Not far from my home here in Washington State at the confluence of Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan De Fuca is Point Wilson. In 1896 Fort Worden was created here to protect Puget Sound from foreign invaders. Durning the following 51 years the land underwent many transformations – one being the placement of artillery fortifications to guard the entrance to the sound. Massive concrete installations built and later abandoned to house the various armaments.

For a photographer looking for shapes and structures built in concrete its a goldmine. Impressive stone structures sitting in aging solitude as the landscape battles to overrun them

After spending time outside shooting I was not finding much success. An open door into the darkened corridors below was too much to pass by. Below the gun placements, where the actual shells were stored, is a maze of cold empty rooms. Musty dark spaces filled with graffiti and remnants of a wild party or two. A scene far removed from their purpose at the turn of the century.

Wandering the darkened rooms the doorways and windows provided better visual opportunities than I was finding outside. Pushing deeper into the underground laborite I heard a faint sound of an instrument playing a soft melody. Sitting in the nearly dark space in the final room surrounded by graffiti a young man had found the perfect place to practice in solitude and I the picture I share today.

Searching for one opportunity and finding another. A quiet place where the sound and the light have a place to play in solitude.