Fire at Steve's Lunch

On Tuesday, Steve's Lunch, the iconic west side hotdog shop caught fire. It didn't take long for the grease fire to get out of control.

I was on 176 North when I first spotted the smoke. I could tell it hadn't been burning for long so I raced home to grab my cameras. I hate to see places burn down, but when it happens I like to take the opportunity to document the amazing actions of the firefighters and emergency personnel. Thankfully no one was hurt here, but the city lost landmark that had been operating in my west side neighborhood for over sixty years. 

I know it was St. Patrick's Day but I was still surprised to see a bag piper walk straight through the scene.

Turns out he was a Cleveland firefighter who had retired just two days before.

Almost as fascinating as the fire itself is the crowd that turns out.

This is the fourth fire that I've photographed and it always amazes me at how hard these firefighters work. A job that I'm certain I wouldn't last a day at.

News Channel 5's full story on the fire.

Photos taken with a Canon 60D, using a Canon 20mm f/2.8, Canon 135mm f/2.0 and Canon 10-22mm f/3.5 lens.

The Salton Sea of the Midwest Part I

The Salton Sea is 376 square miles of toxic lake surrounded by once booming resort towns and vacation homes. Of course the Salton Sea that most of us know, the decaying trailers baked by the sun and the desert heat, is really only a couple small areas with only a dozen or so trailers remaining. I would love to go back to the Salton Sea but it's not always easy to travel all the way across the country. Thankfully we have our own abandoned resort area here in the Midwest. It's similar to the Salton Sea minus the toxic lake, but with far more abandoned trailers. 

Kaylah and I, along with Jason, got an early start and made a one day road trip out of it. I had seen a handful of photos of this place online but once we got here I realized that it was so much more than I had expected. 

Just like the Salton Sea, it was incredible to see all that was left behind. Furniture, clothes, TVs. For the most part it appears as though people left planning on coming back, but never did. 

Tiny cottages lined this dirt road. They were like little hotel rooms. Each one with unique furniture and decor. Some were in near perfect condition aside from needing new paint, and others were practically just a pile of debris. 

Vines have broken through the ceiling.

The burned out remains of a couch. This one was so bad that just before I took this photo my foot went through the floor.

One of the coolest parts of this trailer park was the variety of colors. This watermelon themed trailer was one of my favorites.

It had been a long time since I had taken this many photos. Along with hundreds of digital photos, I also shot a few rolls of film that I'm looking forward to developing. 

Photos taken with a Canon 60D, using a Canon 20mm f/2.8, and Canon 10-22mm f/3.5 lens.

Bates Motel

Like I mentioned in a previous post, the road is full of treasures. Like this terrifying old motel. After stopping to shoot a few random roadside goodies, and getting shot down at a few other great places due to the snow being too deep to pull my car off to the side of the road without getting stuck; we came across this place. 

What was left of the sign was strangled in vines.

Looking inside some of the old rooms it's hard to imagine what this place might have been like when it was in use. There was almost nothing left. The walls and ceiling had long rotted away, and the few pieces of furniture still inside were covered in what was the ceiling. 

A rusty boiler with an angry face.

I remember growing up not too far from one of these old forgotten motels. In a lot of ways it was very similar to this one, and I remember thinking whenever we would drive past, that I would never ever go in there. It was a place that belonged in nightmares and horror movies; not a place that should exist in anyone's real life. That was over twenty years ago, and here I am now, spending most of my free time seeking out these creepy old buildings and wandering around inside of them. It's strange how easily a fear can become something we find comfort in after facing and conquering that fear. 

Photos taken with a Canon 60D, using a Canon 20mm f/2.8 lens.

Baltimore at Twelve Degrees

There are a handful of cities that I have been to that I could see myself living. Rochester, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Durango, Colorado; and of course Toronto, Ontario; just to name a few. Baltimore, Maryland is without a doubt another one of those cities. I've been to Baltimore a few times, but always very briefly. This trip was no different. It was bitter cold, and we had limited time, and a few hours of driving around the city and getting out of the car for ten minutes at a time to brave the cold for the sake of a few quick photos, was not enough. I would love to spend at least a couple days here to really explore the city and see what all it has to offer. 

The first place we stopped was at a graffiti covered alley that I had heard about from various people. We hadn't been looking for it, but I was excited to stumble across it. 

The next place we went was a stretch of road that runs along a stream called Jones Falls. It's a lot like Cleveland's Train Ave. There's graffiti, train tracks, the ruins of old buildings, and plenty of bridges crisscrossing overhead. It's my kind of area. Off the beaten path. Neglected. Grimy. 

After securing ourselves some obligatory macarons at Patisserie Poupon, I quickly walked over to the  Phoenix Shot Tower to snap a quick photo. This tower was the tallest structure in America when it was built in 1828. 

After that we headed up to Towson to meet up with my friend Jeremy and his girlfriend for dinner before making the long drive back home to Cleveland.

Photos taken with a Canon 60D, using a Canon 20mm f/2.8, and Canon 10-22mm f/3.5 lens.