Post by Al Alven on Dec 1, 2005 17:53:36 GMT -5
I’ve been kicking around this idea for some time, so I just want to run it by everyone here and see where it goes. It’s not fully thought out or developed, and I guess it could go in any number of directions. But, I think it might be a worthwhile endeavor to pursue…
Background
As some of you know, accumulating photos of the Wildwoods has become one of my passions. I purchased a new digital camera shortly after hearing that the Satellite Motel was sold and scheduled to be demolished back in the winter of 2003/04.
Since that time, I have made monthly trips to the island, taking as many photos as possible. I started by snapping shots of places that were confirmed or rumored to be demolished. However, I soon learned how quickly any structure in the Wildwoods can disappear (often without any warning) and began taking pics of any and everything on the island.
At present, my personal photo collection stands at roughly 10,000 pics. I still have many left to download and catalog, but that is a pretty close estimation. My plan is to use a number of these pics on my website (Doo Wop Island) and donate some to the George Boyer Museum eventually.
Idea
As I hopped in my brother’s car to head back to Philadelphia on my last day trip to the Wildwoods, I started taking a mental inventory of all the things I had photographed that day. It didn’t take long before my focus shifted to the things that I either forgot or did not have the time to get to.
I have learned over the past two years how deceptively large the Wildwoods are. Even if you hit the ground running at 8 a.m. and try to cover as much of the island as possible, there is still only so much you can accomplish by nightfall.
Unfortunately, my visits to the Wildwoods are limited to day trips in the offseason. And, like most people, while I enjoy snapping photos on my vacations in the summer, there are many distractions and other events that make doing so on a comprehensive scale extremely difficult.
The bottom line is, as much of the Wildwoods as I have managed to capture photographically, there is still so much I have missed. These photos, also, are coming only from one perspective and lack the variety of different approaches (something you see if you look at pics of the same object/landmark when taken by multiple people).
I eventually thought of how interesting and potentially rewarding it could be to try to put together a “team,” a group of people to collaborate with in an attempt to “capture” as much of the Wildwoods as possible on an annual basis.
Goal
And by “as much of the Wildwoods as possible,” I mean every corner, every crevice, every street… everything. So much focus (and deservedly so) is put on the motels and the Boardwalk and the amusement piers with those who attempt to capture the essence of the island.
These aspects are obviously crucial to record, but there is so much more to the resort as well (i.e. the old rooming houses that have somehow managed to survive all these years, the abundance of natural beauty, many well-hidden secrets that are located “off the beaten path,” etc.)
My goal with the concept I am about to propose is simply to take an overall snapshot of the Wildwoods on a year-by-year basis, to record the history of what is there, how it looks and how it ultimately changes and evolves as time goes by.
Plan
The best way to attain this goal is to form a team. This unit, essentially, will consist of anyone who is interested in taking so much as one picture in the Wildwoods (starting in 2006) and “donating” it for the usage of our overall project.
For the sake of structure and thoroughness, different focal point categories will be created. Each person can sign up for one (or more) category and can then focus on taking as many pictures as possible under that subject listing.
Some of these subjects will overlap (see example below), but that’s part of the point. The goal, again, is to have the end result consist of a montage of as many aspects of the Wildwoods as possible.
At the end of 2006, we can accumulate all of the photos taken and turn our project into something tangible. We can bind our collaborated creation, and perhaps even try to get it published. If nothing else, we can submit it to the Boyer Museum. Maybe we can even do this in “yearbook” fashion, starting with “Wildwood Photo Project, 2006,” or something along those lines.
In taking part in this, I honestly believe that we will be helping to preserve the history and identity of the resort. We are all very passionate about the Wildwoods here, and this could be our little way of paying tribute to and helping to promote our “second home” (OK, in some lucky cases, our permanent home).
Rough Outline
As just a quick example of the way this thing can be structured, here is what we can do. First off, it must be clear that anyone can contribute and any contribution will be accepted.
The whole thing will work even better, though, if contributors sign up for specific categorical goals and focus as much as possible on taking pictures that pertain to the given subject.
For instance, let’s say that we start with 10 subjects. If we got 10 people, one each to focus on each subject, we’d already be in great shape.
Examples of some potential categories…
Boardwalk
Any and all aspects of the boards… shops and stores… people… amusement piers… oddities… etc.
Amusement Piers/Rides
All piers and rides… different angles (from boards or beach, etc.)…
Motels/Hotels/Condotels
Old, new, large, small, posh, wacky and everything in between…
Signs/Neon
Focus on facades and signs… photograph neon lights at night… etc…
Residential
Photos of old (and new homes)… pics of some condos (yes, they are sadly a major part of the Wildwoods now)…
Restaurants
Exteriors (signs, distinguishing features), interiors, etc…
Arcades
On the boards and off… exteriors and interiors
People
Folks interacting in the Wildwoods (ex: a guy on the boards scarfin’ down a slice outside of Mack’s, a family taking a stroll or riding bikes, drenched dudes getting off the log flume, people waiting in line outside of a restaurant, etc.)… unique situations, etc…
“Off the Beaten Path”
Away from the Boards and all of the excitement… little known hangouts… oddities… etc…
Nature
Sunset Lake, the beach, the ocean, much, much more…
Summary
These are just a few examples of some of the potential things we can do. Again, I honestly believe that if we can get a bunch (or even a handful to start) of people together working on this, we can produce one heck of a finished product.
Let me know what you all think. Ideas, suggestions, or any other thoughts will go a long way in helping to make this goal a reality.
This is something that not only will be a worthwhile endeavor, but could be very fun to work on together…
Background
As some of you know, accumulating photos of the Wildwoods has become one of my passions. I purchased a new digital camera shortly after hearing that the Satellite Motel was sold and scheduled to be demolished back in the winter of 2003/04.
Since that time, I have made monthly trips to the island, taking as many photos as possible. I started by snapping shots of places that were confirmed or rumored to be demolished. However, I soon learned how quickly any structure in the Wildwoods can disappear (often without any warning) and began taking pics of any and everything on the island.
At present, my personal photo collection stands at roughly 10,000 pics. I still have many left to download and catalog, but that is a pretty close estimation. My plan is to use a number of these pics on my website (Doo Wop Island) and donate some to the George Boyer Museum eventually.
Idea
As I hopped in my brother’s car to head back to Philadelphia on my last day trip to the Wildwoods, I started taking a mental inventory of all the things I had photographed that day. It didn’t take long before my focus shifted to the things that I either forgot or did not have the time to get to.
I have learned over the past two years how deceptively large the Wildwoods are. Even if you hit the ground running at 8 a.m. and try to cover as much of the island as possible, there is still only so much you can accomplish by nightfall.
Unfortunately, my visits to the Wildwoods are limited to day trips in the offseason. And, like most people, while I enjoy snapping photos on my vacations in the summer, there are many distractions and other events that make doing so on a comprehensive scale extremely difficult.
The bottom line is, as much of the Wildwoods as I have managed to capture photographically, there is still so much I have missed. These photos, also, are coming only from one perspective and lack the variety of different approaches (something you see if you look at pics of the same object/landmark when taken by multiple people).
I eventually thought of how interesting and potentially rewarding it could be to try to put together a “team,” a group of people to collaborate with in an attempt to “capture” as much of the Wildwoods as possible on an annual basis.
Goal
And by “as much of the Wildwoods as possible,” I mean every corner, every crevice, every street… everything. So much focus (and deservedly so) is put on the motels and the Boardwalk and the amusement piers with those who attempt to capture the essence of the island.
These aspects are obviously crucial to record, but there is so much more to the resort as well (i.e. the old rooming houses that have somehow managed to survive all these years, the abundance of natural beauty, many well-hidden secrets that are located “off the beaten path,” etc.)
My goal with the concept I am about to propose is simply to take an overall snapshot of the Wildwoods on a year-by-year basis, to record the history of what is there, how it looks and how it ultimately changes and evolves as time goes by.
Plan
The best way to attain this goal is to form a team. This unit, essentially, will consist of anyone who is interested in taking so much as one picture in the Wildwoods (starting in 2006) and “donating” it for the usage of our overall project.
For the sake of structure and thoroughness, different focal point categories will be created. Each person can sign up for one (or more) category and can then focus on taking as many pictures as possible under that subject listing.
Some of these subjects will overlap (see example below), but that’s part of the point. The goal, again, is to have the end result consist of a montage of as many aspects of the Wildwoods as possible.
At the end of 2006, we can accumulate all of the photos taken and turn our project into something tangible. We can bind our collaborated creation, and perhaps even try to get it published. If nothing else, we can submit it to the Boyer Museum. Maybe we can even do this in “yearbook” fashion, starting with “Wildwood Photo Project, 2006,” or something along those lines.
In taking part in this, I honestly believe that we will be helping to preserve the history and identity of the resort. We are all very passionate about the Wildwoods here, and this could be our little way of paying tribute to and helping to promote our “second home” (OK, in some lucky cases, our permanent home).
Rough Outline
As just a quick example of the way this thing can be structured, here is what we can do. First off, it must be clear that anyone can contribute and any contribution will be accepted.
The whole thing will work even better, though, if contributors sign up for specific categorical goals and focus as much as possible on taking pictures that pertain to the given subject.
For instance, let’s say that we start with 10 subjects. If we got 10 people, one each to focus on each subject, we’d already be in great shape.
Examples of some potential categories…
Boardwalk
Any and all aspects of the boards… shops and stores… people… amusement piers… oddities… etc.
Amusement Piers/Rides
All piers and rides… different angles (from boards or beach, etc.)…
Motels/Hotels/Condotels
Old, new, large, small, posh, wacky and everything in between…
Signs/Neon
Focus on facades and signs… photograph neon lights at night… etc…
Residential
Photos of old (and new homes)… pics of some condos (yes, they are sadly a major part of the Wildwoods now)…
Restaurants
Exteriors (signs, distinguishing features), interiors, etc…
Arcades
On the boards and off… exteriors and interiors
People
Folks interacting in the Wildwoods (ex: a guy on the boards scarfin’ down a slice outside of Mack’s, a family taking a stroll or riding bikes, drenched dudes getting off the log flume, people waiting in line outside of a restaurant, etc.)… unique situations, etc…
“Off the Beaten Path”
Away from the Boards and all of the excitement… little known hangouts… oddities… etc…
Nature
Sunset Lake, the beach, the ocean, much, much more…
Summary
These are just a few examples of some of the potential things we can do. Again, I honestly believe that if we can get a bunch (or even a handful to start) of people together working on this, we can produce one heck of a finished product.
Let me know what you all think. Ideas, suggestions, or any other thoughts will go a long way in helping to make this goal a reality.
This is something that not only will be a worthwhile endeavor, but could be very fun to work on together…
I love nostalgia!