Urban-exploration photographers

[Marlton Mom]

Here is an interesting video from Yahoo on Urban-Exploration Photographers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_weekend/20101210/ts_yblog_weekend/lost-treasures-of-the-city

Essentially, these are photographers who choose to document urban decay through artfully composed photographs. These photographs simultaneously reveal much about a building's past and its current state, as it falls victim to neglect, disuse and the elements.

Perhaps some of you would like to post some of your images of this type of photography. I know Gdad has posted some interesting pictures reflecting this subject. Anyone else want to share?

Here are some pictures I managed to take on a July 2010 visit to Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary. I had to wrangle a group of kids and the place was packed but I managed to get 2 I liked. If I had had an opportunity to do this alone I would have planned to go when it was less crowded and I had had the opportunity to study the way the natural light was impacting the subject I was trying to capture.


Eastern State Penitentiary Windows and bars by Marlton Mom, on Flickr



Eastern State Penitentiary cell block walkway by Marlton Mom, on Flickr



Marlton Mom

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I have a small list of things similar to this that I'm planning on photographing next year when both boys are in school full time. If you want to tag along I will be more than happy to have you and anyone else join me. So far there are several building I'm planning on attacking on this side of the bridge from Chester to Center City but I want to extend over to your side of the bridge also eventually. Thanks for the link, I loved it!

 

[omghidanielle]

I used to do this frequently in college in this abandoned mental hospital close to my neighborhood, but never took any pictures. I was a little pre-occupied with trying not to die. I wasn't too bright back then, clearly.

(I did not take any of these pictures. Some incredibly brave (or legally able) people did.)

Here is a photo of a hallway. It's pretty obvious that this was the least safe place to be, ever.



You wouldn't catch me doing anything like that nowadays, unless it's a place you are actually able to tour (like Eastern State!). One place in particular that I'd love to go through is the Divine Lorraine. It's an abandoned hotel in North Philadelphia that was the first in the US to be racially integrated. It has a nice bit of history behind it, PLUS it looks a lot like the Tower of Terror!

This person in particular has a wonderful set.

 

[omghidanielle]

I have a small list of things similar to this that I'm planning on photographing next year when both boys are in school full time. If you want to tag along I will be more than happy to have you and anyone else join me. So far there are several building I'm planning on attacking on this side of the bridge from Chester to Center City but I want to extend over to your side of the bridge also eventually. Thanks for the link, I loved it!

What places do you have in mind?

 

[ssanders79]

I am very interested in this stuff. I just have 3 problems. 1) have not found anyone to go explore with [safety in numbers] 2) free time 3) interesting places to explore in my area.

As for keeping up my interest I found this amazing site a while back. http://www.opacity.us/

The coolest place I've had the opportunity to visit is the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. This is the location made famous in Shawshank Redemtion and other movies. I shot video the one and only time I went. It is a really cool place only a few minutes from my uncle's farm. If I still lived in Ohio I would be there in a second. They offer tours and have overnite opportunities in the fall for ghost hunts. It is well worth the time to take a visit.

 

[spinetnglr]

Marlton Mom would love to see some more of your pictures of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Its on my short list of things to photograph for 2011. My son lives in Philly and I am hoping to go there for a photo day on one of my visits to Philly next year. annnewjerz if you are reading this, it would be a good place for us to meet up for the photo walk that we didn't get accomplished in 2010. I never knew about it until recently when it was on the visitPA Facebook page as a place to visit for good photo ops. If you are on Facebook and don't already "like" the visitPA page you should look it up. They post often on interesting things to do and see around the state.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

What places do you have in mind?

Mostly small buildings in and around Chester (I want to make it looks like a war zone aftermath,) There's a wharehouse in Southwest Philly that was a mess when I was a kid, some small machine shops down in Colwyn that my father in law used to work at, on the safer side....the Freemason's headquarters in Center City, and my grail is inside the ship SS United States on Delaware Ave. I have some other thoughts but haven't looked closer at them yet.

 

[Marlton Mom]

Marlton Mom would love to see some more of your pictures of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Its on my short list of things to photograph for 2011. My son lives in Philly and I am hoping to go there for a photo day on one of my visits to Philly next year. annnewjerz if you are reading this, it would be a good place for us to meet up for the photo walk that we didn't get accomplished in 2010. I never knew about it until recently when it was on the visitPA Facebook page as a place to visit for good photo ops. If you are on Facebook and don't already "like" the visitPA page you should look it up. They post often on interesting things to do and see around the state.

I'd love to post more but they have the boys in them and they aren't as artsy fartsy as those two. I had 4 boys going in different directions in a crumbling prison so I wasn't able to really see, stop and compose! It was coming up on mid day and the prison was getting crowded. I did see more than a couple people dragging around tripods trying for shots so the prison is a hot bed for budding Urban Exploration photographers.

From some of the other shots posted I see the unimaginable popularity of "institutional green" paint in many of these buildings. Gov-Mart must have had a sale in the 50's on that color.

On another trip, this one to Ellis island this summer, they were displaying photographs of the place before restoration and they also had some unrestored rooms set aside where you could view their actual condition. Institutional green was well represented! It just totally amazes me the way nature takes over and water damage absolutely ravishes a building in SUCH a short period of time.

I think that it's so interesting that such a state of decay calls out so strongly to our artistic nature. The juxtaposition between the beauty and the decay, the yesterday and today is very cathartic.

Finally, my secret wish for a photo walk would be to go to Wildwood NJ and photograph the neon signs and the Doo-Wop hotel architecture at night. I have been meaning to do this for the past two years but I'm thinking it would be better done during the "shoulder" seasons when everything is open but there are not that many people or cars to infiltrate the shots.


Marlton Mom

 

[omghidanielle]

Finally, my secret wish for a photo walk would be to go to Wildwood NJ and photograph the neon signs and the Doo-Wop hotel architecture at night. I have been meaning to do this for the past two years but I'm thinking it would be better done during the "shoulder" seasons when everything is open but there are not that many people or cars to infiltrate the shots.


Marlton Mom

I've tried to do this several times. It seems I just pick the worst times to go and am eventually aggravated by crowds to the point where I just want to leave, so this doesn't work out too well. Another time very few lights were on, so it wasn't a very fruitful venture I'm thinking it might be best to try this right before Memorial day?

 

[Marlton Mom]

I'm thinking it might be best to try this right before Memorial day?

I don't know about right before Memorial day... Wildwood has many people there even then. We usually go down the shore (Ocean City NJ) in early May when things are just opening up. At least that's what I was thinking... Stuff is open and on but you don't have the hoards of drunken college students and what not.

Even though I love them dearly, we could do without the Kids from MTV's Jersey Shore show passing out (or worse) in our pictures!


Marlton Mom

 

[Gdad]

Cool video- thanks for sharing.

I may have posted this before but here is a little story on Disney Exploring

http://shaneperez.blogspot.com/2009/12/discovery-island.html

 

[annnewjerz]

annnewjerz if you are reading this, it would be a good place for us to meet up for the photo walk that we didn't get accomplished in 2010. I never knew about it until recently when it was on the visitPA Facebook page as a place to visit for good photo ops. If you are on Facebook and don't already "like" the visitPA page you should look it up. They post often on interesting things to do and see around the state.

Karyl---you never knew about Eastern State? I figured everyone from the area knew you could take tours there. It is also on my list of 2011 places to go (wanted to go in the fall but they start "Terror Behind the Walls" and thought it might be decorated for that), so we need to make sure we follow through and do it! Spring 2011? Who knows, if there are any other local DIS photographers, maybe we can do a meet.

 

[spinetnglr]

Karyl---you never knew about Eastern State? I figured everyone from the area knew you could take tours there. It is also on my list of 2011 places to go (wanted to go in the fall but they start "Terror Behind the Walls" and thought it might be decorated for that), so we need to make sure we follow through and do it! Spring 2011? Who knows, if there are any other local DIS photographers, maybe we can do a meet.

No Ann I never knew about it until recently. Technically I'm not from the area but Jason knows his way around pretty well and he never mentioned to me as some place to go for a photo outing. I talked to him yesterday and asked him about and of course HE has been there. He said too it gets pretty crazy around Halloween and its best to go early or when you can catch the last light of the day. I'm up for a Spring '11 meet there and if this weather gives us any breaks at all in the next few months I might make a trip to Philly just to do the penitentiary.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Is it busy there on the weekends?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Just a heads up, I finally sent an email over to some people to get the ball rolling on a few things I've had in the back of my mind. There's a good amount of underground rooms and tunnels in and around Philly that are off limits to the general public. My first attempt is a nuclear bomb shelter that's been abandoned for about 50 years or so. There's still supplies down there so permission is essential. If you might want to tag along in few months, let me know.

 

[JoeDif]

Here are a couple I took at Eastern State. I could spend hours there, just so many photo opportunities.

We should do a Philly area DIS meet at ESP.

 

[JoeDif]

Is it busy there on the weekends?

It depends on how many tours are going on. I've been there twice on Saturdays, once when it was crowded. The other time not so much. I think the trick is to get there at opening before the crowds start to filter in.

 

[Marlton Mom]

Here are a couple I took at Eastern State. I could spend hours there, just so many photo opportunities.

We should do a Philly area DIS meet at ESP.

I'm In!

It depends on how many tours are going on. I've been there twice on Saturdays, once when it was crowded. The other time not so much. I think the trick is to get there at opening before the crowds start to filter in.

That was my experience this summer. We arrived when they opened and at lunch time it started to really fill up.

Just a heads up, I finally sent an email over to some people to get the ball rolling on a few things I've had in the back of my mind. There's a good amount of underground rooms and tunnels in and around Philly that are off limits to the general public. My first attempt is a nuclear bomb shelter that's been abandoned for about 50 years or so. There's still supplies down there so permission is essential. If you might want to tag along in few months, let me know.

I'm in!

There is also the http://www.fairmountwaterworks.com/index.php

I don't know if they would let us underground here but it is wicked cool. I think NateNLogansDad and I have been watching the same "Underground Philly" shows....

Marlton Mom

 

[JoeDif]

I went to shoot at the Water Works during October and except for a couple of cool Boat House Row photos I was really disappointed with my efforts.

I'd definitely be up to go back. One word of warning. Don't park in the Art Museum lot unless you enjoy paying $30 to park

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I went to shoot at the Water Works during October and except for a couple of cool Boat House Row photos I was really disappointed with my efforts.

I'd definitely be up to go back. One word of warning. Don't park in the Art Museum lot unless you enjoy paying $30 to park

Do they let you underground at all?