Unit 6 Application, Exploration and Realisation

ABANDONED PLACES

STATEMENT OF INTENT

I am going to go to lots of different abandoned places and capture the decay of the area. I will focus on the human and natural deterioration of the building. I am first going to research the place then visit and take my photos. Once I have visited everywhere I want to go I am going to edit my favourite images so they go well together as a series of images.


PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH

Christopher Payne

Christopher Payne specializes in architectural photography and the large format documentation of America's industrial heritage. He spent 6 years visiting more than 70 abandoned psychiatric hospitals across America. 

I like Payne's work as it looks like all the people have suddenly left and let nature take over. You can tell the places haven't been vandalised which is good to see how the buildings have been left to decay. 

Eric Holubow

Eric Holubow is an American photographer. He traveled the country to capture images of forgotten ruins. Hollow is an urban exploration photographer whose work is meant to expose the beauteous grandeur of places that remain hidden, forgotten or are now forever lost.

I like how Holubow has used a wide angle to capture the size of the places he visits, it makes the images more eerie. My favourite photo is the bottom right, I like how well it shows the texture of the peeling paint. 

Anna Mika

Anna Mika is a photographer from Poland.  She travels to as many abandoned places as possible, in Poland and other countries. She says that there is obscure beauty in the buildings, unseen by most people.

Mika's work is different to the other as in some she has added people to add more to the image. The look of ghosts in the top two photos make them look more creepy but also have more of a story.  I also like how she uses different angles and composition. In the bottom right photo she has used the broken glass to frame object behind. In the left picture she has focused on the lane markers which lead into the rest of the images, this is good as normally people would just photograph the whole pool.

RESEARCH

Shooting in abandoned places:

Taking photos in derelict places can be dangerous and difficult to capture good photos, I am going to research how to get the best photos I can. These are the tips I found from researching online.

There are a lot of dangers when exploring abandoned buildings:

• Always what were you walk, the floor might be unstable. There could also be nails and broken glass.
• Avoid going alone so if you are in dangerous you have someone else with you
• Be aware of surroundings, watch out for fallen parts of the ceiling and broken boards.

Tips for getting the best photo:

• Use a tripod as most of the buildings have very little lit. You will need to use a long shutter speed so a tripod is essential. 
• If possible use a wide angle lens to capture to show more
• Capture the detail, look at the items left in the building as well as the architecture. 

SHOOTS


Wesleyan Chapel

Kingswood Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1843 and closed in 1978. It didn't have a full congregation and struggled to find congregations large enough to stay open. It was then used as a dance studio before becoming abandoned in late 1990's. After being left empty for a while it suffered an arson attack, destroying fixtures and the roof. Other buildings nearby have been redeveloped in to flats but Wesleyan Chapel has been left to decay.

This building was very easy to access as it was basically a shell of the building. There was almost no boarding up. The main danger was the floor as it was very broken and falling through. It was obvious that there had been a fire in the building as the floors were burnt and only the walls remained of the main structure. It was good as it made my photos more interesting to look at.

Final images from shoot

I am happy with these final images as they show the detail of the deterioration, this is why I choose them as my most successful.


Road To Nowhere

The Road to Nowhere was built in 1974 to link south Yate to a main road across a railway line. It was abandoned soon after because they couldn't afford the cost of steel for the bridge. Only 1.4km of the planned 3km was made and now is mainly used by dog walkers, and previously as a popular filming location.

The road to Nowhere is really easy to access which made it difficult to get the eerie photos I planned as there was a lot of dog walkers. The place doesn't have the same creepy feel as buildings do but with some editing I can make the photos give the sense of foreboding. Although it is obvious the road is abandoned, I found it hard to take a interesting photo as there wasn't a lot there. I used the road markings to add more to the image.


Final images from shoot

These are my favourite from this shoot as it shows clearly that the road has been left to decay. 

Teignmouth Pier 

Teignmouth Pier was built in 1865. It is run by a small family business and now is only partly opened because the cost of repair and renovation is too much. Because of inclement winter weather it is difficult to keep the pier safe.

Because the pier was dangerous there was no access onto the main abandoned part of the pier. I could only get photos from the outside, it still shows how the building is deteriorating. The weather was also bad so even photos from down on the beach were difficult to capture. I think the cloud adds to the feel of the images though.

Final images from shoot

I like these photos, the building isn't that old so they show what it would be like in summer if it was open. It makes it sad to see that is has been left. 

Whitfield Tabernacle

The Whitfield Tabernacle church in Kingwood was commissioned by George Whitfield in 1741. It closed in 1983 due to falling attendances. Due to arson and neglect the building is now falling apart.

There was fences around the outside of the church so we had to take photos through which was hard as I couldn't always get the composition I wanted.Although the doors and windows were filled in with bricks, I still managed to get some successful exterior photos. I focused on the brick work and top of the church which worked well. They look quite eerie with the broken windows and overgrown plants. The weather was very nice so I would want to edit the photos into black and white to make them look more creepy. 

Final Images from shoot

I like these images but I need to darken them to make them more creepy. I chose these as I think they are the most interesting. The structure looks in quite good condition in these photo but is obvious its abandoned from the broken windows. 

Purton Ship Graveyard

The banks of the River Severn have historically suffered from erosion by the tide. Between 1909 and 1965 unwanted vessels where beached on the shore. These forms a barrier and helped prevent erosion. There are many boats left to decay.

The abandoned ships are on a popular walk so was easy to get up close and take photos. I focused on the details of the boats as its interesting to imagine what they used to look like. 

Final Images from shoot

I didnt get the most interesting photos from this shoot but I chose these as my final images as they show the most decay of the boats. 

Elizabeth Shaw factory

The Elizabeth Shaw factory was fro chocolate production. The site dates back to 1881 and had many owners. It closed in 2006, it had to move to survive in the modern market. There are now plans for redevelopment. 

On arrival it is clear that the redevelopment has started. There was also high boarded fences so we couldn't get that close. I focused on trying to get good exterior shots. Where the fence was slightly lower I could hold my camera up and get pictures of the site. It was challenging as I couldn't see what I was taking. Like at the church the weather was really nice which I don't think works as well in the abandoned photos. 

Final Images from shoot

I would of liked to of got different composition of the building but these are my favourite as they show kind of what the building used to be like. 

Chequers Pub

There was a fence around this building but there was a gap that we went through to get in. Unfortunately every door and window was boarded up so no interior shots. Im not happy with the photos I got from this shoot. I tried to focus on the decay of the building but I don't think they were successful.

Final images from shoot

Although all exterior shots, these are the best I got from the abandoned pub. I didn't think this photo but I think if I darken these photos they will be successful for this project. 

Abandoned house

I couldn't find out how this house became derelict. It was in quite bad condition, there was no roof and looked like there had been a small fire. 

Although there wasn't loads left of the house it was good as you could still see the details of the house. For example, the wallpaper, it gives you a feel of what it would of been like when people where living there. The only thing really left there was the Aga. This was interesting as you don't normally see them. It was quite easy to shoot at this location as because there was no roof there was enough light getting in. 

Final images from shoot

I am really happy with these photos as it shows what happens when a building is left to be destroyed. I like the middle photo as the garden is actually in good condition so you can imagine what it would look like when people where living there, looking out into the garden. 

Newport Towers Hotel

Even though I have been here before, we managed to get into the main building which was really interesting to see. There isn't a lot left there but it is still intriguing to imagine how it used to be when it was full of people. It was difficult to shoot here as a lot of it was too dark. It was quite a spontaneous trip so I didn't have a tripod and my flashgun didn't work. I found the flash on the camera was too direct. 

Final images from shoot 

There was a lot of interesting images from this shoot, I chose these ones as they are the most intriguing. Each one is very different and each has a main focal point. 

EDITING 

Because all my photos are very different, for example some are of rusted boats and some inside of a dark building, I need to find a way to edit them to make them fit well together in a series of images. I am going to experiment using a few of my most successful photos and see which technique works best.

These are the images I am going to use, they are all quite different so I need to find of editing them that works well for all of them and also links them together.

First I used some simple techniques.

I changed them to black and white, although this worked well on all the images I don't think its that interesting.

I then lowered the black in the images. I liked this as it gave the photo a faded look which fits well with the abandoned theme.

I tried out some filters, this one added some pink tones, I didn't work well on all the photos though.

I then tried out different tools on Photoshop.

I first experimented with changed the levels, I darkened it quite a lot by increasing the black. I like this effect because although it means theres a lot of the image too dark to see, it highlights the detail in the main part of the photo. It also make the picture look creepy.

After I tested out some of the artistic tools, these below were using film grain and fresco. I don't think they are successful.

I tried out how the different blur tools effected the image, most just made the photo look unprofessional. For the one below I used the motion blur filter, then put the original photo and edited one together. This meant you could still see the blur but also still see the detail in the picture. I like how it looks but don't think it would work well with all my final images.

I did the same technique with 2 different photos at the same building.

I then tried out the artistic brush, I lightened the colour and lightening in some parts of the image. I think this makes it look more old, maybe taken on a film camera. 

FINAL IMAGES 

EVALUATION

Although this project was challenging, I did enjoy researching and exploring these derelict places. I found it difficult as I didn't know what the condition of the building would be like until I got there. It was also difficult shooting in the very low light when I didn't always have the right equipment. I choose abandoned buildings for this project as I find them really interesting and there not often photography. It is like capturing a bit of history before they are demolished.

Researching other photographers helped a lot as it inspired my own work. Seeing what they had done helped with with ideas of how to compose my photos and make them more interesting.

I think my final photos are successful as they show the deterioration of the buildings, I have used different composition to make them interested. I choose the editing technique of removing the black from the images. Although not the most interesting technique, it worked well on all my final images. It gives them a faded look which I like and fits well with the old looking buildings.

Overall I am happy with the images from this shoot. If I was to do this project again I would have to plan and research abandoned places further away. It was difficult to only find places in this area.


END OF YEAR SHOW

I used my final images from this project in the end of year show. I framed them with mount board and also wrote an artist statement to hang with them.