The after-hours club
Usually when I am out shooting, passersby don’t engage me in conversation.
On this particular day, though, an older man driving a pickup pulled over as I was shooting the old drive in from the other day. Our conversation:
Him: Do you remember what used to be here?
Me: No, sir. I’m from out of town, so I don’t know anything about it.
Him: Well, it used to be one of them after hours clubs. You know the kind I mean – the ones that didn’t even open until all of them other ones had closed. There was a lot going on here.
Me: How long ago did it close down?
Him: How long? Oh, it’s been closed forever.
Now, at this point I had seen three of the four sides of the place and was still under the impression that it was a drive in, so I wasn’t too sure he knew what he was talking about. But after he drove off, I looked in a broken window on the side I’d not yet explored…and then I believed him.
He came back around a few minutes later, pulling up close to where I was standing. This time he said, “Are you looking to buy anything?”
I was afraid to delve any further into that. It can’t have been good, right?!
Midland, Texas
photographed 8.23.2014
Posted on September 6, 2014, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, abandoned buildings, architecture, black and white photography, melinda green harvey, midland, midland texas, monochrome, NIK Silver Efex Pro 2, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
Love the dialogue. I think from now on, whenever you are snooping/investigating, you should make a conscious effort to talk to some randoms walking by. It’s like adding a little more spice/condiment to ones dinner 😉
Also, as a club fan myself, I certainly enjoy seeing venues like this and imagining all the fun that used to go on inside.
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There usually aren’t any randoms around where I am…maybe my camera scares them off?
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This is amazing. There’s even a tumbleweed in there! I would have allowed curiosity to get the better of me and asked him what he had that was worth selling.
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That tumbleweed is my favorite part – glad you noticed it!
I was a little bit afraid of that that guy was trying to sell; it had a bit of an illegal feel to it.
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Fair enough. I thought maybe he was the owner of the property and wanted to sell you some interesting junk, but I didn’t see him or speak to him so you’d be the better judge of that. Bit surprised if that were the case because you don’t exactly strike me as the type of clientele who would be after illicit anything.
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A touch scary when he comes back for Part 2 of the conversation. Shots like this always ask a heap of questions and the dialogue adds yet another thread to this scene.
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Part 2 was unnerving. I wasn’t really done with the shots I wanted to get, but it started to seem like a good time to leave.
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