4,224 Comments for Northampton State Hospital

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very interesting. thank you motts and lynne! i did a search for "olander" and got too many different hits. when i typed in "olander" and "cafeteria" i got 2 hits for this site.

what's strange is i just checked out one of your other galleries for northampton and found this cafeteria which was indeed titled "oleander". coincidence? accident? or gmta???
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soylent green?
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Amazing, Motts.
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Phenomenal to think many of these places were pitch black and you had to light what little you could, not even seeing all of it, and still making something so beautiful in each shot and out of someplace so sad. Better than the restof us can do in broad daylight , hot equipment and every advantage. Every advantage, that is, except your genius.
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Something's been rattling around in the back of my mind as I look at all these eerily beautiful pix, like I've seen this before -- you know, like one of those dreams but you're not sure if it was a dream or real? -- and seeing this one's ethereal ruined splendor, I know what it is: it reminds me reallly strongly of photos of the interior of the sunken Titanic!
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http://www.mentalfloss.com/
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These photos are visual poetry.
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AND PEOPLE WANT TO DESTROY THIS! THE SAME PEOPLE WOULD DESTROY A REUBENS PAINTING, A MICHELANGELO STATUE, OR ANYTHING ELSE THEY THINK IS'NT USEFUL. AND THEY WOULD STILL SLEEP GOOD. GOOD LUCK OLD MAIN! I AM SURE GLAD YOU STUCK AROUND FOR THE LAST FEW OF US TO SEE.
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Bravo again! Great photography! And I'm blown away by the effort and care put into making this building beautiful for those who had to live there. There are so many gorgeous architectural details -- and it certainly would have been cheaper, easier and faster NOT to have bothered with all that. How wonderful they cared enough to go to the trouble. Doesn't this one look llike it could be a part of an Elizabethan maoor house if you just cover the roof with your hand? Amazing!
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BEAUTIFUL!!! You are a very gifted photographer.! I went to Smith and I went thru the grounds in 2000 (the weekend of the wonderful "festival", when the whole hospital was wired and playing Bach out of every window. Literally unbelievably moving) and again in 2003. My pix didn't turn out anything like these! What a gift to all of us who love it to have these scenes preserved for all time. Thank you.
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dear sir,
i came to look at pictures of Dixmont hospital (long story) and found your website, i believe i have fallen for your photography! i have been here hours ... my rear is numb, and i believe my hounds are peeved because i am 2 hours past dinner.... i will return. Beautiful work!
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I do lubs my clients very much, and I am happy to say there are many MANY more people out there who feel the same way. There really are a large number of people who care about folks who have disabilities or who have psychiatric issues or who have dementia or Alzheimer's or any of those things. As is always the case, you hear more about the bad stuff and the bad people, and you tend to remember the bad things that happen more than the good ones. Lots of terrible, terrible things have happened in this field. This field has ALL of the elements of a potential disaster in the making. Tough work, terrible pay, little respect from outsiders, high injury/accident rate, few resources, little support from management/government, and still so many of them do a great job. I am always thankful and often frankly shocked that there are as many people who give their time and effort and concern to people with as many issues as these different groups have. If people truly understood what a service the average staff person does keeping these fragile, complicated, medically complex, sometimes very difficult people alive, they would be amazed. That's why I said I lubs my staff almost as much as I lubs my clients.

I wish everyone felt the same way about the field that I do because I am still always excited to go to work, even after all these years. And, on the selfish side, you get more reinforcement when your clients see you and light up and smile and reach out for you than you could get if you were President. You'll hear this again and again from the people who work in this field - THIS is what keeps good staff coming back for more, even with all the rough work and the terrible pay.

Yes, anna?
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omg this is titanic, BEAUTIFUL
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WOW
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looks like the library in new york, on the day after tomorrow (i wouldnt know for sure cause i never been there :( )