Woodswoman Extraordinaire

If you've followed my blog for any period of time, you know I have a tendency to be drawn to images of industry that is past its prime. Following my overload of photographing flowers downtown, I dragged my long-suffering husband on a brief tour of decaying buildings in downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse used to be a very industrial blue-collar town, and while there's still some industry here, much of the old industrial foundation of the city has been reduced to decay. There's a wealth of opportunity for industrial photographs for me. Mind you, photographing it requires some forays into not-so-great parts of town, and a lot of crazy driving and parking as I point and shout, "Ooh! Stop! Over there!" Poor Seth. He humors me so gracefully.

Anyway, here are some scenes that caught my eye.

My husband works in Franklin Square in downtown Syracuse, and every spring I vow to capture its magnificence. Several years now I have missed my opportunity, but this year, finally, I made it there with camera in hand on a gloriously sunny spring day.

I believe the trees are Bradford Pears, but I could certainly be wrong about that. Whatever they are, they are intoxicating each spring. And the surrounding architecture has a great deal of appeal to me too, being old industrial buildings that have been restored and converted into offices, commercial space, and a great number of upscale condos. I happen to think Franklin Square is a wonderful example of what CAN be done with old industrial areas.

I hope you enjoy the show!