Taking a Broader View

If I didn’t love him so much, I’d hate my dear friend Daniel Beck for getting this beautiful photograph.

This is a panorama of a disused lime kiln in my hometown of Lanesboro, MA. It’s become one of my favorite places to photograph, both because it’s convenient, and because it’s spooky and beautiful. I took Daniel there a week or so ago, and he returned a few days ago with a tripod, patience, and an artist’s eye. That plus some photoshopping yields this panorama, which helps give a sense of what it’s like to step into a disused and decaying space about 300 meters long.

It’s not an easy place to shoot – it’s extremely dark, except in the places where there holes in the walls or roof… and then it’s very bright. My favorite shots, like of the rusting lime kiln above, tend to be ones where a streak of light illuminates an otherwise dark scene. Some of Daniel’s best shots, though, are light ones, including this of a patch of grass on a stretch of floor three stories above the ground.

Just another reminder, as I sit here in New York City, that there’s no shortage of things that merit close attention in my lovely little home town.