For some reason, this scene reminded me of that great confrontation between Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men. Â That has to be one of the greatest speeches in a movie…ever. Â To me, it rates right up there with George C. Scott’s speech to his men in Patton. Â What do you all think? Â Is it sacrilege to put those two performances in the same league?
Here’s another shot from my last explore at the old East German powerplant in Vockerode. Â What a great place to shoot URBEX. Â I shot the photograph you see here in a section of the old place that had been used a few years back from about 2006 to 2009 for a freaky Marquis de Sade performance. Â They left the floor in there when they were done, and you can see them dancing all over it by clicking right here (warning: this is pretty creepy). Â They still film a lot of movies in this place, and some film makers were actually doing a shoot while I was there last.
Today I discovered a group with whom I had not yet been familiar, VNV Nation.  I was so struck by their music, particularly the song Nova, that I decided then and there I’d be post-processing the photograph you see here to that song.  I listened to the song several times in the car, and then several more times at home while creating this HDR photograph.  I liked the song (and particularly the lyrics) so much, in fact, that I’m listening to the song, yet again, as I write this.  You can find the lyrics to this song under the photograph, if you’re interested.  I’ve listened to the whole album a couple of times now and really dig it.
Nova (Shine a light on Me)
I long to feel my heart burned open wide, til nothing else remains,
except the fires from which I came.
Like parted souls, divided for an age, awe and wonder I´d embrace,
and the world anew again.
But now, this picture from me fades.
From steel’s cold hand there’s no reprieve, light the fire in me.
Shine, shine your light on me.
Illuminate me, make me complete.
Lay me down, and wash this world from me.
Open the skies, and burn it all away.
‘Cause I’ve been waiting, all my life just waiting,
for you to shine, shine your light on me.
I dreamt the world, with my eyes open.
But time moved on and then, new worlds begin again.
Oh my heart, in this universe so vast.
No moment was made to last, so light the fire in me.
Shine, shine your light on me.
Illuminate me, make me complete.
Please shine, shine your light on me.
No hesitation, make me complete.
Lay me down, and wash this world from me.
Open the skies, and burn it all away.
‘Cause I’ve been waiting, all my life just waiting,
for you to shine, shine your light on me.
~ Music and Lyrics by VNV Nation
It’s the little things I often ponder, such as what was going the day this the gauge in this old abandoned Chemical Factory in former East Germany finally stopped. The meter at the bottom of this gauge, which reads 83947, will never make it to 83948. Â Everything comes to an end, eventually… EVERYTHING! Ponder that for a moment. Â Is there something you’d do differently if you knew your meter would stop tomorrow?
I shot this photograph in a decaying Operating Room of an old abandoned Soviet hospital in former East Germany, a place I had visited a four times, three of them solo.  I can’t begin to describe how creepy it is to visit a place like this alone.  You start to hear things that you hope aren’t there.  You grab your shots, and you leave!  Luckily, when I shot this one, I had a fellow explorer along, and while the sounds are still there, you feel a little more secure knowing someone else is just a scream away!
