Arizona Treks

When a friend suggested we go to the old abandoned dog track in Black Canyon City I was excited.  Driving by on I-17 for many years had built up quite a lot of curiosity.  Combine the curiosity with a lov for shooting abandoned and decaying places made it seem the ideal location.  In actuality there is a lot of potential but many challenges.  We went mid-morning found the interior to be mostly dark and foreboding, along with trash left behind, trash, charred wood, etc. from vandals who have no respect, but the biggest was years of accumulated fecal matter from the many animals who now inhabit the place.  I tend to only be a little squeamish but this place made my skin crawl.  The filth was almost overwhelming.

Okay, enough of that, on to the photography.  As I mentioned, it was quite challenging.  Dark, foreboding, trashed, high contrast, and totally different than any place I have shot before.  The seats made nice patterns but the light was flat except in one corner as you see above.  The roof is accessible but we found nothing interesting up there.  The old restaurant and kitchen held no interest.  The old mini-storage office and buildings were not really that great although we did soot in the office.

Most of our time was spent in the stadium.  The glass was blown out and it has an eerie feel to it.  Behind the seating area was a large empty space with a counter and offices at the rear.  One office has papers strewn across the desk.  Almost as if the owners simply decided to shut down one day and just left everything behind.

No clue if there will be a return trip.  If someone were to suggest it I would probably go again, mostly to see if I learned anything from the first trip.

We went out yesterday and all I shot was a few 35mm frames at Papago Park.  I considered going toward Superior but gave up and went home.  Bought some flowers but ran out of time to get things set up yesterday.  Today is a field trip with the large format class.  We are going to Goldfield near Apache Junction and then possibly to the First Water Trailhead.  With the inclimate weather it could be an interesting day.