steveb leatherworks: the blather

No secret here, I like to visit scary places. There are some people who are urban explorers who do lots of research and really drill down into the whole thing of it all, get the full history, sniff the place out first and are highly prepped about the nature of a site, its longitude, latitude, security, etc and there are some people, like me, who will do all that if they have to, but really at the heart of it… are opportunists… if i see something juicy- I jump on it, if it looks within reason and i see a cheap shot of an “in”. I think this kind of fearlessness comes partly from growing up in NYC and being around weird stuff my whole life and being pretty sure i can manage most any situation i put myself in. The Boss thinks I am not so smart.

Nova Dye was definitely NOT within reason and i didn’t have a clue what I’d find beyond the “door”,  but i jumped on it anyway…it was just too juicy and i was just too itchy. This place is huge (bigger than a city block) and i stayed close to the perimeter, because i could see from a distance outside the facility that huge sections of the roof on certain floors and sections had collapsed – this place is a time bomb in terms of total collapse and fire, there was alot of asbestos, all kinds of shit hanging and dangling from walls, ceilings, stairwells, open pits of evil liquid in the floor – this place is a big, dangerous fucking mess and has already been designated a SuperFund site. Ya got to love that it is smack dab in the middle of  a busy, “lower/poor” cash flow kinda folks neighborhood. I heard voices walk by as i went about my activities – and not a one of them was English….makes ya wonder, no? …well it makes me wonder…but you knew that…ha!

So anyway my first visit to Nova was a totally assault on the senses – this place was simply overwhelming in every way: danger from the environment, photographic beauty, danger from pirates and opportunistic robbers, security – oh man – this was a smorgasboard of “you have got to be kiddng me”. But the place was amazing and i really think i got the flavor of it captured for you to see (it took two visits)..which is my goal.. I want you the viewer, to feel the way I did when i first explored it myself…. My reaction was …holy shit.

During my second visit, about two hours into my shooting i felt itchy and knew i was being stalked by pirates, they were trying to locate me in the complex but I am patient, and quiet, and i was dressed darkly- and so waited out the bad guys. It took some time, but i finished my mission, slipped my rig back in its quiver and was infinitely patient as i waited for the perfect moment to exit. There is no bolting in these situations, you need to tuck yourself in an out of the way, scary dark corner – and wait, and be calm.

I want you to react, I want you to feel your heart rate rise as you look at these pics – knowing that people are stalking you in the dark and scary places, I want you to send me your comments, I want you to comment publicly – how can you see images like this and from Fairfield Hills and NOT be affected in some way? Is it just me? I find these environments compelling and beautiful in a way that no “inhabited” place does – i hope you do too!

See the full set of Nova Dye images >here<

And yea, i will be getting back to yakking about leather work soon, promise!!!