Junkyards?

[Lyncca]

I'm not sure if this is the right location, so please let me know if it isn't!

Has anyone gone to a auto junkyard to shoot? I've never been to one at all (I know, I'm a silly girl), but I thought it would be a really cool place to go and get lots of interesting stuff.

Can anyone just walk in and take pictures, or do you need to ask permission???

Or is it just a lame idea? :mrgreen:

 

[Iron Flatline]

It's a private business. You would need to ask permission. There are liabilities, the owner will probably say no rather than figure out how to hold himself free of such liabilities.

There aren't really junk yards anymore, they tend to be recycling, reclamation, and strip yards. The idea is to separate the components and gain value - copper from the cables, steel from the frame, etc.

There is a question whether any of the materials are stolen - it is such a frequent assumption that even if the owner is running a totally clean operation, he might assume that you assume it's sketchy - and deny you access.

...but I've seen some cool Trash-the-Dress shoots in junkyards, so it can't be impossible. Come with a model, or a specific idea, and you might get permission.

 

[dpolston]

In my area, there are a couple of "take the part off the car yourself" places. I would guess that you could wander around there.

It never hurts to ask their permission. But for me, some of my best junkers are not in junk yards.

 

[Paparoksguitar]

There are certain places that will let you do it. I was thinking of the same thing recently but haven't gone for it because of the snow.

My buddy used to own a junkyard (cars and stuff) And we used to walk around in it and stuff all the time. They sold it though.

You just gotta catch em on a good day, in a good mood.

 

[R0TT3NBURIT0]

There are places were you can you can just walk in, and there are others were you have to ask permission. I know someone who works there.

 

[leila]

i went to one with my boyfriend here in FL called "U-Pull and Pay". You basically roam around looking for whatever parts you need. While roaming, i took plenty of pictures. They really don't care what you do there.

 

[Kawi_T]

I've been wanting to do that also. Around here there are tons of junk yards. (auto yards). You have to pay 2 bucks to get in. I'm planning on going, paying my 2 bucks, and never mentioning anything about photos.

 

[usayit]

When I lived in Texas, I found it so easy to access junk yards. One junk yard had a focus on Jeeps (Collins Brothers, North Dallas). Loved walking into that one and pulling whatever parts I needed.

Now here in the North, I have yet to see a junk yard. NOthing!

 

[kundalini]

I was fortunate to come across a "collection" this fellow has compiling for the last forty years. Fortunate because my mother grew up and was schoolmates with his older sister.

As I was shooting around, I became facinated with the old hood ornamates.

Here are the two threads I started:
Hood Ornamates
Behemouths

I had only about an hour to walk around, but plan on a revisit. Quite interesting place.

If it were a regular "junkyard", I would ask permission as it is most likely to be private property.

 

[Chibamonkey]

There are still a lot of junkyards out there....just have to go far enough. Be careful, lots of sharp rusty stuff that just loves to jump out and make the red stuff leak out and require a trip to the ED for a tetanus shot. Lots of varmints, and other critters hanging around that don't like to be bothered.

I used to have a lot of fun years ago driving around in the country and shooting the old rusted tractor or pickup sitting in the middle of a weed patch. Makes for some interesting pictures. In the process, you can also usually come across an old swaybacked mare standing at a fence, or cow or three that are just begging to have their picture taken.

Good luck, and be safe.....

 

[abraxas]

...
...
Or is it just a lame idea? :mrgreen:

Great idea. Welcome to the cult.

eXTreME mACHinES


--

 

[Battou]

Thanks for reminding me, I've been wanting to do just that for a wile, I used to work in a junkyard and can get access to it if I wanted, just have not had the time to get up there and nearly forgot.

Lots of interesting things can be found in scrapyards, it'd a definate place to shoot, and they're always changing and getting new things making revisits easy.

 

[MissMia]

It's a cool idea. There is a motorcycle junk yard about an hour from me that I've been wanting to revisit with my camera. There are thousands of dead bikes there.

 

[fred333]

A motor cycle junkyard would a great place to get some nice black and whites.

 

[Lyncca]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback! I got busy at work and then had a trip out of town, so I forgot about this post.

New update -- my friends family has a farm and his father collects old pickup trucks. He said there are a line of at least 60 trucks, old barns and tons of other stuff out there. He is going to take me tomorrow, I think it will be fun! I'm also going to use my tripod for the first time and hopefully try out some HDR shots