As you might know from my recent blog post, I regularly go to the Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord in Germany (aka LaPaDu). With its unique combination of decayed industry set within a beautiful park with lush nature and numerous leisure-time possibilities, it truly is a unique location. In this post, I share three new additions to my LaPaDu gallery. 

Giant pipes

If you have ever been at a steel mill, you know that it is not a small place. On the contrary, the size of the plant and its individual elements is awe-inspiring and sometimes even intimidating. Just walking through a place like the LaPaDu (despite its state of decay) conveys an insight into the sheer power that had to be managed here and also into the complexity of the process. In many cases, the purpose of the machines and pipes (like the ones in this image) remains a mystery, but this only adds to the fascination of the park. Walking beneath those giant pipes made me feel the utmost respect for the people who have worked here in the heydays of the steel mill. It cannot have been an easy job.

Giant Rusty Pipes

LaPaDu pipes

Even though the LaPaDu feels like a ruin, a so-called lost place, it really is not. The park itself is the result of well thought out landscape gardening as can be seen in the image below. At first glance, it may appear as if nature is slowly reclaiming a former industrial site, but it is constantly kept at bay so that things like this pipe is not overgrown and is visible from many places in the park.

Pipe in the park

The next image is another example. Just imagine these walls completely thick with bushes or trees. How much more attractive is this place with the industrial remains and nature working together to create this unique atmosphere? It even leaves space for graffiti artists to work their craft.

Bunkerweg

Why monochrome?

All of these images make beautiful color photographs. The red rust of the pipes is beautiful to behold, and it works wonderfully with the blues and greens in the second picture. The green plants in the third photography are an excellent accent against the yellowish tones of the walls. The problem is that they are too attractive and therefore too dominant. They would distract the viewer from what I intended to convey here: The brute ruggedness of the giant pipes, the contrast of the textural contrast between rusty metal and green leaves, and the feeling of age and timelessness which would not have worked well with the fresh greens of the trees and bushes. The color itself was not the main subject of the photographs. So it had to go. Sometimes, less is more.

More of the same

If you liked these shots, you might want to look at this gallery of LaPaDu images. Enjoy – and stay tuned for more.