JW getting there
Shot from the Eiteljorg Lawn, Nikon D90, Tokina 12-24f4 ISO 200
If you are a resident of Indianapolis, and have somehow missed the thumb growing on the west end skyline I ask, what world have you been living in? That said, this post isn't going to offer much that hasn't been reported on or tell you of a secret skywalk across to White River State Park that was engineered at the last moment to appease the peanut gallery.
I wanted to post this because Ive had a hankerin to get some good night time photos of this structure.
I recently read over at the skyscraper city forums that the north tower crane would be coming down soon since it was no longer needed. The time seemed right for me to get some good night shots.
West side of the tower
The one thing I have been trying to do is trim down the low light noise so I was opting for 200 ISO last night, which meant I was going to need a tri-pod. No way in the cold temps was I going to be holding a camera steady... and it was FRIGID last night!
The other thing I learned is that there are a LOT of street lights on the west end of downtown. Seemed like it did not matter where I went to get away from them, they were ghosting in my exposures. I try hiding behind a post? Nope, another one would get me. It was just too difficult.
I finally went to the lawn of the Eiteljorg Museum and was able to get some reasonably decent looking exposures, and then I saw it. The opening in the fence along Washington Street. I picked up the tripod and headed over. At first I was leary. There was a flatbed half a block down loading or unloading something. I kept an eye on them but felt more comfortable after a couple of shots and soon moved inside the fence.
North face elevator
No, you wont see anything as wonderful as you'd see at nopromiseofsafety.com but I was pretty happy to finally get something not filled with lens flares from the street lights. I certainley saw that there were not that many people around, and the entrances were inviting, but if I was caught, my wife wouldnt have been happy AT ALL with me! The photos arent worth that much, and someone's done it already. haha
I was able to see the Washington Street entrance to the small hotel next to the tower. It looks like a big duck bill sticking up. The north end tower crane itself goes underground, but I didnt dare go down there for fear of arrest. I could probably have sweet talked my way out of anything since I wasn't hurting anything... at least that is what Im going to tell myself is that I could talk my way out of it. haha
I hung around and snapped a few photos for as long as I could and figured it was time to get out of there and get back home to spend the rest of the evening on the couch with my wife. I can tell you that her company was MUCH MUCH warmer than the cold wind of December whipping across the open area west of there and between the buildings.
Washington Street Entrance, sometimes you cant escape the ghosts...
It wont be long and the towers will be gone, the road barriers will be removed and traffic will get a little less frustrating in this area. But at least I got to walk around and have some fun while they were still playing with their erector set.
Anyway, hope that you enjoy the photos. I was pretty happy with how they turned out for a change.
