CyberNinjaKat

Works and thoughts of an aspiring artist.

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Found a home!

As you have all seen, I won't be posting much for a while. Finally found a house and am in the process of moving in. Will be busy for a while.

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This is a before and after of my attempt at restoring a photo for my grandfather. The boy’s name was Kim and he was about 7-9 years old during the Korean war. We don’t know what became of him after my grandfather (Sergent Stan Hansen of the First Cavalry Heavy Munitions Unit) had to come home. I hope to be able to find out someday, at least so my grandpa can know.

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10/10. This is Cray-croft Manor, abandoned and rumored to be haunted. This was also the only location where my film tore and skipped the reel. I enjoyed doing this series of photos, and I may continue taking similar photos on and off.

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9/10. Here’s the nighttime shot of the tower, you can see the “door to nowhere” in this one.

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8/10. I’m told this is an old pump house. Not sure about that, but there is a “door to nowhere” on the second floor that I believe used to go to a balcony or something. Someone wrote “Don’t die” on the outside of it, I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it.

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7/10. Another reprint. I was suprised to see the cat there, but it was a much better encounter than the beehive i discovered later. that house was apparently there since before the roads and neighborhoods were built around it.

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6/10. First of the reprints. the original print wasn’t dark enough.

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5/10. Another tree growing into a building. I’m surprised the owners never noticed I was there taking photos. If they see this, I hope they don’t mind. I loved taking these pictures.

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4/10. Another section of the collapsing building. finally got some interior shots.

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Final Project Statement

For the past five months I have been hunting down and taking photos of old, run-down, dilapidated houses around central California. Many others have done similar projects, but my reason for doing this is a personal one.

The inspiration for these photos dates back further than the mere five months I have been doing this project, five years to be exact. For the first 18 years of my life I lived in one place, a place where I grew and made many memories and became who I am. Then, in what still feels like a blink of an eye I had to pack up and leave, essentially being “uprooted” from the life I knew.  Since then I, and later the rest of my family, have been moving from one place to another and never really settling in.

With no permanent “home” I am constantly wondering where I will be sleeping a month from now and if I will still have a roof over my head. While it may seem unreasonable to some, I often find myself looking at these abandoned houses and wondering if there will be a day in the near future that I will be calling one of them home. I also look at these houses and think of the families that once lived there. Did they leave slowly and on their own terms, or were they uprooted like I was?

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3/10. there was a tree growing through the building and causing it to collapse. couldn’t get a straight shot of the tree.

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2/10. Next on the list of final 10

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1/10. Here is the first of my final ten photos of the semester. There will be some reprints in the mix over the next few days.

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Final photo shoot of the semester. This is the location I found. Working on the contact sheet now.

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Decided to try something new. These are two alternate versions of an image I've been working on in my spare time. Inspired by my other username Ninjaskelekat.

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Went to art hop. Really enjoyed talking to the artists and authors. We shared stories about different pieces we've made and the difficulties we face with various mediums. Nice to know that even the professionals have the same difficulties I do. Also got some advice on how to go about doing work in different styles.

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Photography project restated

Ok so, for the past few months I have been doing a photography project I've taken to calling my "uprooted" series. The project has evolved a bit since the first few photos. Instead of just dilapidated buildings I am photographing abandoned houses. My reason for this is the current situation my life and my family are in. The clock is ticking and we're running out of time to find a place, so I find myself thinking about these abandoned places. As I stated in my previous version, I lived in one place most of my life and in the last few years I've been drifting from one place to another. Some small part of me wonders if I will end up having to live in one of these places. So, yeah. That is my reason for doing this subject as my project.