The Flats - Industrial Cleveland

Early in the morning before work or late in the afternoon on the way home, I like to cruise Cleveland's old industrial Flats area looking for new variations on shadow and highlight. I'm always in search of a different angle, texture or shape that I haven't seen before.

This shot was taken around 5:15 PM under one of the many bridges that crisscross the area. Unfortunatley the screen doesn't really do it justice. Printed on 13"x19" Epson Premium Luster paper it really gives you a much better sense of depth. Your comments are welcome.

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the three sisters nicely framed. Too bad the terminal tower is ruined by scaffolding.
Sam

Hi Sam, thank you for the comments. I kept walking around in circles trying to get different framing on the arches in an effort to isolate the Terminal Tower and Key Center. Any way I went I'd lose the desired angle on the bridge arch. By darkening the green bridge trestle though it does keep it a bit isolated from the background skyline.

Sam, you don't by any chance photograph falcons down in the Flats?

I miss the Flats. Now it is just a bunch of run down buildings. The photographer that took my pre wedding photos took them down there. They turned out great. I wish I could find some to post. She took some right around where you took this one, right by the river.

Yeah Dave, the Flats have hit some real hard times. Some condos are popping up around the old Superior Viaduct and on some of the hills by University, but there are still a lot of rough roads.

So, she took you folks down amongst the gravel piles? Quite adventurous of your bride and party with all that dust flying around .

sapearl wrote in post #3616528
Yeah Dave, the Flats have hit some real hard times. Some condos are popping up around the old Superior Viaduct and on some of the hills by University, but there are still a lot of rough roads.

So, she took you folks down amongst the gravel piles? Quite adventurous of your bride and party with all that dust flying around .

Not exactly. It was right across(on the other side of the river) from the (I believe the plain dealer concert theater thing). I wish I had some of the photos. She only gave us the wedding photos though.

It sounds like you may have been at the base of Superior hill, right where it meets Canal, very close to the RTA station. The old Powerhouse/Windows on the River would be behind, with the Plain Dealer/Nautica tent pavillion next to it.

If you want to see what that side of the river looked like 30 years ago, check out my blog:

http://pearlphoto.blog​spot.com/

Scroll down about halfway through the first article and you'll see a B/W shot of the west bank. If you want to see some other miscellaneous shots of the area, follow this link:

http://www.pbase.com/s​apearl/cleveland_flats

Back then there was no Rock Bottom Brewery or Nautica stage. That area was a gutted mess, and the boardwalk hadn't even been built. So in some ways, the Flats has deteriorated, but in others it has been built up.

DangerDave wrote in post #3616546
Not exactly. It was right across(on the other side of the river) from the (I believe the plain dealer concert theater thing). I wish I had some of the photos. She only gave us the wedding photos though.

sapearl wrote in post #3616631
It sounds like you may have been at the base of Superior hill, right where it meets Canal, very close to the RTA station. The old Powerhouse/Windows on the River would be behind, with the Plain Dealer/Nautica tent pavillion next to it.

That is it. Right down those stairs, next to the RTA station.

I'm in the Navy, stationed in San Diego, originally from Cleveland, so I do not get to see much of the flats or Cleveland. Thank you for the link to your Blog. Very nice Photos BTW.

I like it a lot, I'm sure it looks great blown up and at higher resolution!

KAC

Thanks Kenny - I've been experimenting with different Epson papers. Some shots look better on a more muted, softer mat paper... almost like water colors, while others take on a little more dimension and realism when printed on the Premium Luster stock.

Awesome shot there Stu! I love the perspective. You should go back around 8:00pm when the sun is going down and snap a shot of it (with the sun behind you). You'd be able to grab all the details in the sky and it would make for a very dramatic photo!

Man, I love the flats..nothing like a concert down there on a nice summer night....

Beautiful shot, but you know Stu, I am really enjoying all of your shots.
I like your work and I really think this is going to be a great venture for you.

Nice capture Stu. I used to work for Key (in Albany, NY). I've been to the tower bunches of time, but I've never seen it from this perspective!

Thanks Bryan. That's an excellent suggestion for a later in the evening shot. Problem is I get a little lazy at the end of the day once I'm home from work and it's a about a 35 minute drive.

What I DO plan though is go back to a lot of these same spots a couple of months from now. The sun will not only be lower in the sky, but it will be setting earlier in the evening. That's when I'll be able to get my 8 P.M. "equivalent." So, same venue, just completely different light temperature, angle and textural look.

bcap wrote in post #3619000
Awesome shot there Stu! I love the perspective. You should go back around 8:00pm when the sun is going down and snap a shot of it (with the sun behind you). You'd be able to grab all the details in the sky and it would make for a very dramatic photo!