[Kombisaurus]

After being recently inspired by a couple of websites I discussed in This Thread (http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/viewto...3169#33169) I decided to head back to the South Fremantle Power Station and venture inside!

I've shot there before and posted the pics in This Thread (http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/viewto...?pid=18202), so I'll just concentrate on the different-looking shots here.

As I was walking toward the powerstation, I could hear a small plane overhead and didn't look up or give it much thought... but then it got louder and louder and I looked up and noticed it was actually 9 planes in formation.
The idea for these first two shots popped straight into my head and I couldn't believe my luck of being in the right place at the right time.. but my camera was still packed up in my bag and the planes were directly overhead! I grabbed the camera and had about 3 seconds left to snap these shots off before they disappeared over the powerstation. Proof of the value of leaving your camera in a "ready" state in the bag - I had no time to check or change anything.
I was happy with the photos however - I tried to capture the mood of a WW2 Air Raid with the planes and run-down building full of smashed windows, and I bumped up the contrast in the overcast sky so it almost looks like smoke.


1. Wide shot of the planes.


2. Not-so-wide shot of the planes.

I then wandered inside the building...


3. Wide shot of one of the two main halls.


4. Every surface within human reach in the whole building is covered in graffiti.


5. Nothing says "keep out" better than barbed wire and razor wire.. and there's plenty of both around to welcome visitors.


7. Even on an overcast day a couple of hours before sunset, the light coming in is fantastic to play with.


8. A feather (stating the obvious)


9. I even got a chance to meet the local residents.


10. One of the smaller rooms.

[stargazer]

I really like these photos. Great job.

[shuttertalk]

Fantastic Kombi... amazing what beauty lies to be discovered in decay...

My favourites are definitely the first plane shot (awesome, awesome!) and also the barbed wire window. They're all really emotive pics, and the post processing is great too.

Thanks for sharing buddy! Hope to see more of your adventures!

[Toad]

Great series, 6 and 9 being particulalry strong IMO.

[Irma]

Beautiful picture... The colors and post processing (sepia) are great! I love #5 and #8..

The other day I went to Luebeck and I remembered the pictures you posted time ago where you have graffiti in the walls... I took pictures there, but I haven't done anything with them yet... It is certainly very a interesting subject in photography I think....

Thanks for sharing

[EnglishBob]

Great series, #2 is my pick of the bunch.

It's a brave person round here that enters abandoned buildings, as most of them aren't so abandoned! As well as the camera you'd be wanting a .45 and some body armor.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks peoples

I love this place, and although its about time I found some other places to shoot, I really enjoy just being there, camera or not.
I remember the first time I "discovered" it not long after I arrived in Perth about 8 years ago... I just wanted to buy it and move in!

Next up I guess I'd better check out the East Perth Power Station which I've never been to, and then start hunting for other places.

Oh, and if anybody uses Google Earth and wants to check out these places, here are the coordinates (just copy/paste them into the "Fly To" box.

32° 5'39.36"S 115°45'32.41"E <-- South Fremantle Power Station

31°56'46.47"S 115°52'49.67"E <-- East Perth Power Station

Cheers
Adrian

[Petographer]

Fantastic bunch. Your lighting in these dimly lit areas are great. Very well done Adrian.

[byrt_001]

hi

this is great place, will look totaly excelent on a fashion shoot.

great shots.

regards

christian

[Wedding Shooter]

Well done Kombi - beauty from ashes.

Cheers,

Chris

[Schellamo]

I was going to say the same as Byrt- it would be great to have a model and use the graffiti as a background.
I love all these shots, especially the 1st and 2nd, the barbed wire and the feather shots.
AWESOME WORK!

[jbman]

very nice work indeed. What filting did you use on your photos, I really like the effects?

[Don Schaeffer]

These are great. You have found a treasure trove of visuals.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks again ppl

Peto, I think the biggest improvement to things like my lighting lately has been by calibrating my monitor! It has really helped me get what I want out of the RAW conversion and Tone Curves, and I feel more confident about subtle details in shadows and subtle tones and so on now because I know that at least on other calibrated monitors they will appear exactly as I see them. Previously I had to exaggerate some of the subtleties because I knew the images looked different on every monitor.

Christian and Schellamo... if by "model" and "fashion" you mean "motorbike"... then expect to see me re-use this location (or another like it) as a backdrop for some promo shots for a friend and his bike.

Colin, I don't think "angry local residents" would be a big problem in this building, but I have been in a few places where that has crossed my mind.
When walking around such places, I often use my monopod as a hiking/walking stick. Apart from being handy as a walking stick, it is good for wiping away cobwebs and poking around in long grass, and also I think it is a very non-threatening way to avoid looking vulnerable. Its something that I'd be carrying anyway, and I think having it visible like that would make any potential aggressor think twice, without seeming like I'm looking for trouble myself. I have no plans to use it, but I think many situations can be avoided simply by not looking like an easy target.

JBman, no filters were used for most of the shots. The only "effects" are careful RAW Conversion and a bit of Tone Curve and Sharpening work in PS. hmmm actually I think I did a little vignetting in #3 and #4 too.
The first 2 shots of the planes however did have a polariser filter attached (not that it made much difference, I just didn't have time to remove or adjust it), but more extensive PS work was done and the sky and building had seperate tone curves applied. Huge amounts of contrast was pumped into the sky to make it so dramatic.

And Don, you said it! I was constantly scooping my jaw off the floor after walking into each new room.

[adam]

So this is what I missed when I was away!
Great shots Adrian! I really like your photographs!

[yggdrasil]

hello new here, sorry to bring up such a old topic, but this is the only place i could find infomation on this building, i found this building one night out with mates we aproched the building but getting closer to it it was getting more intimadateing (note: it was 2AM) and i decided to throw a rock at it and no sooner than i turn around the girls had run away.
Well i went there yesterday and explored and wished i did bring my camera so i was just stuck with my camera phone, i found so much good graffiti around some that would have taken hours to do, i also daringly/stupidly climed one of the support beams in the middle up to the second level then there was a ladder to the third level the third level wasnt much more than just a veiw of the sea and roof (a look out tower) so back down to the second floor and i found much more artistic graffiti aroundand took some pic's on my phone, then i had to leave due to the sun going down adn hanging of that edge climbing down that beam 5M in the air above concret floor well that made my heart pound, next time i p[lan to take a cam and get some good photos, thanks for this thread so i could get some infomation about the history of this building.

[Keith Alan]

Thanks for bringing up this old thread, yggdrasil.
I had never seen it.

That building is like an art gallery for grafitti.
And it's a funny coincidence that I was shooting abandoned buildings including a power plant today.

From the outside