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On Saturday I got to begin to explore an abandoned institution I’ve been itching to check out. Pennhurst State School was shut down in 1986 after a class action suit by parents of patients/students there. There is a lot of history and a lot of conflicting accounts of what happened there, but the fact that it became overcrowded remains. And overcrowding can lead to neglect. I’ll let you read the information and draw your own conclusions. This site is incredibly thorough!
It was an incredible afternoon. A Flickr friend of mine, Christy, took the train up from Delaware and we spent three hours exploring. It was exhausting physically, but also psychologically, and we really hadn’t fully prepared ourselves for that emotional impact. We are already organizing another trip there, this time an all day event and better preparation now that we know what is there. We only scratched the surface on Saturday, managing just three buildings on the 1,400- acre campus. There are probably 20 buildings to investigate, at least!
I am working on a set of photos on Flickr, and here is one story from the trip to go with this photo.
There is a large network of tunnels that run underneath Pennhurst, connecting most of the buildings on the campus. Within 20 minutes of arriving, Christy and I ran into two other photographers (who turned out to be on Flickr also and I'm waiting for them to come find me). They had been there once before, but expressed no interest in the tunnels when I asked if we could all go in together (figuring more=better). So Christy and I went to the basement to check it out with the flashlights she'd brought. The dripping water echoed. I shone my light down the tunnel entrance and immediately saw this wheelchair.
No fucking way, I said. I'm not going in there.
We went back upstairs and saw the two photogs again. I said it was too scary, but that they should go have a look. The guy (Chris, I think) went running down and his friend came up behind us as we followed. I suggested again that if we all went together it wouldn't be as scary, and I think Chris had a male moment and needed to lead the charge. ;-)
We passed this and I forced myself to document it even though it meant standing still in there for a second. This chair was halfway between the entrances. We also passed several other tunnels. I'm glad I got the photo. I would go in again if I was with more than 3 others and we had lanterns instead of flashlights. LOL.
Oh, and that thing behind the door? A big clunker of a typewriter (some of you younguns may have never seen one) that appears to be covered in blood, but we're pretty sure it is paint.
:-)
P.S. 5 Weeks no smoking today! Forgot to post my video last week, but it is on Flickr. Will be doing a video update at some point today on Flickr as well. Yay me!
TequilaCon was this past Saturday night right here in Philadelphia! I just want to say first off that Jenny rules and Dave’s swag is the coolest swag I’ve ever gotten my hands on, and Vahid was the most welcoming charmer. The place was so much more comfortable than I thought it would be (I was worried it would have too much of a “we’re so hip and trendy” vibe). It was really laid back and the staff was wonderful.
I feel really badly though, for not making more of an effort to get to know people I hadn’t met before. I already know that I’m socially retarded, and when I got sober over 12 years ago it became painful, but did improve. Just never as easy as when I was drinking, of course. Anyway, it seems like it got worse again over the past few years, and I think a lot of that is because I go out less and less. I got to meet Shelli, but didn't spend enough time with her. The hugs were totally awesome, though! I did get to meet Karl, finally, which was really cool as he has been very supportive of my photography since I started the self-portrait thing (and I honestly don’t think it is because I get naked often). I also got to meet Abagail and Shiny and Dan and then see again Jenny, Dustin, Kat, Jill, Sandra, and others. I missed Brandon, but I’ve taken his face home for comfort. Heh.
I did what I normally do, though, and that is to pick seat and basically glue myself to it. So if folks came by where I was, I spoke with them. Otherwise, I didn’t. And now I feel badly for not making more of an effort, because I didn’t have a bad time, but I know I could have had a better time if I didn’t find it so difficult to speak with people! I hate feeling this raw. And of course, the just shy of three weeks without cigarettes made me that much more raw. So I wanted to smoke. A lot.
I am hoping TequilaCon is held in Chicago next year. I want to visit there and I want to try this again without my eyes to the floor.
Have I mentioned before that my husband is a genius? Well, it is true. Back when I first got into taking self-portraits, I needed a remote. He made me one out of an old computer joystick just to see if he could. Yeah.
Then he got more interested in it. He cobbled one together out of things he had in the basement as a surprise for my birthday last summer and it blew me away with all the cool things it could do! We realized this was a solid idea. He then taught himself (taught himself!!) about microchips so he could make a better and more compact version. And voila! The official “ready for prime time” version HERE!!!
Limited release at first, as we need to sell a couple in order to invest in ordering the parts for the rest. Right now I’ve posted this on Flickr to get the first few orders in, and then we can invest in getting the parts to make a larger batch. If you are interested in getting one, let me know because this is first-come; first-serve for now.
The I-Shot JR works for the following CANON cameras (other Canons and Nikon remotes are in development, with other brands to follow if there is enough interest):
EOS Digital Rebel XTi, EOS Digital Rebel XT, EOS Digital Rebel, EOS Elan 7/7E, EOS Elan 7N/7NE, EOS Elan II/IIE, EOS Elan IIE, EOS IX Lite, EOS Rebel 2000, EOS Rebel G, EOS Rebel GII, EOS Rebel T2, EOS Rebel Ti, EOS Rebel X, EOS Rebel XS
I'm going to be uploading a video demonstrating the remote in action and explaining all the features soon, if all goes well. :-)
The details
Cost: $80.00 flat rate which INCLUDES shipping (battery is also included) to anywhere within the Continental US. Anyone anywhere else can contact us for a quote on shipping cost.
What it can do:
The best thing about this for the self-portraitist is the remote stays with the camera. You don't need to hide it in your hand or Photoshop it out later. This also means there is no distance limitation.
You set it to whichever setting you want, and then go in front of the camera. Each timer setting will focus and then take 3 shots over and over again, for as long as you let it go. You can adjust the time between the sets of three shots to be 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds.
Here's the really cool part. It has a microphone setting that allows you to clap, snap, or whistle (make a noise, in other words) to have it focus, then take three shots. It won't take another three until you make another noise. It also has an instant clap setting that will take a shot in the instant it hears the noise. And of course, there is a manual setting.
So let me know if you are interested in getting one, and I will contact you with our PayPal information or where you are on the waiting list once we are waiting for the parts on the next batch!
