New Photos -- Finally!

So, I've been very busy lately. I landed myself a job as the writer-on-staff (as well as being the webmaster and graphic designer and photographer...) for www.prylab.com. It's a local business that sells Raspberry Pi mini computers (I have one; they're super cool -- basically a desktop computer that's about the size of a credit card and costs $30), so I've been all kinds of distracted learning Linux and all about the Arduino microcontroller so that I can write about said gadgets. I've always had a love of technology, so this marries my interests really well. It's been one good turn in an otherwise UNREMITTINGLY AWFUL year.

But, I have been missing my art, so the other day I took a stroll around Vanier and shot some rather dystopian photos with my beloved DSLR. The full size versions are available to download as stock (eg., to be used on book covers, etc.) at my Deviantart page.

Abandoned places part 3 -- The Hotel del Salto

"Abandoned (Haunted) Hotel in Colombia

The Hotel del Salto is located near Tequendama Falls on the Bogotá River in Colombia. It was opened in 1924 and shut its doors in the 1990′s. The hotel’s Gothic design is perfectly enhanced by a river and waterfall. Some say the hotel is haunted and no one wanted to stay there. Others state that the adjoining river was extremely polluted and they had to close. For whatever reason, the hotel stands as a beautifully macabre landmark for lovers of classic architecture, urban exploration, and maybe a few ghosts."

I would LOVE to go here, my god... so gorgeous.

More beautiful abandoned things/places.

I saw these images on Tumblr today and I thought I would share them here, too, as my post on Detroit seemed popular with you all. I've no idea of the source of these photographs (my apologies) because they weren't attributed to anyone in the post from whence they came.

Detroit: Dystopian Paradise

I have a fascination with abandoned buildings and generally desolate, eerie places. I find them beautiful in a chilling, stilling way that makes one pause to reflect.

I've always been a tad morbid, but not negative. In the silence I see hope, the idea of new beginnings, of building something better. Detroit seems to embody so much of that (from the 'Paris of the Midwest', to a sprawling post-apocalyptic drug mecca, to being largely reclaimed by nature -- a center for urban farming to take root and artists to flourish); it's hard for me to even comprehend such a place exists in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. America is such a bizarrely polarized country, or so it seems to my outsider's perspective. I've only ever been to the country briefly, once, many years ago. I went to upstate NY and I have to say it was creepy as hell in its own right. I'd love to go back but can't convince anyone in the family to drive me...

Some links to further excellent photographs and articles:

http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2013/01/detroit-dave-jordano/

http://sararemington.blogspot.ca/2011/09/detroit-rock-city.html

http://laughingsquid.com/escape-to-detroit/

http://www.63alfred.com/thewalls.htm

Macoun Marsh, Ottawa

This surprising little patch of life, home to 1200 species known species of flora and fauna, directly abuts the sprawling, manicured grounds of Beechwood Cemetery, just off of St. Laurent Boulevard.

Macoun Marsh is lucky to exist at all -- it used to be part of a larger wooded area that flanked the southeastern end of the cemetery, an area which has since been lost forever to the increasing intensity of urban development within the city of Ottawa. The marsh was saved by the dedicated efforts of the students of the St-Laurent Academy, under the tutelage of teacher Mike Leveille and with the aid of the Beechwood Cemetery. It has since served as their research project, an 'outdoor classroom', and has won several awards for its unique efforts to preserve biodiversity within an urban space.

Many educational plaques line the trail:

I am personally very grateful to the efforts of these students and Mr. Leveille; I believe conserving small patches of truly natural land such as this one within the city is vital to the health, well-being, and harmony of us all, along with conserving valuable islands of habitat for rare species. The tranquility of these microcosms within the noise, smoke, and stress of the urban world is priceless. In my photos, I tried to capture the essence of that essential peace.

Prints of some of these are available on my deviantart page for any who are interested: http://phoenixjackson.deviantart.com/