getting to the meaning of the songs.

What attracted me to R.E.M. was the uniqueness of the music. My impressionable mind took to the vague references and subject matter. The imagery created by the music was inspiring and had "layers". I would often use R.E.M. as an influence when painting or taking photographs, especially when I was leaning towards Art as a major. I did not fall into line with my classmates to buy the latest Van Halen or Bon Jovi with my allowance money. Instead I hunted for bootleg copies of performances on vinyl and singles on 45 with rare b-sides. I still have that entire collection. I remeber being teased by the jocks for my musical choices, only to see them years later wearing an r.e.m. T-shirt. Better late than never I guess.

I was lucky enough to see R.E.M. multiple times and even meet band members over the years. The band never failed to deliver a 100% performance no matter if the crowd was 15 or 20,000.

When I was stationed at Athens Ga. for Navy Supply Corps School in 2000, the hunt for the train trestle from album artwork, the Wuxtry record shop, the remaining steeple from the church where the first gig was played, Walters BBQ, Weaver D's Soul Food and the 40 watt club and other landmarks for fans was on the list of things to see.

In several interviews, band members stated that "if it is not all four of us, it is not R.E.M.". When Bill berry departed the band for personal and medical reasons in 1997. I took the often mentioned statement to heart. The albums that followed Berry's departure did not feel the same to me. There were songs I liked a lot, but for the most part I found the rest lacking that essential element.

12 Sept 2006

31 years and 15 studio albums is nothing to scoff at. Many bands do not last even a third as long. Although I appreciate the decision to end when all the members are young enough (early 50s) to pursue other ventures and projects and as friends. I am still sad to see the band end.

Who knows? Perhaps a reunion or two may be in the works. There is always the music to listen to......

Strange Weapons: M115 Feather Bomb

2011-09-21T12:53:00.002-04:00

After World War II, and as the cold war heated up. The United States was looking at different approaches at crippling it's enemies.

Research in nuclear, chemical and biological agents was at a fever pitch. One such weapon that was developed was a modified M16A1 cluster bomb unit that was used previously to deliver leaflets over enemy targets.

Add caption

Scientists began testing the 500 pound M115 with it's strange payload in 1950 and production began in earnest in 1953. The feathers would be sprayed with wheat stem rust, a fungus that renders the plant inedible. It damages cereal crops primarily. Approximately 4,600 were manufactured.

When dropped from an altitude of 4,000 feet. A single M 115 can infect an area of 12 square miles. The weapon was tested at Ft Detrick, Maryland. Thankfully, the weapon was never used in combat.

Strange Weapons: Operation Outward

2011-09-21T10:47:00.002-04:00

German report on a British "Fire Balloon"

From 1942 to 1944 the British used weather currents to carry balloons over occupied Europe and Germany. The idea was to strike at Germany and cause disruption with some economy.

The balloons were rather crude (compared to a similar idea carried out by Japan, but that is for another post). Each balloon cost about 35 shillings each at that time, making them a pretty cheap weapon capable of striking at great range. They flew along at an altitude of 16,000 feet. There were two types, one trailed a steel wire in the hopes of striking power lines and causing outages. The other carried incendiary bombs. These were used to try and start forest fires and disrupt the German home front.

Barrage Balloons

The British got the idea early on in the war. A large number of barrage balloons broke loose in a severe storm in September 1940 and were carried over the north sea to Denmark, Holland, and Norway. The rogue balloons damaged power lines, rail service. One even knocked down the radio antenna to Swedish Radio International taking the station off of the air. There were even reports of several balloons making it as far as Finland.Clearly, there was a practical application to be had.

The balloons were met with some success, on 12 July 1942 one even caused a fire at an electrical station after the balloon struck a 110 volt power line near Leipzig. The entire station burned as a result. Another balloon struck damaged and damaged track lighting in neutral Laholm, Sweden in January 1944 and caused the collision of two trains.

In all a total of 99,142 balloons were launched by 140 British women auxiliaries called WRENs from two sites in the United Kingdom. 53,343 of these balloons carried incendiaries and 45,599 carried steel wires. The best result was on the economic side. Luftwaffe fighters were scrambled to shoot down these balloon bombs and thus expended more in maintenance and fuel costs than the British did in launching these balloons. The last of these balloons were launched in September of 1944, the fear was the balloons may hit allied forces on the ground or in flight over Europe.

Hartwood Days Festival Quatre

2011-09-16T20:42:00.001-04:00

I decided to see if I could get good portraits from a larger image. The ending effects for each photo are differentt but each one becomes its own entity, separate from the photo I chopped it from. The second two are attempts to get the right balance of light, shadow and color. I want to start reprocessing some of my Urbex photos next. They represent a different set of challenges entirely.Time and the lack thereof seems to be the worst enemy right now.

Model 47/56 TAP Jacket

2011-09-13T12:27:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, my original green Model 49/56 French paratrooper jacket arrived from France.

These were issued starting around 1960 to replace the more famous lizard pattern of the same style. This particular uniform was in stock and issued for nearly ten years but was starting to be phased out almost immediately. A similar fate to the US Army's modern ACU uniform.

They are constructed of Herringbone twill material with brass snaps and zippers. Buttons are a brownish-green material.

This one fits me great, but the jacket looks to have gone through quite a lot over the years. There are numerous repairs and it looks like a moth had gotten to the jacket at some point. The moth damage is the main detractor. Old repairs I can accept as part of the aura of a vintage item. I would still give the jacket a B- in overall condition. It certainly has the feel of "been there, done that".....

Oh, by the way. I checked all the pockets. Nothing. I have a US four pocket dress jacket that I bough. In one of the pockets was a 48 pass for a weekend off base and two dollars! I also bought a M-1949 mountain sleeping bag when I was 12. Stuffed down by the feet area was a sheet and pillowcase marked with the medical caduceus. So now I habitually check every piece of vintage gear that has pockets or a place to hide something.

Hartwood Days Trois

2011-09-13T09:56:00.001-04:00

For these shots I wanted to do very different things. The first shot I wanted to convey the sense of movement. Each figure is reacting to the ambush. I wanted to highlight facial expressions and movement without being overbearing. The second shot was all about color and the contrasting greens in the uniform, helmet and background. I added a bit of granularity to the shot so blur the distinction between the different greens. The third I used a blue filter to give a high contrast and accentuate the camouflage patterns and the forest background.

The frustrating thing about taking photos that day was the rampant lighting changes. There was partial cloud cover, and the lighting would change second to second.

999 yard stare......

Purple Haze

With these two, I tried for natural color with one, and wild over saturation with the other. The first shot was back lit badly by the sun and the white aerial recognition panel we rigged as a sun shade. Adjustng the levels back to something useable was a challenge. The second was in good shape color and light wise. I just felt like messing around a bit. I like the contrast of the colors when saturation is pushed to the limit.

Hartwood Days Deux

2011-09-11T17:12:00.000-04:00

Stay Classy Algeria!

Firing Line.........

Waiting to move out......

Sarge

Hartwood Days Festival Un

2011-09-10T23:22:00.000-04:00

Sgt Hatred needs a nap and perhaps a therapist....

We had a one day event at the Hartwood Days Festival today. I took the opportunity to use my 55-300mm lens to try and get some more portrait shots and be able to get details I feel I may miss with my other lenses.
I also am messing about with my development software to get different effects. The processing does not take me too long to get accomplished. Since I know what kind of feel I want to the photo, I can get what I want pretty quickly.
For instance, if I like the contrast of the camouflage uniforms with the pine behind the figures, I go for something that will highlight as such. If I want the shot to look vintage, well, that is very easily done. I really enjoy playing with contrast, light, shadow and color. Other than setting up the shots in camera (I do not really like cropping after the fact.) I was taught to frame the shots as they will hang on the wall if printed. Rarely will I chop out anything unless it is something anachronistic to the shot or just plain bugging me.
The event was not far from home and easy in and out. The plus side was that they fed us and parking was pretty easy (right behind our area). I think everyone from 1REP that was at this event will remember the event for the smoothies that were being sold. They were expensive, but worth it in the humidity. The post event meal at the local "Hard Times" restaurant was also very enjoyable. It has been a tradition in my other units and i am glad to see it happen with 1 REP. The very best part of the actual event was meeting a lady who's Grandfather was a Belgian Legionnaire who fought in Algeria. She was very appreciative of our efforts, and encounters like that make reenacting worthwhile for me.

Adjusting fire.....

New coordinates....

Urban Unusual/Strange Weapons: Horse Carriage Bomb 9/16/20

2011-09-08T18:13:00.000-04:00

On 16 September 1920, a large blast rocked Wall Street causing over 2 million dollars in damage and wounding many.

Up to that date, it was the worst act of terrorism in United States history. A carriage loaded with 100 pounds of dynamite and 500 pounds of cast iron window sash weights was parked in front of 23 Wall Street in front of a J.P. Morgan Bank. The bomber apparently set the timer and walked away....

At approximately 12:01PM local time on 16 September 1920, the carriage exploded. Pieces of the carriage and the sash weights were sent scything into the crowded streets. 38 people were killed and over 400 wounded, many severely.

Initially, it was surmised that since the attack took place in the heart of the financial district. Radical anti-capitalists must have been to blame. Police focused on I.W.W., Anarchists, Socialists, Communists and other radical opponents to capitalism were suspected.

Italian Anarchists called Galleanists were eventually blamed for the attack, but the decision by the board of directors for Wall Street activities decided to resume business the next day. Critical evidence was scrubbed away the night following the attack to have the intersection ready for business the next day.

On 17 September, flyers in red ink were discovered around the wall street area in Post Boxes and read as follows:"Remember, we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners, or it will be sure death for all of you." It was signed "American Anarchist Fighters."

A known member of the Italian Anarchist group, Mario Buda, was in NYC at the time of the bombing. He was well known for his bomb-making capabilities and used iron sash weights as shrapnel. In 1955, he confirmed his involvement. The motive was revenge for fellow Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti's arrests.

Damage from the attacks can still be seen at 32 Wall Street in the form of shrapnel scars in the concrete that have not been repaired. The bombing helped ignite the first "red scare" in the United States.

The photos below were taken by a fellow reenactor and friend, R. Kamensky, who works nearby. He was kind enough to stop by the site and snap the following photos for this post.

The photographer on the left and author on the right.............

Another Milestone Reached

2011-09-08T12:44:00.000-04:00

It seems like I just posted about hitting 15,000 page views. Time has flown by and we just hit 20,000. It leaves me slack-jawed the variety of countries that are listed. Besides the obvious ones like United States and Canada. I have page views from Uruguay, Afghanistan, China, Mali, Botswana, Japan, Russia, and a huge number of other places.

Forest Haven Morgue, 4 September 11

It is readers like you that keep me interested in scribbling away on the Internet and sharing things that interest me. I hope to continue the strange weapons, flashbacks and Urban Exploration posts as well as Urban Esoteric explorations when they pop up. I hope to keep improving my writing, photography, and photo processing skills. The shot above and below are newly processed with some new software (and me actually reading the instructions!).

Forest Haven Asylum dentist's chair, 4 Sept 2011

Forest Haven second pass

2011-09-07T11:50:00.001-04:00

Some additional photos from the last trip through forest haven. Unfortunately, one of the better buildings (for artifacts and shots) was the subject of attempted arson. I feel lucky that I have great shots from previous visits. These are some other good photos from last weekend.....

August in the rear view mirror

2011-09-06T23:32:00.000-04:00

According to the stats, last month this blog was viewed 2,010 times. That is nearly 65 times a day for the 31 days of the month of August.

I'd like to thank everyone that takes the time to read my feverish electronic scratchings on the wall of my little hovel of the interwebs.

I suppose it is better than sitting with a typewriter in a one room cabin in Montana............

Forest Haven re-re-revisited.............

2011-09-05T21:21:00.002-04:00

Intrepid explorers.....

Come on down............

Chill out......


Have a seat.....

The Dentist will see you now....

We brought two more friends to see Forest Haven and explore some of its buildings. The infiltration to the site was pretty easy.

It had been raining, and thanks to hurricane Irene the trail was blocked by a rather large oak tree. other than that the site was pretty well ours to explore, no other urban exploration groups were to be seen. There was a lot of activity at the active juvenile facility which kept us on our situational awareness high.

The only evidence of previous visitors I could see was the obvious destruction by scrap metal hunters. They advance the state of decomposition of the buildings. The rip open walls and take out pipes and wiring. They are the opposite of urban explorers. While we take photos and try to leave the site as it is, they are looters or the worst stripe.

We had a pretty good time, and bringing friends to see the site makes it more fun for me. This is all old ground for Marc and I and are agreed that we have seen pretty much all there is to see here. I was excited to use my new camera at the site as well. I was able to shoot in darker conditions than before and adjust to ISO 900 to get shots in lower light than before with my point and shoot camera.

Flashbacks: Haiti, Port Au Prince Harbor 2010

2011-09-05T08:53:00.001-04:00

Most of my time in Haiti as part of the rescue effort was spent in the harbor area. There was extensive damage throughout the harbor. Recovery was going to take time and a lot of money to fix this mess.

Thirty foot conex boxes floated out into the harbor, there were hazards to navigation everywhere. The cranes were in the water and the pier had partially collapsed.

Strange Weapons: Goliath remote controlled anti-tank mine

2011-09-04T18:24:00.000-04:00

My photo from Aberdeen Proving Grounds, 2009

The task of taking out an enemy tank if you are Infantry is NOT for the feint of heart. Your chances of making it back from the task are slim. The German Army developed a weapon that could be launched and attack a target from the safety of cover.

The SdKfz 302/303/303b versions was not a small mine, the aptly names Goliath was 4 feet long, 2 feet wide and a foot tall. It carried varying charges up to 155 kilograms. The purpose was to take out Allied tanks, fortifications, and it was hoped landing craft to stymie any landings by the allies. It was wire guided by a triple strand of wire, two for controlling the movements of the weapon and one for detonation of the charge.

The charge was more than enough to destroy the tanks of the day, most of the armor was on the front and sides, the underside had relatively thin armor by comparison.

The Germans were ahead of their time. A modern cousin can be found in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of wire guided, they are radio controlled. Instead of an explosive charge, they disarm bombs.

Flashbacks: Inmate Barracks Dachau, August 2009

2011-09-04T16:19:00.000-04:00

I had visited several other labor and death camps throughout my travels, but none hit me harder than Dachau. It was the first and longest running labor camp. There was a palpable feeling in the air that hung around your shoulders. Something just felt wrong here.

Every kind of political prisoner and those deemed "undesirable" was kept here; Social Democrats, Communists, Anarchists, Socialists, Clergy of all religions, Homosexuals, Gypsies, even members of the SS and Wehrmacht who had committed actual crimes.

The original barracks buildings had long since been torn down for both health and safety reasons. This barracks was reconstructed to represent the living conditions of those kept here throughout the camps operation. Originally, there were day rooms and individual bunks, but as the war progressed. These were replaced with simple "shelves" that many people could be crowded into.

It is almost unimaginable the suffering the people endured here and at places like this. Good thing these sites exist to teach generations removed from the original horror. It is too east to put things "in the past" and increasing the chances for something similar to occur.

Flashbacks: FOB cats of Afghanistan

2011-09-04T11:09:00.003-04:00

Canadian cat at Camp Nathan Smith.

When I was in the southern provinces, every base had generations of cats running around everywhere. Each FOB and outpost had cats. Each base had it's own unique style of cat. At our FOB they were orange cats with jaguar like spots. At Nathan Smith they were brown. I joked that the cats were all desert camouflage pattern.

Nobody seemed to mind them really, they were keeping the mouse and rat populations down. Some bases even went as far as vet care for the cats.

These shots are from my FOB (RTC Kandahar) and the PRT FOB in Kandahar City, Camp Nathan Smith.

This is "Lefty", you cannot tell here, but when he walked. The poor bugger's head had a permanent left lean to it. I think he suffered a spinal injury as a kitten and it just healed that way. He looks pretty normal here.

This cat lived under my hooch and I fed it regularly. This shot in on our perimeter wall behind our hooches. The cats would disappear before a mortar or rocket attack and reappear right after. It was like they knew to hide. I called this cat "Dusty"