I visited Lowry Bridge more than two years ago, when there was only a single dock and crane.  I revisited on a rainy afternoon when the gap had been bridged with concrete.  Now that the arches were up, it was time to take another peek.

It was a quiet evening, the air was warm, and the river had a strong current.  There were bits of plastic wrap still clinging to the support beams that slapped around in the wind.  There wasn’t much of interest on the bridge itself, but standing along the railing and looking at the city as the sun set was fantastic.  

“Return to Lowry Bridge” -  Adventure Series #10

Completed Mid 2012 - Photography Work - Shapes Industries

Glass, the multi-talented urban explorer/historian, had contacted myself and Magnus with an opportunity.  Moored in a storage yard sits the J.B. Ford, a 700 foot ore vessel built in 1901.  He knows how to get inside.

During a particularly nasty cold spell during the winter of 2011-12, Magnus and I packed up the car, and drove to Duluth, well prepared to photograph an abandoned freight ship.  We weren’t told much about what to expect, but that a lot of the interior was left in good shape, and that it was worth the drive.

I was wearing every available scrap of winter clothing I owned.  I had a small butane heater in my coat chest pocket burning away, hand warmers shoved underneath both pairs of gloves, and my camera bag slung over my shoulders as we parked, and walked the property line between the storage yard and Peavy Mill, which was busy and well lit.  

We crouched in the tall, dead grass as trucks moved around on grounds, and as soon as we had a free window, we ran towards the boat, keeping against the buildings and acknowledging the location of a nearby security booth.  The wind became brutal near the lake, and immediately broke my will as I tried to set up a photo of the outside of the ship.  

We ran on board via a staircase pushed up against the side, and warmed up in the navigation room.  Just below navigation, the captain’s quarters were decorated with oil paintings, diagrams, ship records, and casual living arrangements.  Below the captain’s room was the crew quarters, and even further down were the guts of the ship itself.  Glass flicked a switch, and flooded one of the rooms with florescent light.  

A loud crashing sound came from above, ice was hitting the side of the boat.  It was then I realized we were technically underwater.  A long corridor spanned the whole length of the boat, and lead into the cramped engine room (a gigantic three cylinder), and a backup generator that was formerly a train engine.  

We decided it was time to leave, and began following the property line out, when Glass noticed a parked and occupied semi truck that had a line of sight on our exit.  We needed a new strategy.  The only other way was to sneak underneath the security booth, and run past the occupied tug boats, until we reached the road.  We all began running as silently as possible, tired and loaded with gear.  Everything went fine until we got close to the road.  The truck we had seen earlier was suddenly driving straight towards us with its lights on.  We jumped down onto the beach, and sprinted along side the frozen lake until we were sufficiently out of sight.  I remember collapsing onto the sand, breathing heavily, but still able to exclaim how amazing and fun it was to run. 

Magnus and I listened to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” as we drove back into town, and stopped off at the local casino for some slots before retiring.  

“The Hunt for J.B. Ford” - Adventure Series #8 

Completed Mid 2012 - Photography Work - Shapes Industries

These 10 images are my personal favorites, selected from several years worth of exploration with the art collective known as “Municipal Heroes.”

All 10 were pulled from my new book, “Sets, Scenes and Stages in Exploration,” which chronicles the Municipal Heroes story, and my own development as an adventure photographer.

This project marks the most serious body of work I have made to date, and has served to lend perspective to a lifestyle I no longer follow, but that has changed me immensely.

The book, Sets, Scenes and Stages, has 205 pages, 134 of which consist of my photographic work; the rest are filled with stories and anecdotes. It is printed at 13 inches wide by 11 inches tall, in full color on black paper. 

The images and stories are told in chronological order and act as a retrospective of the numerous trials, successes and foolish endeavors that my friends and I had experienced. 

The release of the book was celebrated with a solo exhibition that featured 25 images from its pages, printed and framed at 17 inches by 21 inches.

The book is available for preview and sale at my online store front here:
www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3068051

“Sets, Scenes and Stages in Exploration”
Completed Early 2012 - Photography and Short Story Book - Shapes Industries

It was a great night to be inside.  A strong wind had picked up and relentlessly rattled the bones of my good friend and I.  We were on our way to Palace Theater, with full permission to take advantage of her photographically.

As soon as we entered, I wandered around a bit, but stayed close as the circuit breakers were flipped, and the construction lamps were plugged in.  It was quiet in that large space.  The stage and the seats were all empty, and it was much stranger to see them that way than I thought it would be.  It got me thinking about the human quality of things, the way you could tell the floorboards and trim were affixed by hand. 

The theater had aged very gracefully, and aside from a thick layer of dust and some scattered garbage, there was little wrong with her from an immediate perspective.  Every detail of the building seemed to be soaked in a rich history that I was beginning to wish I had been apart of.  What ever disappeared or changed after closure hadn’t sapped the elegance and poise from the space.

“Palace Theater” - Adventure Series #5
Completed Late 2011 - Photography Work - Shapes Industries