The Steel

Bethlehem Steel is one of the most awe inspiring things in Pennsylvania. Dubious hyperbole aside, the now defunct steel mill encompases something like 6,000 acres on the south side of Bethlehem. I took a walk around a small part of it today and took some pictures of the blast furnace areas.

I was far from alone. I ran into at least five other people with cameras, all of whom said, "It's a wonderful subject for black and white." Well, maybe. But it's also a cool subject for color photos.

The mill has been closed since the mid 90s, and parts of it closed long before that. The old blast furnaces are slowly returning to nature. Scrub and brush grow high up on the converter towers. Everything that's not exposed to the sun is covered with a coat of algae. And the peeling black paint presents a rainbow sheen when you look at it from the right angle.

It's also pretty stunning to think about the people who worked there and how they lived inside the machine for eight hours a day. Much of the site is being returned to lighter industry and commercial uses but there's also a plan to partner with The Smithsonian on a national industrial history museum.

David F. Gallagher inspired me to try and take some pictures like this. He's a New York Times writer who carries a camera everywhere he goes. Every couple of days he posts a few interesting images of New York. On a strange side note, I knew about his site and then met him at a friend's wedding.

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April and I are off to Halloween festivities now. In a departure from our usual good planning, we didn't have any costumes. So, I threw on my tux, with the red bow tie and cummerbund that came with it (it was a hand me down), dug an old silver Christmas tree skirt out of the attic for a cape and disassembled a Swiffer handle for a wand. Abracadabra! I'm a magician.

April's putting on a Sari she found in the attic. Beyond that I'm waiting to see the finished product.