Abandoned Places

bradster76 · Sep 10, 2008

Cool, Hokie. Looks funny, but is that roof on it new?? lol. I've see that before. One place I used to live, some of the 40+ abandonments had brand new doors on them...but that's because they THOUGHT they were going to buy them. Silly lawyers.

William Petruzzo · Sep 10, 2008

Why do we all so very much love going to places that are abandoned?

bradster76 · Sep 10, 2008

bpetruzzo said:
Why do we all so very much love going to places that are abandoned?

I wrote up a essay once before (long ago on another site) about "why" some of us urban explore. Went something close to this:

Why is it we seek out the old and abandoned places of the past? It is to me a deep part of us to not only seek out the unknown, but to be in a place we should not be, but more. Some of us maybe attached to the past, and want to capture the remains of what once was, avoiding the present and future. Or is it we are seeking the future and capturing the past to reflect back? Is this conscience or sub-conscience? We seek what is difficult or impossible to obtain, and the past is that. It is human nature to seek what we are told not to have, or know we physically cannot have; such as the past. Some of us seek the colors, textures, angles and light of a forgotten place. Some of us combine all of that together for our passion. Some avoid it all together. For me, it is looking back, seeing the present and knowing the inevitable end will be similar to the site you are currently in, capturing your photos. Legislatures, governments and authorities care not of these relics of our past, and view them as eye soars. There is us. Us to see deeper than the surface of it. To see the relic in which it is, and was. It is up to each of us to find the answer in ourselves.

Chiller · Sep 10, 2008

Im with Bradster. For me it is the fascination that at one time this place was built for a purpose, and the mystery of who once worked in there, or lived there. Only now to see it abandoned, or ruined. That wonder of what happened, and when strikes me as I wander through the buildings or ruins.
There is that bit of..."oh, I should not be here" feeling too, but I like to discover what once was.

Pugs · Sep 10, 2008

Chiller said:
Im with Bradster. For me it is the fascination that at one time this place was built for a purpose, and the mystery of who once worked in there, or lived there. Only now to see it abandoned, or ruined. That wonder of what happened, and when strikes me as I wander through the buildings or ruins.
There is that bit of..."oh, I should not be here" feeling too, but I like to discover what once was.

Me three!

William Petruzzo · Sep 11, 2008

Good point.

I think, on some level, it might also have something to do with an old abondened place, in a way, being the embodiment of a photographer's desire. Like in a way, an abandoned place is, in itself, a photograph. Some stationary picture of what has already happened. Perhaps not preserved the same way, but the same basic idea.

Just a thought.

bradster76 · Sep 12, 2008

True, and one reason why I love the typical "UE hall shot". You are now standing behind the tripod and your machine, seeing all the open doors, peeling paint, falling asbestos, etc. When I see it printed in photo, I try for a moment to put myself in a timemode of that sites' heyday. I imagine the walls dressed up, the floors mopped, the sounds of the patients, the nurses walking from place to place in those funny white outfits, maybe the sound of a gurney being pushed. Then I see the beauty of the decay and present. Every abandoned site is a story, many stories to be told, that will never be. Only maybe a ghost could share.

I guess also it's because it's a place NOBODY gives two sh*ts about. But the main attraction to me, is someone is telling not to go there, not to "tresspass". Strange how most owners (if the place has one), will not do anything with the site, even drive past it....in years. Years. And you can get in trouble in some areas regardless. Yah, it's fu*ked up.

I'd love to see a site like normal with the "no tresspassing", "posted", etc. signs, then a few miles away see some old plant with signs saying "no owner, go in", "owner don't give no fu*k", "tresspassing allowed. just don't fall through the floor".

William Petruzzo · Sep 12, 2008

Yeah, we have something along those lines in Maryland. It's not quite so overt, but the hospital is completely abandoned and in the middle of nowhere. So, no one ever bothered to put up signs. Now it's a pretty popular site for local explorers and almost never is anyone caught. And, when they are, they're just asked to leave. Politely, as I understand it.

Artograph · Sep 13, 2008

WOW!!!

Great shots guys....I'm really enjoying this thread!! Thanks for sharing!

Hmmm....must go find abandoned places....must go find abandoned places!!! :bouncy:

(...Must not be chicken....must not be chicken....!! LOL!!)

Artograph · Sep 15, 2008

I did several shots of this old bus. This series are all in colour, which I really liked! (I have some more to add late...soem b&w.)

There has been no post-processing in these! Tell me what you think!??

1.

2.

3.

Chiller · Sep 15, 2008

I had posted a series from this shoot a while back, but thought it would fit here as well. This is the abandoned Don Valley Brickworks. They try to keep it boarded up, but between the homeless, graffitti artists, and..well...photographers, there is always an opening to be found. Tough shooting in here. It can be either pitch black, and needing a flashlight to paint with light, or the holes can creat havoc with the exposures. I think I will see if I can sneak in this weekend. Have Sat. morning free.

The rest of the series can be seen here.
Brickworks

Bifurcator · Sep 16, 2008

Those rock!!!

The ones at the Brickworks are pretty awesome too!

Big Bully · Sep 16, 2008

Oh Chiller those are fantastic!
Arto, cool bus. I especially like the one with the tire. Not sure why but that is my favorite.
Well my haunted/abandoned places tours are put on hold for a bit. My hubby was holding my camera this weekend and accidently dropped it (my small p&s) and then ran over it with his truck.

Luckily I was able to get the pictures and video that I had off of the card. But nothing else was really salvagable

Artograph · Sep 16, 2008

Big Bully said:
Oh Chiller those are fantastic!
Arto, cool bus. I especially like the one with the tire. Not sure why but that is my favorite.
Well my haunted/abandoned places tours are put on hold for a bit. My hubby was holding my camera this weekend and accidently dropped it (my small p&s) and then ran over it with his truck. Luckily I was able to get the pictures and video that I had off of the card. But nothing else was really salvagable

*GASP*!!!! :shock: Ohhhh nooooo!!!! ...I'm so sorry that happened!

Was your husband in any pain.....when you throddled him, I mean? ;-)

Thank you for your comments on the bus. I need to figure out how to calibrate the monitor...and see if that's all I need to do. My pics (on here) aren't really appearing quite the same as the photos I took.

The pic with the tire is kind of cool...you can't really tell from the way it showed up, but the flat suface of the tire is painted army green for some reason?

The yellow light photo that I have doesn't have the dark shadow under the light....sigh....back to the drawing board!

I took a few cool b&w shots of the bus too....but I'll try to post them after I have this little calibration issue fixed. ...Lord help me! LOL!!