Tried to get a night shot of the old fountain at Sunrise Mall and my phone did something wild

I was at Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights last Friday after dark, trying to get a moody picture of the big dry fountain in the main court. The only light was from a single flickering exit sign. I held my phone steady for a long exposure, but a security guard's golf cart rolled by right as I took the shot. Instead of a clear ghost mall pic, the photo came out with this crazy, streaky red trail from the cart's tail light, cutting through all the dark and empty storefronts. It totally changed the vibe from sad to almost sci-fi. I learned that sometimes the best dead mall shots aren't the ones you plan, they're the accidents that happen when the place is still alive in its own broken way. What's the coolest unplanned photo you've gotten in a dead mall?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_hunt1mo ago

Disagree about the accidents being better. My best dead mall shots are always the ones I set up with a tripod and planned for. The empty silence is the whole point.

anthony_lane551mo ago

Wait, so you're saying the silence is the whole point... but what about what leor37 said? Doesn't a little bit of life, even just a guard, make the emptiness feel more real? Like it's not just a set you built. It's a place that's actually fading away.

leor371mo ago

True, but sometimes a random security guard walking through the shot adds a weird layer of life to the emptiness.