Digital Ink'd

  We pulled up the long, curving driveway and stopped at the gate. A black pickup truck was parked off to the side. Uneasy, we backed down the road, trying to decide whether to go through with the mission. We should have. Later, as I reviewed the drone footage, I saw it — an open doorway in the back. I can only assume it led straight into the tire-burning facility. But at the time, it didn’t show up on my controller’s feed. I wish we’d at least circled, and taken a look at the rear of the plant before giving up and heading to another site. That hesitation cost us. If we hadn’t let a parked truck shake our resolve, we could have been the only explorers on the entire East Coast to document one of the last two tire-to-energy plants in the country — the only one in New England. It wasn’t just a massive industrial site; it was the region’s primary solution for handling end-of-life tires, processing countless loads into energy. But we never went back. By the time we worked up the nerve a...

A revisit on the anniversary of the arson that claimed this National Historic Place. A few weeks ago I was in the area and headed up to the now-destroyed Wildcliff mansion in New Rochelle, New York. This unoccupied mansion was torched on November 26, 2018, by four middle school minors. All four teens were caught and found guilty of criminal trespass and one charged with arson. The fire completely destroyed the 1852 mansion that overlooked the Long Island Sound. Built as a wedding gift for the couple Sarah Marie Davenport and Cyrus Lawton, the cottage villa was designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis. The historic residence boasts 20 rooms and has the advantage of facing the spectacular scenery of the open water save the now public park structures (Hudson Park) down below the property. According to City Historian Barbara Davis, “Wildcliff, as the Gothic cottage was later renamed, was gifted to the City of New Rochelle by the Julius Prince family in 1940. A...

Based this post and composition on the bewildering and mysterious Westworld Season 2 Episode 9 of HBO's critically acclaimed sci-fi drama. As I was aligning the busy road below I saw the leading line and knew I had a good shot at hand and pulled the trigger. "Do I have a choice? Were any of these choices ever truly mine to begin with?" Jun 22, 2018

Where life's road crisscrosses over each life path. I've been meaning to get this shot for a while now. After, not updating my drone for over a year, I finally did the latest firmware update and headed out early to get this shot I've been meaning to take for quite some time. Looking forward to using my drone as much as I do my personal DSLR camera . Jun 22, 2018

June 22, 2018 

When I first saw this bridge I knew I had to come back and shoot from various angles. I am glad I did because I am very proud of the aerial photo above.  A dreamy water background with fall leaves still floating in the water. Giving it an almost star-like appearance against the vertical juxtaposition of the train bridge.  A definite top fave for the year!

Currently on site are ten 50-foot fuel containers. The seven-acre site is under NYC ownership for a long-awaited future park that may be called "Maker Park". Although Bushwick Inlet Park exists down the road. The city envisions a much larger park on this waterfront property to the chagrin of residential developers. Trust, there will be taller buildings close to this park with waterfront views once the building begins. As it stands, no plans have been laid out by the city for when development will begin or the long decontamination of the oil depot will take before any park can be situated here. Bayside Oil Depot has historical roots dating back to the Civil War. Charles Pratt seeing fortune during the beginnings of Pennsylvania oil fields established Astral Oil on the banks of Bushwick Inlet in 1867. Soon other oil refineries dotted the banks of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Astral Oil was the first modern refinery in the nation and produced what some called th...

No pirate treasure here but I did find some rope to hang myself. This remnant of a much larger complex that burned in 2006 was once home to American Manufacturing Company. It was built in 1890 and manufactured 10 million pounds of oakum used in caulking wooden ship seams. Employing over 2,000 workers who lived nearby in Greenpoint Brooklyn. Mainly female Polish and Lithuanian immigrant workers. American Manufacturing Company started off as a two-story jute mill quickly expanding from one block to six. In 1920, it became the largest hemp and jute factory in the manufacture of 400,000 pounds of cotton bagging and ties daily. Later known as the forgotten Greenpoint Terminal Market . The historic warehouses burned in 2006 as it was revealed they were being referred to by The Municipal Art Society as historical landmarks to the Landmarks Preservation Commission . The Greenpoint fire was responded to by a large force of 350 firefighters on the day it burned. Now, a f...

Explored a few tiny islands in a local park on my recent weekend adventures. These islands sit off in the distance from the parking lot just a few nautical miles away from the boating dock and canoeing rental services. Took Mad Dog One up with relative ease and headed straight for my target. Lined a few shots and some interesting perspectives and returned the bird. Today was a day I wanted to explore 10 abandoned properties within one day from sunrise to sunset and time was of the essence.

Gorgeous Massachusetts views on a nature trail. Took the Mad Dog One out to view the spectacular forests of Massachusetts has to offer.  Didn't actually trek the local trail here but took it in from way up. Better exposures but still getting use to working with ND filters. When you miss the leading line of the local highway.

A fascinating ensemble of two dozen marooned and ghostly flotilla lay rotting away in the small Coney Island Creek. No one knows their names and when they first appeared abandoned in the small waterway. These vessels were brought here for illegal disposal burned out and marooned forever. Never to sail again. The famous yellow submarine You can access this 'little' yellow submarine burrito by canoe, boat or even by low tide.