Eastern State Penitentiary (Wikipedia) is considered one of America's most historic former prisons. It was the world's first true penitentiary, a prison designed to inspire penitence - or true regret - in the hearts of criminals. the original seven cellblocks spread like the spokes of a wheel, and had running water and central heat before the White House.
Its vaulted, sky-lit cells held many of America's most notorious criminals, including bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton and "Scarface" Al Capone. The prison stands today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and a surprising, eerie beauty.
I had a chance to visit the place thanks because Novaid Kahn (Flickr:numbphoto / SML Flickr) offered to drive me there. The day before the trip, I met up with Aaron Johnson (Flickr:Erotocrat / SML Flickr) for the first time, and I asked him to come along.
Check out the full set on Flickr. Detailed description of the photos are included on the Flickr photo page. Here are some highlights.
Hallway
Hub at the Center
Typical cell
The cell of Al Capone
Abstracts
HDR
The extreme lighting condition at the Eastern State Penitentiary (Flickr set) makes a fine candidate of creating some HDR photos. I'm glad that I brought my tripod!
ESP Photo Trip Camera Bag
See Flickr notes for equipment details
Novaid Kahn
Aaron Johnson
SML Me!
Photo Credit: Aaron Johnson
Related SML
+ SML Collections: SML Location
+ SML Flickr Sets: Eastern State Penitentiary
+ SML Flickr Tags: Eastern State Penitentiary
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