Friday, October 26, 2012

Toppenish Junkyard (Garages)

I have passed past by this junkyard for all my life it is located in Toppenish Washington. Many times when I have passed it was lit with the sun side lighting the cars you can see from highway 97. I finally decided to stop. When I pulled in my wife asked my to leave because it has a house next to it that someone lives in. After we left I told her I was going to stop and ask permission on the way home. On the way home when I stopped nobody answered the door so I drove further onto the property and found a man holding a shotgun. I shouted hello very quickly and got out of the car to ask for permission. He asked can you help me get rid of the birds as he waved the shotgun. I was thinking I would do anything to get you put down that shotgun. He had cherries that he was trying to protect from the birds. He agreed and said that many photographers come by.

I saw the garage with a car peaking out  with a pair of antlers on the hood and a AAA emblem on the grill. I like the AAA emblem rather than the stickers they have today. It shows the sense of pride the motor club had. I saw an old truck at the Pacific Coast Dream Machines  that had a AAA emblem. I wanted a shot of the car in the garage but could not get a straight on shot due to the piles of car parts strewn in front of the garage. You can see the challenge I faced in the third image in this post. The second image shows the image as shot (it has been cropped a little as you can tell if you compare the first and second image). The head on my tripod slipped that's why the image is cockeyed. So I had to correct the perspective in Photoshop in post.




I loved how the garages had hundreds if not thousands of parts hanging from the rafters.



I have more of the cars out in the open that I will show in other posts. I shot out here for about two hours before my wife and kids got impatient and wanted to leave. I could of shot a lot longer and plan to return if I am welcome. The cars were in heavy brush and the owner neglected to tell me there were goats out there which lead to a little excitement for me. All of a sudden the brush started to move and I figured out I was between mama and baby. I backed up and let them reunite and continued shooting. Keep an eye out for more posts from this location.

2 comments:

  1. For whatever reason it is, seeing a junkyard or a graveyard of cars is one of the most depressing feelings I've ever had. Is it because I know all of it is either going to waste and just sitting there? Or is it knowing that these once gracious vehicles of their own timeline are going to be converted for the new world?

    -David Enabulele

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    1. I love looking at the way they were made through the years and the history, woundering who owned them and why the are in the junkyard. I also like looking at the repairs like the weld that is holding the fender togeather in the following post. I have seen many similar repairs. People were a lot more practical in the past.
      http://rickwilliamsphotography.blogspot.com/2012/05/pacific-coast-dream-machines_15.html

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