Photo: "Greystone Psychiatric Power Plant"

Kirkbride asylums were constructed to be self-sufficient and most campuses contained a dairy and agricultural farm, a post office, recreational facilities, water utilities and a power plant. Greystone Park Psychiatic Hospital was no exception.

This power station generated power for the entire campus, which included the main Kirbride building, which was designed to house 450 patients, nurses quarters and all other ancillary buildings. 

(3 image pano stitched vertically, shot with Canon 17mm TS-E)

"Before & After"

Before (left) and after (right)

I'm a fairly simple gal when it comes to image editing (I blame the documentary photographer in me.)

Everyone has their own style, but I like mild adjustments and prefer to ensure the appearance of my images mostly resembles what I saw in person.  

For the curious, above is a sample image from a dental chair in a hospital in New York, showing the RAW vs the Lightroom edit. 

Photo: "Point Arena Lighthouse"

Point Arena, California

Spent 3 days last weekend exploring the beautiful Northern California coastline for the first time.  Throughout most of the trip, the sky was filled with clouds, but it was still warm, beautiful, relaxing and perfect for long exposure photography.

Photo: "Through the Eyes of a Patient"

Many patients admitted to psychiatric facilities in the late 1800's and early 1900's did not actually need mental health care. Many patients exhibited symptoms of laziness, hysteria, religious enthusiasm or other health conditions, such as menopause, leading doctors to believe the patients were mentally ill.

Once admitted, the patients would be placed in a single or double room, with one or two beds and a single window through which they would gaze upon the world. Most of us can't even begin to imagine how devastatingly lonely that would feel.