Moments of Permanence - July 15th, 2009

About July 15th, 2009

I'm going to prison today 03:48 pm
*clears text of half-written post from last night, because editing would be too complicated*

I didn't end up taking any pictures yesterday, which made it annoying that I was lugging my camera gear around, but I got places too late, etc. I did file my application for change of name, and get slightly outraged that the personal preferences of the Registrar for "acceptable" reasons to change one's name appear to be relevant. This is not how it should work.

Shortly, I'm going out and heading to Fremantle, where I've booked a ticket to do a Torchlight Tour at the prison, where I will take photographs. Flash photography is only forbidden in the rooms where there's fragile artworks, so I'm even going to be putting on my flashgun. My camera looks hilariously massive and vaguely menacing when flashgun is stacked on with the big lens (which I'll probably be using - the 50mm has just about zero range for zooming in and out and has limited applicability for what I want to do tonight).

Among the many reasons digital SLRs are awesome: being able to use a wide range of ISO speeds without having to change film all the time or carry multiple cameras. Lower ISOs for photographing in light, or with the flash; high ISOs for pictures in dimly-lit rooms where long-ago prisoners inscribed beautiful art on the walls. (Fremantle Prison was in use as a prison for 140 years, and closed as the state's Maximum Security prison in 1991... Which was disconcerting for me to realise, since I went there on a school trip in about 1994-ish.)

I can't decide if it's a win or fail when it comes to accessibility that the tour information on the website lists wheelchair accessibility as a percentage. They have supplementary materials to give people who can't get to wheelchair-inaccessible places an idea of what's there, and they do arrange wheelchair-oriented tours where everywhere they go is accessible... but the standard tours have a lot of stuff that isn't.

At the same time, it's a historic site, on the state and national heritage registers. An old, convict-built prison that was operational for well over a century, that also contains some remarkable artworks. Modifying it for wheelchair accessibility without damaging it as a historic entity would be more than a little problematic.

So I don't know what I think, really.

Short version 11:52 pm
(Photo post tomorrow-ish.)

Went to Fremantle Prison night tour. Was interesting. Took two Ghost Pictures, among many other photos.

Was mildly sexually assaulted on way from prison to train station. Came home broken shell of self. Have partially recovered with loving assistance of Chas and Dean. Am still not 100% so photos will be later.
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