Okay, I know I said that I’d focus on writing and such
during this grad school break but recently I stumbled across a new set of Urbex photos that
I just had to share!
For those who might be new to my blog, Urbex is short for
Urban Exploration – the art of photographing abandoned and decrepit buildings
for the sake of posterity. It’s
something I find absolutely fascinating and thanks to my incessant rambling
about it on occasion, now many of my fans do too!
Farther down there is a set of photos that recently appeared on Huffington
Post's website. They were taken by a photographer from the Netherlands and were taken in many of the abandoned
farm houses that dot the landscape throughout Western Europe.
 |
An Abandoned Farm In Western Europe
Photographer Unknown |
People who don’t understand my love for this type of thing
often ask me “what’s the point of looking at an abandoned building?” or “what’s
the point of looking at somebody’s garbage that was left behind?”. Most urbex photographers, Mr. Feijen included, like to say that they take these pictures to "show the beauty of decay". Personally, I see the beauty of the story in that decay - the story that the location and its effects can tell.
Wherever one looks –
there’s always a story to find. Last year I
shared about Whitley Park here on the blog and a lot of people – writers and
readers alike – fell in love with the place.
Whitley Park was an empty underground ballroom but the storylines that
can come from that one location are literally infinite.
 |
| The Always Awesome Whitley Park Ballroom! |
Ultimately, I am talking about writing in a sense. Everything and
everyone I come in contact with is detail in some way for a plot in a story. My friends and
family get a kick out of it, strangers have no clue, animals have no clue
either, and scenery just doesn't care. Neither does Urbex.
Just take a look at these photos:
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
 |
| Photo by Niki Feijen |
To some they may seem like a set of photos of musty crap in moldy old houses - BUT - think about it. Look harder. Look at the details. What if the walls could talk? Some of these homes are pristine in a sense. It's as if time has stopped. Even as they decay it is as if the people just went to the store and never returned - the table is still set in one house while the china sits in the dining room buffet in another. These locations are literally time capsules waiting to be discovered and what's found there can create a plethora of story lines!
Never mind the questions that can arise....What happened to the people? The owners? Where did they go? What happened to them? Did they get sick? Did they die? Did they get carted off to some old folks home and their children never bothered to clean out their house? Were they murdered and buried on the property? Were they murdered and never found? Or maybe he or she did the murdering and got sent to prison? Or they're on the lam? Maybe they were abducted by aliens? Joined a cult and got lost in the desert somewhere?
The point is that no matter what condition a place is in, there's a story to be told there. Never turn your nose up at a possible story - whether good or bad, a story is something to learn from and/or enjoy! (Well, if you don't like to read, I'm not sure why you're here anyway, lol.) As an author I'm always on the lookout for storylines waiting to happen. For me Urban Exploration photos provide some of the most fascinating details about life and people in general. Not to mention that these pictures are history.
Which, sadly, books may be one day...I would hate to think that that would happen - but there are cartoons about it already. There's a good chance of it happening if we allow technology to totally overrule all else.
 |
| Possibly An Endangered Species? |
Think about it. With all of our sinking into the welcome embrace of iPads, iPhones, Laptops, mini-this and mini-that sometimes the basics become lost in the rush to be part of the future. I guess that my ultimate point is that yes, technology is great, all the outlets media offers us today are great but let's not become so entrenched within technology and what the future holds that we forget to read!!
There's a plethora of books out there that combine past, present and future to give us some of THE best story lines!! With summer coming it's the perfect time to pick up a few books for the beach - a copy of Paramour would be perfect!!! Going camping? Creep yourself out with a copy of Blood Roles! Jetting or driving off on a vacation? A copy of Illusions would be perfect for passing the time! Books - whether hard copy, paperback or ebooks are a perfect way to spend some spare time this summer!!
Until next time, happy reading and writing!!
