Yeah I recognize that girl
I took her from rags right through to stitches
Oh baby, tonight we sleep in separate ditches.Deep in the woods
Deep in the woods
Deep in the woods a funeral is swinging.- Nick Cave
We photograph the buildings and foundations until the moon has arced low in the west. We disappear as night slowly fades back into day. These woods haunt me. I hope that comes through in the photographs.
Take cover at Fort Ord's Impossible City -- by Joe Reifer
A new portfolio of night photography of the Impossible City at Fort Ord is available on my website. The gallery contains ten 360º panoramas and four additional night photos. Located at the decommissioned Fort Ord in Monterey, California, Impossible City is a small fake town used by the military, FBI, and police for urban tactics training. The gray cement buildings are arranged to make moving from point-to-point difficult.
Impossible City is a very surreal place. Are these the stone ruins of some lost civilization? A film set for a war movie? What planet is this?
Take a virtual tour of the Impossible City by moonlight using the satellite view map below. The red dots will take you to any of the ten interactive 360º panoramas or four long exposure photos. Within each panorama are 1-3 links that allow you to explore the Impossible City. You can navigate back up to the satellite view using the small map button at the bottom right/center.
Impossible City rooftop moonrise -- by Joe Reifer
A 20-minute exposure during moonrise from the rooftop of the tallest building in the courtyard of the Impossible City. This small fake town at Fort Ord was built for military training. All areas are visible from nearby buildings, which makes getting from point A to point B almost impossible.
The new Geoff Dyer book Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room, is a light take on a heavy film — Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker. In a notable passage, Dyer talks about the time span in our life that we’re receptive to forming our personal favorite works of art. The time in our late teens and twenties when certain films, books, and music become our lifelong favorites. For me, some of these films were Brazil, Blade Runner, and Blue Velvet. At a certain point, this openness may not come naturally anymore. Those of you who are over 40 know what I’m talking about. I want to stay open to that feeling.
I’ve been following author and free-jazz aficionado Jeff Jackson’s Destination Out for a long time, and I’m also connected to him on Goodreads where he gave Zona a favorable review. I really enjoyed Dyer’s photography book, The Ongoing Moment, so I picked up a copy of Zona, and rented Tarkovsky’s Stalker.
If we’re lucky, every once in a while we encounter a work of art that changes our perception of how deeply art can affect us. Something truly exceptional. Stalker is a mind-blowing film. If you’re interested in the strange time warps and dream states that can be encountered in night photography, Stalker is an amazing journey. I’ve never seen a film that captures the state of hyper-awareness of exploring abandoned places so well. The intense attention to every little sound and texture. And the location in Stalker takes on a life of its own.
So do you remember the time period in your life when you were most receptive to artistic input? When a 2 1/2 hour subtitled movie was something to look forward to? If you’re open to that feeling, watch Stalker and let me know what you think.
Stalker is on DVD at Netflix but not available streaming. The DVD is $16-24 at Amazon, or perhaps you’re lucky enough to have a good local video rental store.
If you’re not familiar with the film at all, I encourage you not to look up Stalker online. Don’t look at YouTube or IMDB. Just track down the DVD and set aside the time to watch. If you enjoy the film, Dyer’s book is a lot of fun. If enough people who live in the San Francisco Bay Area are interested in discussing the film and the book, I will schedule a meetup at a bar in April to compare notes. Until then, enjoy your trip to the Zone.
Dumbarton swing bridge at night -- by Joe Reifer
The Dumbarton swing bridge is an abandoned railroad bridge that runs across the San Francisco Bay just south of the Dumbarton Bridge (Highway 84). Built in 1910 and abandoned in 1982, the bridge carried freight over the south end of the bay. A bridge operator would sit in the house on top and swing the bridge open if a tall boat needed to pass through. This 10 minute exposure with the moon 64% full shows star trails and planes taking off and landing at SFO airport.
Dumbarton swing bridge with star trails and airplane trails -- by Joe Reifer
The hike down the abandoned railroad tracks is just under 2 miles. The bridge is bordered by a water treatment plant and wildlife refuge. We saw people working at the plant during our hike, a lot of birds, and almost got sprayed by a skunk. This view from the marsh area next to the bridge is a 15 minute exposure. The airplane flight path was pretty consistent over this time, and the plane trail reflections are also visible in the water.
Dumbarton swing bridge with overgrown tracks -- by Sean Goebel
Photographer Sean Goebel visited the bridge back in 2009 and made this photo of the overgrown end of the line. Thanks to Sean for inviting me on this return visit to photograph the bridge. More of his photos can be seen here.
