Rust and Ruinism
Rust and ruinism find their allure in the beauty of decay. From the period architecture of the Mansfield Penitentiary and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum to the arrested deterioration of the mighty Carrie Furnaces, we’ll photograph some of the best urban decay in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Workshop Details
June 23-28, 2024 — Completed
This is a 5-night, 6-day workshop. Your adventure begins in the late morning of June 23 and ends on the afternoon of June 28.
$2,795 + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Intermediate and above. Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of night photography and of their cameras.
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
Workshop Leaders
Registration
This event has passed. Thanks for your interest!
| • Deposit of $TK is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $TK is due on TK. → Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is TK (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The workshop fee does not include lodging, food, airfare, entrance fees, or transportation to or during the workshop. |
The Rust & Ruinism Experience
Ready for a road trip? Let’s travel through the Rust Belt and photograph some of the most storied locations the area has to offer. Our locations have long been popular among those—from ghost hunters to filmmakers—who wish to experience the history and decay of these once stately, powerful and important structures.
Starting in Mansfield, Ohio, we’ll make our way over to West Virginia and then finish our tour in Pittsburgh.
We’ll start our adventure with two of the more famous examples of architecture that were intended to uplift, inspire and even intimidate their residents. We begin at the Ohio State Reformatory—the prison made famous by the film The Shawshank Redemption. Here we’ll enjoy a daytime tour to scout and to learn the history of the prison, followed by 2 nights of private access to the penitentiary. Rusted bars and cells and mosaics of peeling paint add to the haunting atmosphere of this institution.
After our experience in Ohio State we’ll head to West Virginia to spend a night at the spooky Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Built in the Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles, the asylum was in use from 1864 to 1994. Shooting both indoor and outdoor scenes, we’ll use the light of a full moon as well as crafting our own lighting schemes to highlight the unsettling features of this location.
Our final destination is the hulking industrial relic of the legendary U.S. Steel Company’s Carrie Blast Furnaces. Built in 1884, this massive vestige of Steel City operated for 98 years. In its prime Carrie produced over 1,000 tons of iron per day. The smoke has cleared and this rusted ruin is the only remaining pre-World War II blast furnace that remains in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ll clock in during the day to learn about Carrie’s rich history and then stoke the furnaces again at night and under the stars.
Each of these historic locations has insane amounts of texture, detail and lines. We’ll implement multiple light painting techniques to bring them back to life and showcase the beauty of decay.
What You Should Know
This workshop caters to knowledgeable night photographers with an intermediate or higher skill set. Participants should have a firm grasp of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras, and have a comfortable understanding of night photography fundamentals. We will be happy to offer advice and answer questions about both day and night photography, but the focus of the formal education will be in the field working with flashlights and portable LED light panels (Luxli Fiddles and Violas).
If you would like to attend this workshop but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-workshop tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-workshop reads.
What You Will Learn
This workshop will focus on increasing your knowledge of scene illumination by using your own light sources as well as mixing in the ambient light of the full moon.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
light painting
Low-Level Lighting
how to photograph in dark industrial interiors
urban star trails
and more …
This workshop will have no classroom time but plenty of field instruction. While in the field, the instructors will demonstrate their own techniques and will work with participants one-on-one to make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
This workshop is a bit different from our other offerings as it will start and end in different cities. It will begin in Mansfield, Ohio, and end in Pittsburgh.
It is your choice whether to fly to and from the Mansfield area and drive back at the end, or to fly to and from Pittsburgh and drive to Mansfield at the beginning, or to book a flight to Mansfield and from Pittsburgh.
Nearby Airports:
Columbus (CMH) —1 hour, 6 minutes from Mansfield
Cleveland (CLE) — 1 hour, 14 minutes
Dayton (DAY) — 2 hours
Detroit (DTW) — 2 hours, 40 minutes
Pittsburgh (PIT) — 2 hours, 30 minutes
Rental Car
A car (rental or personal) will be needed to travel to the workshop as well as between shooting locations.
If you are interested in carpooling or sharing a rental car, let us know and we will try to connect you with another attendee looking for the same.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation.
Lodging & Food
This workshop will have three hotels to ensure we are in close proximity to our three shooting locations.
Lodging
Info and group code will be sent at some point after registering, once our lodging partners are ready to begin taking reservations.
You are not required to stay at the official workshop lodging, though doing so does make it easier to meet with the group each morning.
If you are interested in sharing a room, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone like-minded in the group.
Food
Each location is in a town large enough to provide a variety of dining options.
When on the night shoots, you may wish to bring snack food or a sandwich and plenty of water.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own meals and accommodations.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the mid 80s F and lows in the mid 60s. We will be indoors for most of the trip but the old buildings we’ll visit may be significantly warmer or cooler than the outdoor temperatures.
Recommended Attire
Shorts and short-sleeved shirts will suffice for daytime, but light pants and long-sleeve shirts are recommended at night.
A sweatshirt or medium-weight jacket may be necessary if temps cool off at night.
Comfortable and protective shoes are recommended for getting around. There won’t be long walks, but we may encounter uneven footing.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this workshop is Easy. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the workshop, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. You should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Considerations
IMPORTANT: We encourage reading our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Peel back the Past …
“It is a maze of industrial hulk. You can choose to find a quiet place inside and light paint the riveted columns and oversized wheels, or you can get lost along the skeletal remains of the exterior.”
Those who know me know that my overriding theme in photography is ruinism, the beauty of decay. It all started when I lived in Greece in 1995 and was photographing all the old ruins of ancient times. But the theme didn’t stop there. I, like many of you, have been fascinated by the abandoned, the ruins and the historical buildings from days of yore. This fascination started before social media—I was an early urban explorer with like-minded friends of these relics of bygone times.
Fast-forward to these modern days with so many ways to communicate. Now, instead of breaking into abandoned locations, I can establish relationships and get exclusive access to places like Bannerman Island, Carrie Furnaces, Bodie ghost town and more. And I am not alone in this passion for Rust and Ruinism. Tim Cooper and I have spent many nights talking about our adventures in long-forgotten mines, asylums, prisons and more.
Carrie Furnace was an incredible highlight from our popular Pittsburgh workshop in 2022. It was absolutely thrilling to share Carrie Blast Furnace with our participants. It is a maze of industrial hulk. You can choose to find a quiet place inside and light paint the riveted columns and oversized wheels, or you can get lost along the skeletal remains of the exterior. It’s a place I want to revisit more and more so I can keep peeling back the past.
This same nostalgia is the reason I’m so excited to gain exclusive access to the Mansfield Penitentiary and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. These modern ruins loom large in our history. 150 years ago we built these oversized sanitariums that remain preserved—frozen in an antiquated time.
