Skirvin Hotel

[Neva]

This is the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. It was built in 1910 and opened in 1911 and remains on the National Register of Historic Places.

Legend has said that the builder of the hotel, W. B. Skirvin had an affair with one of the hotel maids and she became pregnant. To avoid scandals, he locked her in one of the upstairs rooms of the hotel. Even after the birth of her child, she remained locked up. She grew depressed and desponded and went out of her mind. One night, she grabbed her baby and threw her and the baby out the window of the hotel.

Supposedly her spirit is still there. Many guests have reported not being able to sleep at night because of a baby crying all night, while others have reported weird happenings going on in their rooms and in the hallways of the hotel. Oh, and she apparently loves single guys because many single men have reported being propositioned by a female voice in their rooms.

The hotel was closed in 1988 and remained empty for 15 years. It reopened in 2007 after being completely renovated.

You can read the whole "haunted" story of the Skirvin Hotel here:

www.legendsofamerica.com/OK-SkirvinHotel.html

Attachments:

[Steve (FloppyDog)]

That's an excellent photo, with a rather creepy history as well.

It seems like hotels get the really weird stuff going on, which must be why authors and playwrights like to use them in scary stories. Sort of reminds me of the Overlook Hotel. (The Shining)

[OrcaBob]

I like the photo very much, Neva. Interesting waterway in the foreground. That could make for some wonderful night shots if the water is lighted.

[Neva]

Thanks Bob. That would be cool if the water were lighted. I need to check it out and see if it is or not, then try that shot at night!

[Steve (FloppyDog)]

Maybe you could lock your shutter open, then walk around with a big flashlight and do a little light painting.

[Neva]

I hadn't thought of that, but I'm certainly going to give it a try and see what happens. I'll let you guys know how it comes out!

[NCPhotoTrekker]

Yes the water has a lot of potential for this shot. Night shooting will be fun here I bet. Like was said if it's not lit do some painting with light. Its going to be difficult to light that water if its completely dark though. If you can, use your car's headlights as you will need a lot of light to get that blue to shine through.

I would also look for a cloudy day...storm clouds would be nice for the subject and the water should still be as strong a foreground. The benefit would be the sky would have more interest and not look so bland.

[Neva]

I will remember that and get back over there....for us, now is the time....it's been rainy and cloudy for a couple of days now and it's not supposed to end for a few more days...! I'll see what happens and keep you posted....

[herron]

Interesting stuff.

My son is an architectural photographer. Check out his site for some inspiration!

www.jeffherron.com

[OrcaBob]

Wow, Herron, your son does some gorgeous work! Those shots of the office are really impressive. I did a corporate shoot in Sacramento earlier this year -- staff shots, not architectural -- and wish I could've photographed my client's office half as well as your son did with his.

[herron]

I'm pretty proud of him.

He got his first degree in psychology, but found the patients in mental wards were too hard to deal with on a daily basis. So, he went back to school at the much-acclaimed College for Creative Studies, got another degree, moved to Florida and started his own company!

He has nice stuff on his blog, too:

[herron]

Sept 11, 2009 22:15:12 GMT -5 NCPhotoTrekker said:

Yes the water has a lot of potential for this shot. Night shooting will be fun here I bet.

Night shooting is a lot of fun!



Shot this 30-second exposure on the boardwalk in Grand Haven, Michigan. That's the Grand
River, right where it empties into Lake Michigan. The Grand Haven Lighthouse is at the end
of the pier in the distance.

The sun had set about 25 minutes earlier, and this is a shot I've always wanted to try.
Everything just came together, and I was there in good (if a little chilly) weather, had my heavy
tripod, my Moleskin notebook to record data (I usually forget the darn thing) and nowhere else
to go for a while.

My wife even came down to the beach with me to see the sunset. There's a State Park just
to the left of the pier, and we walked down from there.

There were several boats coming into the river from the lake...but all you can see of them
are the trails of their lights!

Also, there was a couple on the boardwalk, walking toward the lighthouse. They stopped to
find out if I thought I would really get anything, since it was already dark out! They also asked
if they would be in the way of my picture, and asked about the big, heavy tripod and the camera
(they seemed surprised to learn it wasn't a digital anything...and I was actually shooting film)!

Just before they walked away, they asked if they would be in the way of my picture. I told them
no, please go ahead! They're in the picture...as those gray ghosts on the boardwalk, farther
down on the left!

Shot with my NC1000, using Fuji Superia 100, aperture at f/16 for 30 seconds...shutter
tripped with a cable release. The blind squirrel got the acorn!

I'm proud of this one.

[Steve (FloppyDog)]

Oct 13, 2009 18:29:39 GMT -5 herron said:

I'm pretty proud of him.

He got his first degree in psychology, but found the patients in mental wards were too hard to deal with on a daily basis. So, he went back to school at the much-acclaimed College for Creative Studies, got another degree, moved to Florida and started his own company!

He has nice stuff on his blog, too:

I remember you shared this link on the other board a while ago. I've gone back to it many times to admire his STUNNING photos trying to figure out how he did what etc.