Street Photography, Denver Style

I love venturing into an unfamiliar part of town to shoot pictures, and the excitement of discovering fresh visual possibilities. No matter how familiar I think I am by having driven through a neighborhood, walking the streets with a camera provides a more intimate and engaging experience. The sights, sounds, aromas, light, and general ambiance create a sensory experience unique to that area. The Elyria-Swansea neighborhood in north Denver was no exception, and has proven to be my favorite and most reliable location for shooting industrial images.

46th and JosephineI had some fun later tweeking the color in this view of a commercial strip east of the Purina Factory, with the din of I-70 overhead.

Industrial Structures Define the Public Face of Elyria-Swansea

When I first started photographing this area in the late 1990s I felt drawn to its most familiar icons, the Purina Factory and the imposing Manna Pro Feed mill. They can be seen from many locations around Denver, but particularly when passing them on I-70 en route to the airport. Upon closer examination, I was amazed at their sheer size relative to their surroundings. They evoked a sense of awe similar to that experienced when confronted with a dramatic cliff or imposing peak high in the Rockies, even putting on their own version of “alpenglow” in the late-day sun. As the most visible industrial structures in the area, they demanded to be photographed, and I have happily complied, from every angle, time of day, and season.

Left: Manna Pro Towers, Right: Alley ViewLeft: Manna Pro grain elevators soar above the surrounding neighborhood like an ancient temple shimmering in the sun. Right: A typical neighborhood view as the evening sun decorates alley structures.

Life in the Shadow of Industry

Beyond these obvious photo subjects, I discovered a vibrant neighborhood with a rich history and a strong identity. I'd learned a personal fragment of that history from my Dad. Though I grew up in western Oregon, my family had lived in Denver in the early 1950s, when my younger brother and I were born here. One of Dad's various jobs then was driving a laundry delivery truck throughout metro Denver. While visiting years later he suddenly recognized a building along 46th Avenue that—long before I-70 loomed overhead—had been a Texaco station to which he had delivered bathroom towels regularly. This sparked other reminiscences about his experiences and the people he'd known during those early years in a much different Denver.

I paid fleeting attention to my Dad's stories at the time, but they came flooding back as I began exploring the area with my camera. The years of history and the personal stories lived out here took on a tangible quality as I watched residents go about their routines and allowed myself to imagine growing up and living here, in the shadow of industry. I learned how to navigate the neighborhood, fragmented as it is by railroad tracks, interstates, factories, and the South Platte River. I learned where to be in the heat of the day to avoid being downwind of the Purina Factory. And I learned how and where the light played on the many bridges, roadways, grain elevators, and buildings at different times of day, allowing me to capture the ideally-lit view of a given locale.

Left: 46th Ave Commerce, Right: WindowsBoth of these views were taken from 46th Avenue as it dips three levels down to thread under I-70, railroad tracks, and the Purina Factory. The rumble of trucks and aromas of industry pervade the area, but amidst all of this an alert observer can catch the visual beauty of pattern and light.

Recommended Equipment and Approach

I found a tripod essential for shooting in this area. Even at midday it can be very dark three levels down in a pedestrian underpass. A two or three second exposure is often required—longer if I want to stop down my camera's aperture to achieve sharp focus throughout the image, which is generally my preference for most of my photos. With that degree of concentration on the camera and subject, I sometimes stop and realize how vulnerable I am, here or in any unfamiliar—and at times inhospitable—area of town, alone, often on a deserted street, with expensive gear and a preoccupied focus. I've been lucky; my most common “disturbance” is curious onlookers who can't for the life of them figure out why I'm taking pictures of an ugly, smelly factory smokestack, or a dirty, loud, diesel (and perhaps urine)–scented empty street.

Most of the people I met in Elyria-Swansea were cordial. Some were, understandably, mildly suspicious of the presence of a stranger shooting pictures in their neighborhood. Generally they warmed up after a simple explanation that I enjoy urban/ industrial photography. Some took a genuine interest in my work, and were readily convinced to see and appreciate the beauty of sunlight angling down to describe the textured wall of an abandoned building, or the curl of steam against the deep blue Colorado sky.

Enjoy my pictorial interpretation of this essential Denver neighborhood, a community that is currently undergoing major changes. My photos show the physical/visual world of Elyria-Swansea. The real heart of this place is the people who live here. Check out the links below for more of their stories. Please click the Leave a Comment link at the top, or the Add Comment button below, to comment on this post or my pictures, to ask a question, or to share your own personal story about this unique Denver neighborhood.

Evening SunlightCapturing late day "Alpenglow" just as effectively as a mountain peak, the widely visible Purina Factory stands at the intersection of the Union Pacific railroad mainline and an elevated stretch of I-70.

More Pictures and Other Resources

To see more of my Elyria-Swansea images, click here, or on the photo above.

Below are links to a few selected resources for learning more about the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood of Denver:

1. History and background:

• Neighborhood history and description

• History Colorado website, including engaging video interviews of residents as a part of the Globeville-Elyria-Swansea Memory Project

• Swansea Elementary School Elyria-Swansea Community History

2. City of Denver neighborhood plan, I-70 expansion and improvement project, and its impact:

• City of Denver North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative description of ongoing and future neighborhood development plan

• Colorado Trust article Making Noise in Globeville and Elyria-Swansea - on I-70 expansion project and neighborhood concerns about health impacts