Lenwood
drive-in, bulldozed in 1997. The sign is a 3D model composited into
the image.
Welcome
to the one and only, original roadside night photography site;
Lost America. Troy
Paiva's online night photography site since 1998.
This
is where you'll find a collection of night photography of the abandoned
roadside west. Remember, this
color work is not manipulated in the darkroom or the computer.
The lighting and effects were all done
in camera, at the scene.
I am uplaoding new work to flickr
almost every day now. I've never really been a blog
kinda guy, but people tell me that's exactly what I'm doing at flickr
now.
3/23
MSNBC
has run a piece on some of my new work posted at flickr.com
of an abandoned ranch near Helendale CA filled with truckloads
of rotting food and "Second Harvest" food donation bins
filled with decaying donations. It was an apalling place, the
stench nearly unbearable. They conducted an telepone interview
with me so make sure you watch the "audio
slideshow."
Lucky
JuJu Pinball Club
713 Santa Clara Ave Alameda, CA 94501
(510) 205-9793 Opening May 4th
Running though the month of May.
A
two man show (Joe
Reifer and I) of imagery we shot at the Aviation
Warehouse, an airplane boneyard at El Mirage Dry Lake in the
California's Mojave Desert. Aviation Warehouse services the film
industry with aeronautical props as well as operating as a scrap
and salvage operation. Come on out to the opening!
Upcoming
Show!
"Lost
America"
Fort
Mason Center
Landmark Building A, Fort Mason Center
San Francisco, CA 94123-1382
(415) 345-7540, fax (415) 441-3405 Opening June 15th
Running though the month of July.
Details
are still sketchy, but I will have approximately 25 images haging
in the Fort Mason offices for 6 weeks this summer. More info as
I get it. Watch this space.
The LOST AMERICA Book has been
REPRINTED! Motorbooks
has run another 1,000 copies so come and get them.
Use one of the links below to order the book.
I
have frankly been overwhelmed by the response to "Lost America".
It has been featured and reviewed worldwide in countless newspapers
and many magazines. Every review has been
glowingly positive and I bow in humble thanks to everyone that has
promoted it, in any way, no matter how small.
Some
background for those that don't already know, the book is a 9x9,
128 page trade paperback retailing for $20, though
copies are running about $15 now. It has 106
color photos and 39 black and whites. The photos
(and chapter heading illustrations) are all my original work, with
a few historical images thrown in as well. About half of these images
do not appear on this website.
I
also wrote essays covering the life and death of the Salton Sea,
the lure of Junkyards and the rise and fall of the Drive In culture
in America. A preview of the introductory chapter, "Where the
Lanes are Wide" can be found on my page, "The
Story". The book clocks in at about 12,000
words, so it's a good read, along with being a "purty
pichur" book.
Another
bit of exciting news is that musician Stan
Ridgway wrote an eloquent and flattering foreword for it. I'm
thrilled that Stan agreed to do this and I think it will add a bit
more flavor and perspective to the project. Stan used 2 of my photos
for his album, "Holiday
in Dirt".and 4 more for his new "Snakebite"
album. He's also using many of my images on his
website.
And
yes, to those of you that ask, I am working on ideas for another
book. Watch this space for further developments.
If
you like the Lost America website, you'll love the book.
I hope you can find a copy . . .
While
it has nothing whatsoever to do with my night photography, also
of note is a new book just hitting the market called "The
Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary". I was commissioned
to illustrate the book, creating 230 drawings of items like "Drop
Tankers", "Grump Lumps" and "Effies". What
the heck are those? Read the book! Here's some samples
of the illustrations. Note that in the book they are quite a
bit smaller, but it came out really nice. It's a great reference
for both rookies and veterans of the hot rod culture. Have a look:
Other
Places to see My Work
"The
Night of the Living Photographers" is Andy Frazer's 19
minute documentary about night photography, featuring work by and
interviews with Larrie Thomson, Lance Keimig, Howie Spielman, my
brother Tom and I. Andy's posted it online here.
It's an entertaining piece, check it out.
Magik
Vapor's new album "Lost Wages" features 2 of my photos
on the cover.
Brian
Rung's new album "Late for the Show" features 3 of
my photos shot at the "Burlingame Drive In" on the package
including the cover. Scweeeet!
No
sooner did one of my photos appear on the cover of Swedish indie-emo
band "Leiah's"
new album "Sound
and Diversity" that they broke up! The album's pretty good
too. Hope things look up for these guys.
My
2003 online interview at PopCult.com
is still online. Lots of FAQ info contained in there. Check it out.
PhototgaraphyTips.com
is still featuring my work in their Galleries section. There's a
dozen images currently up there which are NOT on my site. Check
'em out!
As of November 2005, I've uploaded a TON
of new work in the appropriately titled "New Work"
page. Over 100 images. Check it out!
Canadian
Hard Rock band "Penny Black"
(featuring Russ Dwarf from the legendary "Killer Dwarves")
had me do their new album cover graphics. The package features 5
of my night photos of the aircraft boneyards. Head over to their
site and check out the cover, spin an mp3, order the album.
At
the wonderfully comprehensive Drive-ins.com
website, Jennifer Sherer is running a 7 image show of some
of my Drive-in night shots. There are a few photos there that
are exclusive to the website. Great site, check it out.
At
The Nocturnes site, I have an
extensive show in their gallery
section which contains almost 10 exclusive images. A bunch of
my work that you can't see anyplace else.
I
am constantly on the lookout for opportunities to show my work and
have a series of Night Photography prints ready for display. Contact
me by e-mail to discuss this further.
