Leica M6 – Ilford HP5 – Rodinal 1:50
Within a few days of arriving in Charleston, I remember thinking: OMG! What is that smell? There must be a paper mill nearby. Sure enough, there was, right in the same neighborhood where I worked. Great! People who had worked in the area for some time assured me that I’d get used to. They assured me that I wouldn’t even notice after a while. Well, they didn’t say exactly how long that would be. I imagine, now, that it is on the order of years, as 18 months have passed and I can still smell it.
Perhaps, though, I only smell it now on the stronger days. I don’t seem to remember smelling it everyday, though, in the winter time the smell is less pungent because of the lower humidity and temperature, I suppose.
I’ve been looking for other, non beach, venues to shoot. Charleston has a few parks, but mostly tourist spots where you have to pay $25 or more to get in. I was looking for a spot a little less quaffed, tony, and more everyday folksy. I wanted a spot that would be a challenge to photograph or that I could take some time to explore and have to work at it a bit.
Since we moved to a different building this past summer, instead of being about 2 blocks away from the paper mill, I have to drive by it every day. It never ceases to capture my attention. It seems to have so many different looks depending on weather condition. I have a feeling that I’m going to find some good locations from which to photograph it, but not at the moment.
Right next to the plant there is a very small park. The park is just big enough to have a playground, small restroom facilities, a place to launch your boat, and, of course, a few trees. It is bounded on the western side by a busy street, a chain link fence and some oil processing company to the south, and a river occupies its north and eastern edges.
On the way home from work, I decided to stop by. What I noticed was that, for sure, the smell of the mill was strong. Also, no matter where you went in the park, you saw the mill. You can see it from the playground; it’s reflected in the water of the river. It’s everywhere.
At first, I tried to find some framing that didn’t include the plant, but was unsuccessful, save for shooting macros. So, decided to try to incorporate the plant into the shots. Add to this that highway I-526, a major Charleston highway, runs right above the park and it’s support structures can be seen in most any framing attempt.
Over the next few posts, I’ll be using photos from this park. As a matter of fact, the photo from yesterday’s post was taken in this same park. Also, strangely, I’m eager to return, despite the smell. It appears to be an interesting place to photograph.
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11 Responses to “Exploring something new”
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Paul, enjoy the park and you’re getting some good photos, but if you start to feel strange or begin growing extra fingers or toes you might want to move a little further from “the mill.” — do these trees look mis-shapened?
Those trees really give the image some nice framing. I wonder: have you come to any conclusions yet about people and their love for Leica cameras? Any insights?
No. I’ve not come to any conclusions, but I do know that, for some reason, I really like using that camera. I’ll think about that some more, though. I’m still curious myself.
Paul, the folks who live and work at a local paper mill here say that the plant’s aroma to them smells like money to them.
Well, money smells funny!
For some reason, I was so fixated on looking at the bench that I didn’t see the background (and the mill) at all, until I read your posting. Strange how this image works, now it seems to be very different from the first impression.
That’s a very good point, Juha. My words provided context, which took you away from your own personal experience, I believe. In this particular image, the mill is not so prominently displayed.
The first time I had an overnight there I was trying to figure out what the smell was. And, for me it seems to linger even as we leave. I find parks to be a great place to go for relaxing as well as photography.
Monte: The airport is close to the paper mill. Probably about 3 or 4 miles, as the crow flies. When I was returning back from NYC, I remember knowing exactly when we had hit Charleston ‘air space’. I could smell it on the plane. I know that I wasn’t imagining it because one of the passengers, who obviously wasn’t a Charleston native asked: What is that smell? A couple of us simply replied: It’s a paper mill.
Here in Finland, it was a common saying that “money smells”, referring to towns which had paper mills in them. Nowadays the smell is rare, as the mills are either modern with little smell, or then they have been closed down.
I can imagine that those who though they would enjoy that bench rather would get a bit nervous, as the trees seemingly reach out their branches towards them. The mill will provide a good backround to that scary movie.