Making Art from Scrap Since 2016

Master Composition among Historic Artifacts

There is no better place to master composition than an interesting and unique environment. One of the most interesting and unique places I’ve worked in is the Airplane and Automotive Graveyard right here in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Since 2016 it has been my pleasure to work with the owners of this amazing location to help photographers improve their composition skills by making art out of scrap.

Recently this place has been a location for several film shoots including the upcoming Amazon release of Fallout. As a result the location has been made more accessible with new paths leading to more artifacts. It’s basically a new and improved Airplane and Automotive Graveyard.

Over the years I’ve had photographers shooting everything from macro to grand “Scrapscapes” using all kinds of cameras including digital, film, drones and even a number of iPhone photographers. The results have been amazing to see.

In 2018 I blogged about this place and talked about the 7 stages of photographing the Airplane and Automotive Graveyard. They are

1. Shock – Seeing this place for the first time is overwhelming at first glance.
2. Regret – You think, “I paid money for this?!?”
3. Acceptance – You are here so you decide to make the best of it.
4. Huh? – You start to see how things here create an interesting leading lines and how the colors.
5. Vision – You are now playing with camera angles and marveling on the details you are seeing in old cars, airplanes and more.
6. Shock – What, it’s time to leave????
7. Joy – You leave with some amazing photographs and realize you also have grown as a photographer.

I’ve seen this process many times over the years lead to some amazing photography. Now it’s time to do it again with my spring workshops at the Airplane and Automotive Graveyard. The dates are:

• Sunday, March 3rd from 9am to 1pm – Early spring is a one of the best times to photograph this place because there are no leaves on the trees. allowing better views of the artifacts.
• Sunday, April 14th from 9am to 1pm – If the Mountain Laurel is blooming then you can sometimes find them growing around the old vehicles.

Learn more and register here for one of these workshops.

Meanwhile, here are some photographs from the 2023 workshop season:

Airplanes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn more and register here for one of these workshops.

Automobiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much more to photograph here than what you see in these photographs. If you want to master composition, or if you know composition and want to challenge yourself while getting some very unique abandoned photographs, then these workshops will offer you a great opportunity.

Enjoy!

Learn more and register here for one of these workshops.

Sunday, March 3rd from 9am to 1pm – Early spring is a one of the best times to photograph this place because there are no leaves on the trees. allowing better views of the artifacts.

Sunday, April 14th from 9am to 1pm – If the Mountain Laurel is blooming then you can sometimes find them growing around the old vehicles.