Category: Urban Exploration
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#89 – Buxton Lime Firm 1
Converted to black and white using the ‘Wet Rocks’ filter in Nik Silver Efex Pro, and some HP 5 film grain. Not sure why it looks slightly HDR like, it’s only one image, and it’s not seen Photomatix.
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#85 – Mastermind
Saw this as I squeezed through a door in the mechanics workshop at Vernon Carus. It’s only when I got home and converted it to black and white did I realise the shaft of light was hitting the chair. I suppose I should really re-visit the photo to accentuate the effect, maybe one day!
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#84 – Air House
This was my reward for a gruelling trip to Pyestock back in 2007. The day had started early, leaving Lancashire at about 6, picking up two other explorers in Manchester at 6.30, and then getting to Pyestock mid morning. After getting lost in the woods we eventually found access, and made our way onto the…
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#83 – Welcome To Oblivion 1
You think that barbed wire is going to keep me out…………?
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#66 – it doesn’t always go according to plan… (part 3)
Somewhere in this valley is a quarry that was abandoned in the 1920’s, complete with steam crane and some railway track. Unfortunately I’ve no idea where. I’d seen a report on a forum containing some pictures from the 70’s, and a search on geograph eventually showed me where it was. However, with all the recent…
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#42 – The Life Formula For Visual Variety In The Photo Essay
I can’t remember where I got this from. For a typical assignment at the old Life magazine, the editors expected the photographer on location to shoot at least eight basic types of photos to ensure complete coverage of the situation and to guarantee enough good pictures for a layout. 1] Introductory or overall – usually…
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#35 – Solitude
Looking for something – meaning, inspiration, warmth on a cold day. Hoffman Kiln at Langcliffe near Settle in Yorkshire.
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#30 – Inside Looking Out (4)
Grove Rake Mine. A great photographic composition technique is known as ‘framing’, that is having the main subject of your photograph within something else, such as an arch or a window. It’s something I look to use when I explore old buildings, sometimes like this, or sometimes just whatever happens to be out of the…
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#29 – Inside Looking Out (3)
Doorway To Oblivion. Once there would have been a fire escape or walkway to the old Huncoat Power Station that once stood on the huge expanse of wasteland. This was demolished but the office block was kept in use for a few years after, until this to was abandoned. It’s stood empty now for some…
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#28 – Inside Looking Out (2)
Three Windows. Sometimes, things in three’s just work better. I’m sure there’s a link between the composition of this picture and that rule of thirds thing.
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#27 – Inside Looking Out (1)
Prestolite. One of the few times I’ve had any success with a single image HDR. I still think it’s a bit overdone though, just haven’t got round to going back and toning it down.
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#24 – The Fall Of King Cotton
This is an image I took in an old mill a couple of years back. It’s one of my favourites, and I took it exactly as I found it – that’s exactly as the bobbins were, I didn’t re-arrange them, it just seems so poignant. I re-worked the image recently, converting to black and white, and…
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#14 – Book Review – Henk van Rensbergern’s “Abandoned Places”
Although this book was only published in 2008, it is now out of print and copies were recently selling for £60+ on Amazon! I’m glad I got mine when I did and am kicking myself for not buying several copies now!! The format of this book is superb, with each of the places visited having…
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#6 – ARCHIVE JANUARY 2009: Revisiting old sites
I rarely go back to sites I’ve already been to. Several reasons – 1) I always feel I’m pushing my luck, 2) I try to see as much as I can first time round, and 3) there’s plenty more places to go. However, I was after some easy explores for a college project, so I…
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#5 – ARCHIVE December 2008: Proper Use of HDR
A quick tour of any of the Urban Exploration groups on Flickr will show you how many explorers murder their pictures in post processing. Sorry, and I’m not trying to blow my own trumpet here, but in my opinion, the best way of using HDR is with a degree of subtlety. This photo of Grove…
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#4 – ARCHIVE APRIL 2009: Subtle Applications of HDR
Having visited Ivy Bank Mill once, I somehow felt compelled to return. Given the appalling state of the building, this was arguably a rash decision, but the place had something about it. I also wanted to return with a tripod as I had, in retrospect, unwisely left it in the car on my first visit.…
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#2 – ARCHIVE MARCH 2008: Selective Colouring
http://www.theviewfromthenorth.org/photo2926587.html I’ve been asked a number of times how I created this image, so I thought it was about time to explain. It’s quite easy really – here’s the steps I took in Photoshop CS2. 1) Open the image. This started off as a full colour image. 2) Duplicate the layer (Layer > Duplicate Layer)…
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#1 – ARCHIVE JAN 2008: Getting Going Again, and HDR
Getting going again, and HDR March already – and so far in 2008, I’ve done one explore (the Pickle Factory), and had one unsuccessful (site being decommissioned – couldn’t persuade security to let me on site, and there’s no other access. Yet.). Although this is the same tally as this time last year, I’ve struggled…
Mechanical Landscapes 