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Haikyo / Ruins | Colour and Concrete | (Entered Dec. 04, 2009) |
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Given Japan's penchant for concrete, it's almost an oxymoron to find an abandoned cement factory anywhere in this country. Nevertheless, the T Cement Factory was the first place that MJG, Lee, Gaku and I stopped off on our recent haikyo exploration weekend. The four of us split up once inside, our usual modus operandi. One needs to be alone and in silence when exploring haikyo to get the full experience. The place was big enough that our four paths crossed only occasionally. Unfortunately the skies were an ugly slate grey and the light was poor, so I kept the outdoor shots to a minimum and focused on the interior. Lee and I chatted at one point, and we both agreed that the factory didn't hold much of interest, and we were both a bit anxious to hit the road again. I take that all back though. Looking at my shots at home, I realized how interesting this place actually was. Who knew cement making was so complicated? There were a never ending number of huge machines, each completely different, each whose purpose shall remain (at least to me) a mystery. Although most of the factory was grey and dirty, the old rusty machines still retained some of their original colours. Bright spots of green, blue, red and orange dotted the factory floor. I'm always surprised at how lifeless most haikyo are. You naturally expect to find rats, cockroaches and other crawling things, but (with a few exceptions) you don't. The answer is fairly obvious though, when humans leave, food leaves with them. The interior of haikyo are usually dark and moody, and that's how I prefer to portray them; bright, sunny haikyo just don't have the same atmosphere. However at the same time I want to bring out the colours and contrast that might be lost in a dark environment, which is why I usually photograph them using HDR (high dynamic range). Haikyo are generally filthy places, so I put on a pair of gloves when inside. And although I didn't wear one, a particle filter mask wouldn't be out of place either if you want to be super catious. Generally, the smaller and more closed the haikyo is, the dustier the air will be. This factory was immense, with good ventilation, so going maskless here was probably fairly safe. A quick online search of T Cement shows that the loss of this one factory will not affect Japan's cement levels in any way. Hundreds more factories remain scattered around the country. Never fear, the covering of Japan in a layer of smooth, grey concrete will continue as planned.
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Gankutsu Rock Hotel
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