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 21 - Cattle Farm

Welcome back,

While looking through my old files, I found several unused photos from my urban explorations. Given I have no overall theme this month, it is the opportune moment to showcase this material.

This article will feature an abandoned cattle farm. This location has closed for a long time. Since then the land was sold and now has houses built on it. However, the original barn is still present, so I took the opportunity to investigate the area.

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

A cattle farm is a workplace normally consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle). In this case, the main barn was still present, along with enclosures where cattle were kept and herded onto vehicles. Since I could not enter the building for safety reasons, the article will focus mainly on two parts of the building; the barn itself and the enclosure.

           First, let us take a look at the enclosure. It is mainly composed of wooden fencing, meant to contain cattle within a desired location, and to navigate them to a ramp for loading them onto a vehicle. We can also see a few feeders, where the farm hands would place food for the cattle. In this instance, the fence has not undergone maintenance in years, so you can see it falling apart in some locations.

           Then we have the barn. The building has tin roofing and metal siding which, though they have lost their color over time, are not rusted. The entire structure is supported by a system of wooden beams, which has started to mold. There is a wooden staircase on the side of the barn which leads to the upper level, and is now completely overtaken by plants.

           A structure of this nature could serve as inspiration for a few different story types. Could be part of the setting in a western, or maybe in a romance between a ranch hand and the farmer's daughter. Maybe a murder/mystery story can use this location as the dumping ground of a crazed serial killer. Perhaps a comedy about a protagonist learning to be a rodeo clown. We could even use this location in a horror story, much like Hershel’s farm from the Walking Dead series.

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 13 - Comic Book Conventions

Welcome back!

           I got the idea for this month’s inspiration post after having spent a weekend at the Ottawa Comic Con back in May. While representing Library and Archives Canada (LAC) at the con, it was my responsibility to talk to people about whom LAC is and what we do. This gave me the opportunity to meet many enthusiastic people and see a lot of interesting things.

           It was at this point that I realised just how much inspiration can be found at a Comic Book Convention. I figured there was enough content to cover to make an inspiration post out of it. So I created the following article using pictures from various conventions I went to over the last few years.

           First off, the most obvious part of a convention are the crowds! If you are looking to get some inspiration on how to describe large gatherings of people, you have come to the right place. Comic Conventions have been known to draw people by the thousands, so be prepared to have your personal space invaded.

Mega crowds at the Montréal Comic Con.

More crowds in Montréal, with Wolverine posing for pictures.

My wife, who is not impressed by the long lines of people waiting to get in.

           Next are the vendors; people who put up kiosks to sell Pop Culture related merchandise. Comic Con vendors will have all kinds of comic book inspired paraphernalia: from movies, games, costumes, clothing and of course, comic books.

 

One of the many vendors at this year's Ottawa Comic Con.

Overview of some of the vendors at the Montréal Convention

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Original Ghostbusters merchandise. Just some of the cool stuff you could find at a Con.

Gaming dice. No nerd can go without them.

           Another common sight at Comic Conventions are Cosplayers, which has gotten so popular, that some people actually make a living off of Cosplaying. For those who don’t know, Cosplay is a shortened term for Costume Roleplay, where participants wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific pop culture icon.

Poison Ivy from Batman lore.

Chewbacca from Star Wars

A Predator seen posing with Ghost Rider.

Master Chief from the Halo video game.

Captain Canuck, posing by the Library and Archives Booth.

           One of the main attractions at Comic Cons are popular props and replicas from famous movies or television shows. These objects are often displayed in a way to allow visitors to take pictures with them.

The TARDIS from Doctor Who.

The Delorean from Back to the Future.

Various costume from the Star Wars franchise.

Group of Daleks from Doctor Who.

Batmobile from the 1960’s Batman TV series.

Ecto-1 from the Ghostbusters.

The black, 1967 Chevy Impala from the Supernatural TV series.

R2-D2 and landspeeder from Star Wars.

           And finally, one of the most exciting experiences of any Comic Con, is the opportunity to meet one of your favorite icons. Actors, Artists, Creators and so on, are invited to conventions, either too speak at panels, meet their fans at the autograph stand or have their picture taken at the photograph booth.

Adam West from the Batman TV series, being escorted to his booth.

The kids meeting Norman Reedus from the Walking Dead. Great guy!

My personal favorite, Stan Lee, the creative genius from Marvel Comics.

As you can see, a trip to a Comic Convention can be beneficial to a writer looking for inspiration. I hope you enjoyed this month's inspiration post and that I encouraged you to go out there and experience it for yourself.

Until next time.

Cheers,

            Patrick Osborne


** All photos were taken by me, and are under copyright. Please ask for permission before using these photos**