Back Country Roads
Albion, Michigan
albion
Our Share of Autumn
Lots of places across the United States experience the changing seasons, and with a bit of luck they get to see the leaves turn, too.
Michigan doesn’t have any special autumn magic. From what I hear, you drive through New England in the autumn to see the magic.
But we get our share. Early to mid October, depending on where you are in the state, is when the show starts.
I grabbed this shot driving around the countryside outside of Albion, Michigan, right at the very end of the color season. It looks like a long driveway. It feels like fall.
Autumn Is Haunted
When people talk about how much they love autumn, this is probably what they mean: golden leaves, somber weather, a crispness in the air.
I think about fall as kind of a haunted season – and not just because of Halloween. It’s haunted because things are dying, the darkness is growing, and cold winds start blowing. Persephone is leaving, and the world mourns.
It’s tough to keep a camera away from this season. Plus, I have a thing about cemeteries. They’re especially gorgeous and appropriate in autumn.
Red Door
Albion, Mich.
As a photographer, and as a designer at my former job, I find color to be tough. I love color, and I make sure that color is a big part of my work. But I’ve always had trouble getting color – understanding it intuitively.
So I’m trying to do more color studies like this one. Pick color as a subject. It started as a daily Instagram project for one week, but now I’m trying to do more of it.
Here’s to color.
Summer Breeze
Abandoned House – Albion, Michigan
Thanks to fellow photographer Matt Lockwood for the heads-up on this place. I’ve photographed the exterior before, but never the interior.
The first thing you notice is the cats. There are some many, and all feral, but not so nervous that they scatter on approach.
No, these cats have seen things. Done things they’re not proud of.
I heard a story about this place. A friend from work misplaced his iPhone, and Find My iPhone placed in here – dead-center in the middle of this abandoned plant.
“Don’t go in there,” a police officer advised him. “Not even we go in there.”
The silly, destructive side of me wants to slip through the fence to get a look. But there’s just enough caution in me to steer clear.
So I walk around a bit, and grab some shots. The caved-in wall. The brick work.
The cats.
Albion, Michigan is one of those towns that was hit hard by the flight of rust belt industry. One big employer leaves and the whole town gasps.
There’s the college. And a few taverns to grab a bite to eat. A few manufacturers here and there.
But there’s also quite a few of abandoned spots in town – a glimpse at what this place used to look like, not so long ago.
Some of these structures were built to last. Strong brick and wood. It probably means they’ll last for decades.
They’ll probably outlast their original owners.
But others? The paint’s peeling. The wood is splintering. The glass is shattering.
It’s all going to hell, fading in the sun and the seasons.
There’s that old adage about one broken window in a neighborhood can’t be tolerated, or else more will appear. Here, though, people just drive past.
Jesus fading in the window. Boards protecting the inside from the sun’s rays and onlookers’ curiosity.
I don’t see this stuff as ruin porn or a fetishization of the Rust Belt Economy that’s dying (or in some places, dead). For me, it’s cool history.
Some of these places have a story, and lives attached to them. Who were they? What did they do here? How long did they hold out? Where are they now?
8/9/13 – Antenna To Nothing
Lots of abandoned goodness in Albion, Mich. Took a little drive Friday afternoon during lunch and spotted a row of buildings that looked like they used to be thriving businesses.
But no longer.
