What makes an abandoned place worth exploring? Sometimes I’ve seen photos of places that have been shuttered so recently that there isn’t much distinguishing them from active sites other than the lack of people in the shot. On the other hand, very ruined places are often so far gone that any signs of their original … Continue reading Details and Remnants
I often say that I’m a photographer first. That is to say, I’m not a daredevil who is out to document all the hard-to-reach places he’s gotten into, rather that I want a chance at the best possible shot regardless of how hard or easy access is. However, to a certain extent Italy has me … Continue reading The Geometry of a Villa
Living in Chicago, a fun fact to trot out is that our city, famous for its frigid winters, lies on the same latitude as balmy Rome. I had this bit of trivia in my head as I kept track of a brutal heat wave in Italy this past summer. Temperatures in Milan hovered around 100° … Continue reading Urbex in a Garden
I recently returned from an intense week of shootng in Italy. I’ve travelled a bit in my life so far, and I’ve also done some urbex abroad, mostly on the spur of the moment when a spot would present itself (it’s how I wound up hanging out with these guys in Tbilisi). However, this trip … Continue reading Ceilings of Italy
There is a unique emotion that one feels coming upon a ghost town. It’s a bit hard to pin down, but I’d say it’s an amalgam of melancholy, serenity, and a sense time having been compressed all around you. It’s the kind of feeling that you’d expect to find a fun compound word for in … Continue reading High Country Ghost Towns
One of Montana’s nicknames is “the treasure state”, a nod to its wealth of natural resources and gemstones. On this recent road trip, I got to understand just how apt this nickname was. Mining is a huge part of the state’s history and culture, and is still a major industry today. This is visible everywhere, … Continue reading The Mines of Montana
I returned a week ago from a grueling, but extremely productive, road trip out West. The hospital featured in this post was actually the last major destination we would see before setting off eastward on the long return trip home, but it was the circumstances of how our visit came to be that made me … Continue reading Great Western Tuberculosis Hospital
If you’ve ever seen an oil refinery, you might have been struck by the byzantine arrays of pipes snaking seemingly in every direction. For people over a certain age, it might remind them of the classic “3D Pipes” screen saver from the nineties. But unlike in that computer program, each pipe in this dizzying mass … Continue reading Lost in a Windows Screensaver
Seen below is the unfinished reactor core of a nuclear power plant. I had visited this place before, and posted about it in more detail in this previous post. But after that initial exploration, I began visualizing a shot that wasn’t possible on that first visit. At a different time of year, the sun would … Continue reading Prometheus, Unfinished
Chicagoans like to complain about spring. It goes straight from winter’s cold to summer heat, they say, as if unaware that the couple months of fluctuating temperatures, frequent rain, and gusty winds is, in fact, what spring looks like in the Midwest. It’s as if people expect our dark and raw winters should immediately give … Continue reading Springtime
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