Inspiration part 23 - Graffiti

Welcome back,

This article will feature photographs taken earlier this year, and focus on a form of urban art known as graffiti. I discovered this location while out travelling some local trails.

**Please note, that certain areas can be dangerous and one should not travel there alone, or if the area is private property, then permission or supervision may be required. These photos were taken during the day and while in company of friends.**

Graffiti are writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted on a wall or other surface, and range from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Spray paint and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials in modern times. A whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint graffiti styles; it is a rapidly developing art form with many different types and styles.

Graffiti can be used to express underlying social and political messages, or to mark territory of gang-related activities, which is why they are often in plain view of the public. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials, law enforcement, and writers who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's permission is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.

Which brings me to the first aspect of graffiti: location. The graffiti in the photos below were taken just off a bike path that passed under a bridge. The bridge itself is a simple urban location, but in these images, you can see how simply adding graffiti completely changes the atmosphere. Keep this in mind when adding this detail in a setting.

    Then we take a look at the graffiti itself. There are virtually hundreds of different styles when it comes to this form of street art; from abstract to photorealistic, from serious to satire. The images below show a lot of abstract art, but is mainly tagging, which is the act of writing one’s pseudonym or ‘’key word’’ used only by the artists, or in some cases, the artists affiliates (i.e. gangs).

Besides their political aspect, graffiti can be inspiration for writing as well. They can the perfect detail in a setting for a variety of stories. Perhaps you are writing an urban fiction (a.k.a. Street lit) that contains a street gang tagging their territory, or graffiti could be a background detail at a murder scene in a mystery, or maybe you could write a story about a troubled youth that expresses themselves through art. Graffiti can be very versatile in writing, and can been used in many different genres.

Hope you enjoyed today’s exploration. I had a great time, and maybe these images will come in handy for your next story. Remember to always exercise caution while exploring.  

Now get out there and get inspired!

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration Part 22 - Factories

Welcome back!

This inspiration article features photos from several of my urban explorations. Given that they were similar in appearance and feel, I felt merging this material into a single document would avoid repetitiveness in future posts.

The main theme of this article will be factories. The source of the photographs come from two different exploration trips; a concrete plant and a storage yard.

**Please note, that these locations can be dangerous and one should not travel there without permission or supervision. These photos were taken from a safe distance.**

A concrete plant is a site with equipment that combines various ingredients (water, sand, gravel, etc.) to form concrete, either in the Dry mix or Wet mix variety. The heart of the concrete plant is the mixer, which come in many different types; Tilt Drum, Pan, Planetary, Single Shaft and Twin shaft mixer. Conveyors are used to carry aggregate from the ground hopper to the aggregate bin, as well as from the aggregate batcher to the charge chute.

Storage yards are outdoor areas used in conjunction with a warehouse, sheds or other structures and may be public or private. They are used to store vehicles, equipment, merchandise, raw materials, or other items for an indefinite period until needed.

The following pictures are of a concrete plant from different angles. We can see the variety of parts and accessories needed in the making of concrete: cement batchers, aggregate batchers, conveyors, radial stackers, aggregate bins, cement bins, heaters, chillers, cement silos, batch plant controls, and dust collectors. Close inspection of these various elements can give us a good idea of how to describe machinery and how they work in fiction.

Making our way to the front of the plant, we can see several different vehicles; concrete mixers for transport of cement while keeping it in a wet state, and a front loader for shoveling raw materials. These heavy machines can make nice additions to urban settings when writing.

If we keep going around the building, we see the plant has piles of raw materials for making future batches of concrete. They even recycle old, torn up asphalt by breaking it down, grinding it into gravel and reusing it as concrete.

Next we have pictures taken from storage yards, where we can see various large scale items being kept. In these example, we have semi-trailers for tractor trucks, wood pallets for transporting merchandise and cement blocks. We also have a tool shed, where the owners keep various tools and maintenance equipment.

Locations like these can serve as inspiration for a few different story types. They could be a dumping ground for a mystery novel, or a setting for a superhero fight scene. Maybe a hideout for a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps your protagonist is a construction worker, and he needs to know how to operate a front loader.

Hope you enjoyed today’s exploration. I had a great time, and maybe these images will come in handy for your next story. Until then, get out there and get inspired!

Cheers!

Patrick Osborne

Inspiration Part 18 - Junkyards

Welcome back,

It has been a while since I have written an inspiration post based off of my explorations. Well, this month I looked through my archived photos and found that I still had not posted my trip to the junkyard. Seeing as I have been going through a lot of my own junk recently, I felt it was the opportune time to share these photos.

**Please note, that junkyards are dangerous and one should not travel there without permission or supervision. These photos were taken from a safe distance, while supervised by one of the yards workers. Permission was acquired from the site’s owner, but they still would like to remain anonymous.**

A junkyard is a place where scrap is collected before being discarded, reused, or recycled. The inspiration that can be pulled from these types of locations is just as varied as the waste that you can find in it. It’s content can be anything, from old cars, appliances, tools, office supplies, toys, etc.

Take cars for examples. Junkyards can be a great place for someone to get an up and close look to a discontinued model, or a vehicle that we don’t come across that often. Granted, their conditions may be less than exemplary, but they still give us a good idea of size, shape and content. Not to mention their broken down state might be useful for describing cars in stories with severe car accidents or a post-apocalyptic setting.

           Cars are the most noticeable content in a junkyard, mainly because of the size and the space they take, but if we take the time to look around, we can find so much more. Literally tons of scrap are kept here, any piece of which could strike inspiration. Maybe you are looking for old car parts to help describe a war/junk machine like those in Mad Max, or maybe some crusty old tool that could be used as a weapon.

           Besides their overabundance of scrap, junkyard locations can serve as inspiration as well. They make great settings for a variety of stories. Maybe you need an isolated location for a superhero battle, or a hideout for an antagonist, or maybe even a symbolic refuge for a coming of age story. Junkyards can be very versatile in writing, and have been used in many different genres.

           Admittedly this was one of my favorite urban locations to explore. There was so much more I wish I could have taken pictures of, but safety (and the yard workers) demanded I avoid certain areas and keep a safe distance. Regardless, I had a great time, and hope these images have given you ideas for your next story.

Until next time.

Cheers,

            Patrick Osborne