StaticSparks

The Spires, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

Got to go to the Badlands National Park, really great place! The weather was perfect for a little shooting, lots of clouds and just the right lighting. It was a little cold and despite dodging the rainstorms, we had quite a bit of fun. One thing I learned about this area is that you have to be careful where you step when the ground is wet, the dirt here sticks to your shoes like hot gum in a parking lot and weighs a ton!

The Wild West, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

I was all set up with the tripod ready, waiting for the perfect time to press the trigger, when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was the ghost of Jessie James just sitting on his horse giving me a bewildered look. I explained to him what I was up to and he just said "cool" and disappeared.

Lost, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

This old shack is nearly lost to the world. It’s in a state of disrepair and slated for destruction. A little spooky and forelorne.

Sinking Feeling, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

Right out of a Stephen King novel. I was afraid that the ground was going to swallow me anytime.

The Hoss, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

Three letters can describe this old truck…. TUFF. He doesn’t take any slack from anyone and he gets the job done. He’s a little gruff and rough around the edges but he doesn’t care what other trucks think of him cause he’s all out and in your face. He’ll out-haul, out-pull, and out-manouvre your truck or die trying…. he’s "THE HOSS"!

Little Red Weathered Shack, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

Wandering around in Cardin, OK with a friend on the Tar Creek Superfund Site, we came upon this pretty little shack. It’s always fun to go out shooting with others and get a new perspective on familiar areas… kind of helps to push your limits and get outside your “normal” box so to speak.

Off Broadway, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

This is the back-side of a string of downtown mainstreet style shops in Picher, OK. They are all empty and boarded up now but at one time it was a really hopping area.

Winter Pond in Oklahoma, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

Went out shooting in the cold, just above 16 degrees after the wind chill was factored in. Driving across a bridge between Picher and Cardin Oklahoma and saw this site, the warmth of the reeds and willow really made me feel warm inside so I had to shoot it, still warms me up just looking at it. Not really sure what the yellow colors in the water were, sadly this water is contaminated with lead and zinc and deemed unsafe even for swimming.

Warning Ahead, originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

A city shop in Picher, OK with a tornado warning siren. Ironically, 20 blocks of this town were leveled in 2008 by a large tornado. See the Self Portrait shot below for more info about Picher.

Self Portrait – Of Me , originally uploaded by Static Sparks.

I rarely shoot a photo of myself, so here is one. This was on a really cold day out shooting in a town called Picher, OK. Picher is a town that has recently been purchased by the United States Government due to a large mining disaster that caused the water and soil to become contaminated with high concentrations of lead and zinc. The children of this area as late as 2009 were found to have high levels of both in their systems so the US Government stepped in and deemed the area the largest superfund site in the country. Many of the elderly citizens were convinced that the government was really making them move so that it could lay claim to the rich mineral content of the land underneath the town.

This was a really eerie place to shoot, dark and abandoned with a sense of danger at every corner.