Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24mm, 1/45 sec, f/8.0, ISO 3200.
On one of our backroads drives in Alabama last August, we came upon an abandoned gas station. August in Alabama is hot and humid. So humid, in fact, that when I got out of the nicely air conditioned car my camera completely fogged up. (Want to avoid this problem? Keep your camera in the trunk where it is warmer!) Despite this, I managed to take the picture above, but the milky, low-contrast look of the photo is a result. I was able to process it so that it looked more “normal” than this, but decided to stick with this version anyway. The low contrast makes it feel a bit like an old, slightly-faded photograph, which fits the subject.
Once your camera is fogged over, all you can do is wait for it to warm up. With big hunks of glass, this can take a long time, so I didn’t really get anything else that day. But I did decide to come back on my next visit. As it happened, that was only a month later. Here the road and the overgrown sign tell a story: even without seeing the gas station itself, you know the world—and car after car—has passed it by.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 105mm, 1/4 sec, f/4.0, ISO 560.
The thing that really grabbed my attention about this gas station was the colorful roof over the pumps: between the remaining red paint, the rust, and the lichen, it was a striking combination of colors and textures. All of which are hard to emphasize when your camera is fogged over. On this next visit, I was able to show it clearly:
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 120mm, 1/350 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1600.
Here is one of the pumps. Rust, fading paint, peeling stickers, and encroaching plants all contribute to the old-and-abandoned feel. Compositionally, I like the curving swoosh of the black hose around the bottom of the pump, too.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 59mm, 1/60 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1100.
I liked these rusty covers, especially the way the one on the left has stained the pavement but the one on the right hasn’t. Even so, I don’t like this image. I’m convinced that there is a better composition here. It’s not that I couldn’t find it, it’s more that I didn’t try: this is one of those situations where I liked the subject enough that I was lackadaisical about the composition and the result was bleh.
Can I talk my wife into going to an old creepy gas station a third time…?
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 46mm, 1/200 sec, f/9.5, ISO 1600.
Continuing our drive, we found a second abandoned gas station. I’m not sure what happened to undermine both of these businesses a few miles apart—maybe if one of them had folded earlier the other could have recovered, but in the end, neither did.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24mm, 1/25 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1600.
It’s remarkable how nature just wants to swallow everything in Alabama:
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 27mm, 1/15 sec, f/4.0, ISO 1600.
The exposed inner workings of this old-style pump are pretty interesting. Maybe the death-knell for these businesses was people starting to expect pay-at-the-pump. Perhaps fancy modern pumps were more than they could afford, and that was that.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 36mm, 1/10 sec, f/8.0, ISO 1600.
I hope you enjoyed another backroads journey with Jim. Next week the blog returns to Europe and it will likely be some months before we return to North America.
7 responses to “Serviceless Stations”
Love these!! Hope you’re well!!
Thank you, Ashley!
Fascinating for me as “outsider”: do these gas stations get abandoned and left to decay because no one else needs the plot of land and/or
because it is easier to build elsewhere and there is ample space to do so and/or
the population has moved away and there is little or no demand for the products?
They certainly present an excellent opportunity for photography as you demonstrate.
I think it is a combination of all three, but obviously most of the US has a lot more space to work with than is typical in Europe. Other things can happen, too. For example, sometimes a new, more efficient road will bypass an area and drastically cut the traffic in a local area. (I realize that the concept of an efficient road—let alone a new one—might seem to be of purely theoretical interest when you live in the UK, but it is not uncommon in the US. I am very fond of the UK, but roads are not its strong suit.) A perfect example is the Pixar movie “Cars”, where the (fictional) town of Radiator Springs is bypassed by the interstate highway and no one ever stops there anymore, leaving it to atrophy. There are countless towns across the country where this happens. Or mines close. Or a military base. Or whatever. The other thought is that the new owner of a property like a gas station might find themselves on the hook to clean up the soil from past fuel leaks from the underground tanks. Lots of possible reasons. Regardless, the images give stories to ponder.
Someday you can visit and we’ll go look for more of these places together. They are fun to find!
Appreciate your in-depth response.
Yes, UK roads reflect historical circumstances especially in towns and cities never designed to accommodate cars. Our motorways are also often overcrowded – partly as a result of lorries/trucks replacing trains and other forms of transport. (I have seen how immense trains can be in the US and Canada!)
It would, indeed, be great to see your part of the world.
Don’t go back to the creepy gas station, Susan!! 😉
Well, she did just cancel our next trip to Alabama, so perhaps she heeded your advice!