Sublunar Photography

The summer of 2017 is now upon us and this humble blog has just emerged from its longest hibernation yet. Ten years ago marked the beginning of regularly scheduled adventures here and aside from this short break there hasn't been any real slowing down since then. A decade ago, St Mary's Infirmary, Armour Meat Packing Plant and the Wright Arcade Building were three of the best things you could see around here. Now, two of those locations (St Mary's and Armour) are sadly no more than empty lots, while the Arcade has been saved from oblivion and is now enjoying full capacity in its new found life.

I'll try to keep the self-congratulatory bullshit brief. But hey, ten years is a long time to pour your blood and sweat into a hobby which you don't profit from. I do it because I enjoy it. In the past ten years, I have only become more driven to research, explore and document (with discretion) the most interesting/historic locations possible. But there's only so much to see in a fairly small city like Saint Louis so this often involves actual driving. This has taken me as far South-West as San Francisco (where I was "bitten" by the poodle-dog bush which resulted in the worst poison ivy-like rash I've ever had and, after enduring the unending itch and multi-layered ooze bubbles through the desert with no air conditioning, we finally sought medical attention when my hand/arm went numb from the swelling) and as far North-East as New York (where at one particular location we managed to successfully avoid detection by no less than four separate security vehicles which randomly navigated the property, not to mention attempted bribery of guard dogs) and I've enjoyed (almost) every minute of it. It has definitely been a long, strange trip.

The trip, as it were, doesn't always involve the type of locations that demand their own post. Or the locations are too vulnerable to post about, whether from a recent travel or a local conquest. Sometimes, like this year's earlier travels, the trip is just a reason to meet up with long distance friends and engage in shenanigans without the need for cameras rolling the whole time. The following post is a mashup of locations which I don't feel the need to tell you about for one reason or another but, for whatever reason, I felt like sharing the photos anyway. Maybe it's just to make up for the long period of apparent inactivity during which time I wasn't actually inactive. Either way, there are times I couldn't do this without the help of all my friends both near and far and to them I extend my thanks and appreciation. Most of the time it's just me and one or two of my closest comrades venturing off into the great unknown with no idea what to expect when we get there and it is to them I owe the most gratitude. So here's to another 10 years of this nonsense.

This is a mashup of various places I've visited this year from two or more cities in the United States, none of which are Saint Louis.

Mystery Cave

Large Office Building With Pool

Grain Elevators Being Demolished

Mystery Cave #2

Factory Building

Historic Theater