Wichita Falls Wide Angle Continued

Gibson's
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/400sec, 160ISO, 16mm

As stated in the last post, I had some grand ideas when packing for our holiday trip to Wichita Falls. Reality kept me from those plans, as sickness fell upon my wife and daughter, so the time I spent shooting in Wichita Falls turned out to be brief. However brief it may have been, I was able to capture many of the buildings in the depressed downtown area. 

Warehouse Row
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 320ISO, 16mm

Parking was not an issue in Downtown Wichita Falls, as it was a Saturday morning after Christmas. Though I have a feeling parking is never the issue it is in Queens. I was able to let me wife and daughter sleep in the car and drive a couple blocks, hop out to walk and shoot, then return to a warm car.

Diagonal Boards
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/80sec, 160ISO, 16mm

It technically was one of the worst times of day to shoot. It was a little after 10a, the sky was covered with the winter grey cloud from the snowfall early morning. The light was harsh, but it was the only time I had available to shoot.

 

Producers Creamery Co
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 160ISO, 16mm

The buildings closer to the railroad tracks are mostly large warehouses, which would make sense. A few of them are still occupied today, but there is a large majority of brick warehouses that sit empty. Most of them have sat vacant since I started visiting the town in 2000.

American Glass
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250sec, 160ISO, 11mm

There are some businesses scattered throughout downtown that are still open.

Cars?
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/320sec, 160ISO, 11mm

A few former car dealerships in the downtown area as well...

 

Four Story
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 160ISO, 16mm

Plenty of office space available in Downtown Wichita Falls!

The old Sears
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125sec, 160ISO, 11mm

I have always liked the old Sears building. It was designed so that you parked your car on top, and then went down to the ground level for the store. There were signs of some renovations happening inside the store, though I could not tell what the project was for or what store was moving into the space.

Diner
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/320sec, 160ISO, 13mm

Last time I was in town, December of 2012, this diner was still open. I believe it closed in January of 2013. Anyone interested in starting a diner, it is available still!

Diner
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 160ISO, 16mm

As soon as I saw the diner was deserted, I pulled over to park and grabbed my camera. Diners such as this are disappearing in New York City, so I assume that they will start disappearing from all over America.

Wide Angle Wichita Falls

The holidays were a busy time for us. There was site seeing to do, work was brisk with holiday parties to illuminate, and then there was the holidays themselves. We traveled to Wichita Falls to spend Christmas with my in-laws. I used to joke that there were more people in Williamsburg, Brooklyn than Wichita Falls. There are a little over 100,000 people that live in the Falls, and I've always been drawn by its architecture from the teens through the thirties. 

Wichita Theatre
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 160ISO, 11mm

I had grand ideas when I was packing my bags. I packed my camera, a couple of lenses, filters, my remote trigger, the bendable Joby GorillaPod tripod and the MeFoTo Tripod. However, my 3 year old daughter caught something and was sick a couple days, which next hit my wife, and then finally myself on my last day in the Falls. Opening of gifts was captured, but I only had one session that wasn't a family function.

Empty
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250sec, 160ISO, 11mm

 Friday after Christmas, it was warm and in the mid 60s. Saturday we woke up to falling snow. The original plan was to go to the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum, which is only open briefly on Saturdays. Their phone message says that they close in the case of rain, but nothing about snow. We headed that way, and found out it was closed. 

Times Square
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 160ISO, 11mm

I wanted to photograph some of the unique buildings in the downtown area. My daughter had fallen asleep in her car seat, so we knew we were stuck in the car anyways. I drove around looking for interesting buildings. Downtown was empty and parking was not an issue. I left my car in one location and walked around near the post office, photographing it and several nearby buildings. 

First Bank
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125sec, 160ISO, 11mm

A police officer had driven past, and circled around. He stopped and pulled over. He was stopping to see if I was lost and needed directions. Explaining that I was in town visiting, I wanted to photograph some of the buildings downtown, and was not lost. We talked briefly about the past of downtown area, numerous attempts to revitalize it, and he told me that I had to go look at the World's Littlest Skyscraper. I informed him I was familiar with it, had been by on previous trips, and was on my agenda for the photo walk I was having. He bid me good day and continued on his way.

Post Office
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 160ISO, 11mm

The Newby-McMahon Building is also known as the World's Littlest Skyscraper. It measures 40' tall. The investors thought they were getting a 480' tall building, but the blueprints that the investors signed off on had inch marks next dimensions.  

480" Tall
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 160ISO, 11mm

These are a sampling of the images I captured over the couple of hours in downtown Wichita Falls. My photowalk was brief in the cold. Happy to get a couple of buildings captured, as that was one thing I wanted to do on vacation.

Bar-L
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125sec, 160ISO, 11mm

Image courtesy of: SnapKnot - Local Wedding Photographers