23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
The 13th Floor

This image was made in a coal conveyer tunnel over twelve stories in the air over a defunct paper mill and power plant. I used improvised light painting using the red light setting on a headlamp to achieve the red spiral. This tunnel would have been a main artery to this entire mill, and I wanted to breathe some life into dead industry. Captured on Nikon D90 with a 16-85mm lens.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Canton, North Carolina, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D90
Copyright: © David Phillips