School is out

[Bjørn Rørslett]

... and has been for quite some time. Bjørn J and I found this dilapidated school building on our way to the North Cape, Arctic Norway, in the summer of 2013. We spent quite some time moving in or out of the abandoned buildings. The eeriness of the site was further enhanced by strong winds blowing straight through cracked windows and tearing any remains of curtains into shreds. I did this subject in UV (video) and IR, my namesake went through his motions with wide-angles.

Here is one of the facades, captured by the D600 (broad-band) and the AFS 200/2 Nikkor. Filtration was Hoya R72.



This location is 70°58'35.742" N so far into the Arctic region  and weather accordingly is unrelenting, and harsh.  Weathering takes heavy tolls in a short time once buildings are abandoned or no longer maintained.

[elsa hoffmann]

The remains of the "curtain" blowing in the wind really makes this image

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Absolutely. Its flapping sound was hard to miss at the site. I shot video sequences in which the effect is overwhelming uncanny and spooky.

This composition is, by the way, very textbook-like. Usually I'm not that fond of 'golden section' placement and all those 'rules' which frequently lead to a static and life-less composition. In this case I deliberately made an exception.

[Jakov Minić]

I agree with Elsa on the curtain.
It looks so cold, brrrr...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

At this latitude, everything is cold. You don't need the wind really.

I have to find a way of posting video without doing it on YouTube (blocked on my computers by intent).

[Frank Fremerey]

We see this a lot. abandoned churches, schools, shops, houses, whole settlements gone. Everybody seems to move to the cities, because life opportunities multiply with the amount of people crammed together in one place.

Concerning the picture I love the ghostly effect of the curtain blowing in the wind. Is that 1/8 s or 1/4 s?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Actually, 1/30 sec. Wind was very strong.

[Olivier]

Bjørn, can you please elaborate on the advantage of IR for this shot?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Could have been done in many different ways I suppose. I just happened to be in the "invisible light" mood that day. So spent most of the time doing either UV or IR. This capture http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php?topic=313.msg2317 is same location, just looking towards the Arctic Sea instead.

Besides, I think IR makes the front facade look even more weathered, battered and damp.

[Olivier]

Thanks.
I a back from two weeks in Brittany (western tip of France) and mostly shot IR with my modified V1 because my wife fell in love with the Fuji X-T1 1 just purchased. So I had no access to visible light, which was fine actually! it will be intersting to compare our files.

[Akira]

This composition is, by the way, very textbook-like. Usually I'm not that fond of 'golden section' placement and all those 'rules' which frequently lead to a static and life-less composition. In this case I deliberately made an exception.

Aha!  That's why I felt somewhat uncomfotable to accept this image as Bjørnesque.  The monochrome blue color is just fitting to the coldness of the Arctic, though.

[Sash]

The remains of the "curtain" blowing in the wind really makes this image

Interestingly in the north of Siberia, where I once spent a couple of winter months, the wind meant somewhat warmer weather, something like -30 or -35 C. When the wind settled and everything stood still, then it got seriously cold.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

This capture is done at the peak of the summer, mid July. As the Arctic Sea is the immediate neighbour, there is always wind here.

[elsa hoffmann]

Interestingly in the north of Siberia, where I once spent a couple of winter months, the wind meant somewhat warmer weather, something like -30 or -35 C. When the wind settled and everything stood still, then it got seriously cold.

Sash - interesting indeed. Unless we have a mountain wind (very warm and blows just hours before it rains - ) wind is cold and can take the temperature down several degrees. We call it the wind chill factor here.

[Erik Lund]

Nice and spooky i agree but why the slight tilt?