Abandoned Things

Of the things that I have been shooting lately outside of sports, the most common thread is places that are abandoned- houses, factories, anything. Venturing into such environments is very exciting to me, as is urban exploration as a whole. The city of Richmond provides several avenues for such explanation, and I have been fortunate enough to visit some with my brother. There is not much to see of the Church Hill tunnel, but the history of it is amazing. There's an abandoned skyscraper downtown, an abandoned theatre I plan to go to soon, and several other buildings including a church. The most in-depth shoot that I have done so far regarding this subject was last semester when my brother and I went to the abandoned Fulton Gas Works building in Rockett's Landing. A select few images from this shoot are what I chose for our artist statement assignment, which can be seen below.

This series was shot as part of an urban adventuring trip taken with my brother. Such endeavors have served a duel function of an educational experience regarding forgotten places as well as bonding time with somebody whom I feel that we are growing apart. The urban explorations have been confined to locations that were once thriving with life but now lay abandoned. Environments such as these inspire wonder, as if one were stepping into a time capsule that had fallen into a state of decay and must piece together the story. All scenes were shot with natural light in late morning to early afternoon, no tripod was used. None of the items were displaced from the state that they were discovered in. Coming from a background of sports photography, this subject matter could be considered recreational, or a break from my usual work. These unparalleled still lives allow me time to deliberately frame a composition. Where shooting sports is predominantly reactive, these scenes are primarily contemplative. I get to move around the subject matter and choose exactly how it will be captured. Certain elements of photography have been utilized to echo the feelings of abandonment and preserve these gazings into the past.

I hope to be able to return soon and continue shooting, this time with better equipment, more time, and more intent based on the first round of shooting.