John Collins Rudolf

Servicers look out...

New story in the New York Times about mortgage servicers facing increased scrutiny from federal judges... not the last we will hear of it, I'm sure.

Sun Belt Setback

 

My latest story (with photos) is in the New York Times today, in the business section. It's a look at the long-term prospects for the construction-addicted economies of the Sun Belt. Here's a link.

The photo here was one that didn't make the cut for the story, but which I liked a lot. It's a strip mall that was built at the peak of the boom but never occupied, in Mesa, Ariz.

Arizona Press Club awards

Missed the banquet and they spelled my name wrong in the press release, but it's all good --  my blogging over at the Zonie Report won two Arizona Press Club awards this year.

My story “Urban needs drain Colorado River delta” took third place in environment and science reporting, out of 21 entries. Judge Liza Mundy, staff writer for the Washington Post, wrote:

“A lovely, evocatively written account of a desert wetlands, how it came to be and what sustains it. Very nice nature writing, combined with interesting information about how water politics and policy affect the landscape, in ways that are anticipated and ways that are not.”

Weighing in on the credit crisis...

My latest piece for the New York Times came out on Saturday, in Business Day. It's about the growing trade in "troubled loans," much of which is now taking place on the Web.

Here's a link: Auctions for Troubled Property Loans Jump to the Web

Funny because it's sad because it's true

Sometimes, nothing says it better than a cartoon...

The decline and fall of the big-box store

I have a new post up on my other blog, the Footprint, about the growing number of abandoned big-box stores scattered across the American landscape. Mostly out of curiosity, and to test out a new lens, I went out early one morning in Tucson to find and shoot a few empty box stores. The first one I found was a Mervyn's, and when I pulled over to take a few snaps, right across the street was another recently vacated big-box store -- which itself was neighbor to a Circuit City in the midst of a liquidation sale en route to shutting down. In the post, I indulged in some speculation on the future of retailing in America, and asked the question: what are we going to do with all these empty big-box stores?

  

Mines on the brain

Since I moved to Arizona about 16 months ago, I've written about a half-dozen stories about mines and mining, including one big piece for the New York Times. And right now I'm working on two more stories related to mines in Arizona and Mexico. You might say I've got mines on the brain. Why? Lots of reasons. We may look down on mining and all the environmental harm it inflicts on the earth, but the fact remains that our economy would come screeching to a halt without a steady supply of metals and minerals. A visit to a mine is a stark reminder of the cost of our high-consumption way of life.

Wearing my photographer's hat, I've found large mines to offer a rich source of strange colors and geometries, disconcerting man-made landscapes -- and of course, plenty of interesting humans who inhabit them. Here's a couple of as-yet-unpublished mine photos. JCR

 

Snaps from the edge of the real estate crash

My latest piece for the New York Times, on the plight of America's home building industry, ran the other day, along with one of my photos. And the International Herald Tribune picked up a different shot when they ran the story. All very cool. But there were still some others I liked that obviously didn't make the cut. I shot most of them at twilight, which emphasized the spooky quality of some of these failed housing developments. So, without further ado, a short slideshow of American real estate apocalypse. JCR