Friday Field Trip - Eastern State Penitentiary

It's my day at Author Expressions today, and I'm discussing setting and character viewpoints.

And here, Jason's taking us to the slammer, with some fantastic images. As always, I suggest you click on the images to enlarge -- and, better yet, go to Jason's gallery (link at the end of the post) Enjoy!

I recently visited some friends in Philadelphia where we spent a weekend doing "casual" photography. One of our stops was Eastern State Penitentiary. This prison opened in October 1829 and was one of the first institutions built to put inmates in a solitary situation "solitary confinement and labor." It uses a radial floor plan, with each cell block corridor extending outward from a central hub. By 1913, the system of "confinement with solitude" was abandoned in Pennsylvania.

Some of ESP's famous inmates include Al Capone, who spent eight months at the facility in 1929-30. His cell was well-furnished via his "connections" and it has been refurbished. Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot sentenced Pep, a "cat-murdering" dog, to ESP in 1924 for allegedly killing his wife's cat! ESP closed in 1970 and has been decaying ever since. It is open to the public for tours. If you want to photograph at ESP, there is a $10 tripod fee for photographing in public areas. Given the low level of light inside, a tripod is a good idea for photographers planning to visit there. You can also arrange a tour of the non-public areas, which is where many of these images were made.

Prisoner's Cell

Capone's Cell (restored)

Flooded Cellblock & Misty Corridor

Misty Corridor

Barber Chair

Solitary Desk

Cell block and watchtower

Switchbox

About the images:
My images from Eastern State Penitentiary were made using multiple exposures blended together in software via a technique called High Dynamic Range tone-mapping. This technique allowed me to capture the full range of tones inside ESP and also create interesting images that seem to look like painted works. You can see more images from this series on my website at: http://www.luminescentphoto.com/galleries/esp2011/index.html