Murdered Out

Continuing my week-long digression into automotive photography, I brought back this older shot from the damp streets of Berkeley. The glow of the apartment buildings, the light trails, and the older cars on the street all form the backdrop to this murdered-out Subaru Impreza WRX. (Murdered out, meaning black rims and a dark black window tint—though I always thought this look worked better on Cadillacs than Subarus…)

Murdered Out

Leaving Canton

So this is it: Commencement was yesterday, the graduated seniors are gone off to their lives, and my miniature project to document the end of the school year is coming to an end, as well. The seniors graduated, packed, and evacuated in a single hectic afternoon. The strange calm when the dorms are emptied and the cars hit the road and vanish into the distance is what really gets me. (Though, of course, I’m very proud of my students, going out to begin their “real world”/grad school lives.) Over the course of this week, I’m going to translate those thoughts on “moving on” to a few other pictures of cars and trucks that I’ve taken—recently, and in the past. Consider this shot of my Mini as the first in the series.

Sundown Driving

Behind that car, positioned at the edge of Canton, is a view across the valley—a view of my surroundings that (in its own minor way) mirrors the equivalent shot I took two years ago of my surroundings from that time period. Though less dramatic, the North Country has its own summer vibe going.

Canton, New York

Richardson’s New Neighbor

As part of my continuing series documenting the end of the school year on St. Lawrence’s campus, this image was taken on the same night as this one, just before the addition of the renovated steeple to Gunnison Memorial Chapel. As students say their goodbyes and party their way out of the college lifestyle, the campus is also being polished and prepared for commencement.

Richardson's New Neighbor

Old and New Ghosts

Continuing my observations of the end of the year are a couple of photographs of campus buildings that have a bit of literal spirit to them. First is Sykes Hall, one of the older dorms. With the full moon by the tower and the HDR’ed light trails (a happy accident), the scene says “Halloween in May.”

Ghost Dorm

ODY Library doesn’t have the same old-school creepiness, but rather that brutalist, Soviet vibe that says the ghosts must be a bit more modern.

Final Exams' Glow

Herring-Cole at Dusk

For my little mini-project of documenting the end of the school year at St. Lawrence (previous days showed the cars, and the dorms, and the boat house, and the emotional remembrances), I also wanted to capture the interior of the slightly creepy Herring-Cole Hall at the end of finals week. Only a single student is still toughing it out to the end.

Herring-Cole at Dusk

Ending on Little River

Friday marked the end of exams, and students and faculty alike celebrated by checking canoes and kayaks out of this little boat house on St. Lawrence’s campus. (If it’s true that our school resembles a ski resort in the winter, it also resembles a summer camp during the warmer months of the year.) Nothing really says the year is done (and grading with it) like floating along in complete relaxation.

Ending on Little River

Adirondack Escape Pod

The end of the school year (with the mixed feelings I discussed in my last post) has arrived, so I’ve decided to dedicate this week and next to documenting the feeling of a college campus as it quiets down for the summer. When it comes time to eject from the campus bubble and head out, is there any vehicle that captures the vibe of the northeastern college student better than a rusty, ski-rack-enhanced old Saab?

Adirondack Escape Pod I

The first image, with its sunset and tempting road in the background, might have been all I needed to capture the vibe of this particular Swedish sleeper, but I didn’t want to let it go without documenting the worn bumper stickers dotting the back: stickers from another school (an older sibling, or the original owner?), the current school (SPORTS!), and an assortment of ski resorts.

Adirondack Escape Pod II

Bro Shrine

The end of the school year has finally arrived (I’m proctoring a final as we speak), and that leads to a lot of complicated emotions for graduating seniors: relief, regret, nostalgia, hope, etc. In a disused utility stairwell between a loading dock and a backstage prep area, I found this charming little shrine/still life. In the context of the space and the moment, I can’t begin to imagine what kind of meaning this structure contains. There’s a lovely symmetry though, isn’t there?

Bro Shrine

Night Before the Steeple

In the fall of 2013 at St. Lawrence University (on Parents’ Weekend, no less!), the gorgeous old copper steeple of Gunnison Memorial Chapel burned down from an electrical fire. Renovations and repairs are finally done, and the new copper steeple was delivered yesterday. Today, it will be hoisted up and returned to the top of the repaired bell tower, but last night I paid it a visit during the blue hour to get a feeling for the scale of the structure.

Night Before the Steeple