Abandoned Buildings

Digital infrared original

After leaving the beach, and spending some time recovering from all the sun and wind, Miranda and I proceeded to drive slowly down the Miramichi, looking for more spaces to work in (we'd gone so far north with the intention of working along the Miramichi River, which is one of the largest in New Brunswick). Just east of Miramichi City proper, through the screen of trees along side the highway, I caught a glimpse of something distinctly industrial looking, so we pulled off the road, and set out to investigate.

Digital infrared original

In a large and empty landscape strangely reminiscent of that which surrounded the Sydney Steel Coke Ovens, we came across two large abandoned structures (I hesitate to call them buildings, and I don't think they fit that description, lacking both doors or windows). There was no real indication of the purpose of the four-legged behemoths, though they were certainly designed to load something onto trains (logs? wood pulp?). In the middle of the thick woods of New Brunswick, such a large and empty space, dominated by such out of place objects made them seem very lonely and abandoned.

Digital infrared original

Initially I considered spending some time working with Miranda among the buildings, but because the space was so open and exposed (there really was no concealment from view for hundres of metres in some directions) I felt it was better to just focus on the structures, and the landscape itself. Had I not been in the middle of producing the New Brunswick Portfolio, I might have spent longer in this location, but after fifteen minutes of exploration, and making perhaps three dozen images, Miranda and I headed back to the car, back on the highway, and back to work.