For about a year now, I have been remodeling the home we moved into last summer. Part of this involved tearing out an old furnace, taking down a drop ceiling and other things that left me with metal junk pile. Well today I finally took the time to do something with this junk pile. So, I loaded borrowed my Dad's truck, loaded up all the junk, and headed to the scrap yard. Sitting on the seat next to me was my camera of course as I knew there would most likely be great stuff to photograph. Whether or not I would be allowed to wander around the grounds was another thing, and I didn't get my hopes up. On many different occasions I had driven by this scrap yard and saw the wonderful piles of art just waiting to be photographed. I kept saying to myself, "One of these day's I'm gonna ask for permission to photograph there". The days just seem to keep rolling by when I would drive by with the same result, it would disappear in my mirror as I drove on by. Today was different though. Project 365 was in full swing and demanded that I take action, As I pulled the truck onto the big scale; I decided to do just that.
A young lady sitting high above me behind dust covered glass waived me on through. Pulling off the scale, I headed into the lot and toward a gentlemen who was directing people and vehicles. He told me to go straight ahead and turn to the right. "Down just a little ways from there you can dump your scrap", he advised. The yard was buzzing with activity. It was like a mini city with trucks coming and going all while big machines were busy moving, and processing the scrap. As I turned right just as the yard foremen told me; I saw the pile where the scrap was dumped in order to be placed into bigger piles elsewhere. I saw a Chinese man walking around inspecting the various piles and he was carrying a chunk of steel in his hands. It seemed to me that he had been hunting with success, and hoped the same thing was in store for me as well. There were other "Scrapers" there too throwing their salvaged metal into the same pile I was now throwing mine. It occurred to me that this might be a way of life for some people, and they were making a living by scrapping. That made me smile, and I envied them for doing what they loved, and doing it by their rules. Maybe my photography project was similar though any payoff for me wouldn't come till I had emptied my load of photos three hundred and sixty five times. Still , there was a kinship I believe amongst free spirits who see value where other only see junk. Seems like a good photo project to follow "Scrappers" around on their salvage quests. Tucking that away for next years schedule among the many others that I'm dreaming about.
As I heaved the scrap from the truck bed, I was amazed at the beauty that was all around me. It was like being on an Island of Randomness where the seeming chaos of twisted metal stimulated the mind of those able to recognize its worth. I felt alive here among these cast-aways, and I longed to tell their story. The last piece of scrap left my hands and twisted, and tumbled through the air before it fell into the ever growing pile. The sound it should have made when it hit the pile was swallowed up by the symphony of the yard. Climbing back into the cab, I headed back out and toward the scale. The same young lady waived to me again that it was OK to proceed off the scale and to the parking lot. After I parked, I walked toward the steps that would take me up to where the young lady was. To the place where I would find out if I could photograph where days before I had only witnessed from the highway. The office was small and looked like what I imagined it would look like. Functional and plain with no need to impress anyone that came through the door with fancy offices. There was no need because the young ladies that were behind those time worn counters were all the decoration it needed. They smiled and were gracious as I the scrapping virgin stood before them not knowing what I was supposed to do. After getting my information, a young lady reached into a drawer and handed me nearly fifty dollars. It was plain to see why truck after truck had been coming through the lot. It was a nice little payday, but I was hoping for a bigger pay day.
With nothing to loose, I bravely explained Project 365 to her and asked if I could wander around and photograph. "Sure", she said without hesitation. "Whew", I thought to myself as I thanked her and proceeded out the door to get my gear from the truck. After I grabbed my photo bag, I walked back toward the lot and was surprised to see that same sweet lady standing at the bottom of the steps I had just come down. "I really have been photographing everyday since the beginning of the year", I told her as I fidgeted with my camera. She didn't seem suspicious, but just curious to why somebody would find this lot full of junk so appealing. "There is just a lot of art to be found in there", I explained as she stood there patiently. She nodded her head and I thanked her again as I proceeded into the yard. There was the same foreman standing there and I spoke to him as I past. "This place is beautiful and there is a lot of photo opportunities", I said. "Yes and there is some good money too", he said smiling as I walked by. Walking down the path I had taken in the truck; I could now see a huge, and hungry beast grabbing bits of metal from the pile I had helped make. It lurched forward then dropped down with precision to bite the pile with its mechanical jowls. Then it rose again as if to look around to be wary of other predators who might try and steel its meal. Once it was satisfied its prey was safe it lifted up with a heaping mouth full toward the other side of the pile. It did this repeatedly, and I began tracking it with my lens hoping to capture the animal as it fed. Some sort of a silver washer had stuck to the side of the beasts head and it looked like a huge eye staring back at me. The afternoon sky was perfectly blue with big fluffy clouds looking down upon this primal moment, and I fired again and again as it swept down to feed from the metal carcus.
After getting my fill of the yellow monster; I walked around the rest of the yard and saw many wonderful things and took many photographs. It was overwhelming with so many subjects all around me, and it became difficult to keep from hurrying as something else was always catching my eye. It was getting late and I decided to head back to the office and say thanks one more time. Up the steps and into the office I went. The same sweet lady was back behind her deck doing her work. "Thanks again", I said. She nodded as she went about her business. "If you want to follow along with my project, here is the address", and I spoke it out loud. She asked one of the other wonderful young ladies to pull it up on her PC as she moved toward her desk. The both seemed interested and the second young lady asked how you get to the rest of the photos. I stepped around her desk and showed her where to click and she scrolled through the images. The lady who had paid me held out a piece of paper to me and invited me to a motorcycle show that was coming up. "I would love to go, and will do so if I can", I told her. "Well you should be able to see the image from today fairly soon", I said walking toward the door. "Hopefully, I will get invited back again", I queried as I walked toward the door. "You might", she replied. "Thanks and have a nice day", I said and walked out the door. Walking down the steps and toward my truck; I remembered the Chinese man who was carrying around a piece of steel. He had been hunting like me and he had scored a steel trophy. As I thought about what I had just photographed and the nice people I had interacted with; I knew that I had some trophies from my hunt as well.
Happy Scrapping.
