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UER Forum > Archived UE Main > The heart of urban exploration. (Viewed 376 times)
theshadow_razor 


Location: Earth.




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The heart of urban exploration.
< on 1/29/2014 10:57 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
For those who don't know me, I have lurked here for quite a while now and only recently have decided to step out of the "shadows". I was out with some new explorers the other day and thought I would make some suggestions, I welcome any comments, advice, or critiques.

I started exploring when I was young, probably in my early teens. Mostly the back-woods of the local forest and as far around my neighborhood as my bike would take me. I always had an interest in finding out what was around the next corner, pushing my limits and seeking interesting new "adventures". In recent years I began exploring old and unused buildings long before I knew it was an actual organized hobby for thousands of people in this "urban exploration" community. I don't like labels much so I won't call myself an "urban explorer", I'm just a person with a camera that enjoys capturing imagery from places off the beaten trail that the majority of the rest of society will never see, or has never heard of.

There is a lot of history and human nature we can observe in examining the ruins of past societies and cultures. I feel there is so much to each culture, and every successive generation seems to forget lessons of the past, while learning new lessons of their own. Exploring our pasts help us learn about our present, and potential futures. And in my opinion "urban exploration" is useful to that ends when it is done right.

I think the heart of exploration is the adventure and excitement of discovery. Much like a scientist discovering some new physical phenomenon currently unknown to his peers, its that sense of excitement upon discovering something that most people don't know exists that drives many of us on. The thrill of uncovering something new or rediscovering something for ourselves we've heard about from other explorers.




Sometimes I think its just the actual experience of exploring something for ourselves, along with the personal responsibilities and dangers that come with many of our explorations that attracts many to this hobby of ours. Lately, I've been thinking, wouldn't it be nice to get back to the heart of exploration? Lewis and Clark were real explorers, Neil Armstrong was an adventurer in the truest sense, and the first recorded astronaut to walk on the moon. It wearies me to hear about Urbex groups becoming synonymous with illegal drug use, drunken parties and vandalism of historic properties, and it is a shame that it is a necessity for us to keep most of the more interesting locations secret to keep them preserved.... I feel like many in the Urbex community have gotten off base with the original intentions of this group, that rather than being a community of like-minded individuals set on photographing, preserving, exploring, or genuinely learning about the history of locations, we've turned this into a childish excuse to get drunk with some friends and vandalize old buildings with no consciousness of the historical significant of certain sites.

I, am not entirely sure what my point is here, this is more of a late night musing/soul searching than anything. But does anybody hear what I'm trying to say? I just feel like UER, like so many other things in life, has drifted away from its original intentions and become something mangled and limp. I want to see more of the ideals I've read about supported by Ninjalicious and others brought back as keystones in this community. Respect and consideration for the sites we visit and the people we meet are refreshing to see in explorers.

I was going to make a post about gear tonight, and suggestions for what you all use but thats probably already been done and I don't feel like writing anymore right now so, that being said, I guess I'm off for now. I'd appreciate any comments or critiques, please feel free to disagree or pick apart my musings at will. I enjoy a good conversation and I hope this sparks a few.

Psalm 62:7-9
Dr_Fu_Manchu 






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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 1 on 1/29/2014 11:26 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by theshadow_razor


I, am not entirely sure what my point is here, this is more of a late night musing/soul searching than anything. But does anybody hear what I'm trying to say? I just feel like UER, like so many other things in life, has drifted away from its original intentions and become something mangled and limp.


Don't let a few bad apples represent the many. I think most "urban explorers" still have the values you speak of. In my xperience, most the vandalism isn't done by UE's.

bRokEnCHaRacTer 


Location: Vienna, Old Europe


bRokEnVIEW.net

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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 2 on 1/29/2014 12:21 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Drug use and parties are not an issue in my part of the wold (or I am not aware of it). Here the problem lies more with people redecorating every location ...

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MrGreen 


Location: Romania
Gender: Male


Here are the thrill seekers, corrupt and immoral.

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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 3 on 1/29/2014 5:43 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
UE is an excuse to learn how to pick locks and evade the cops...isn't it?

Jason 


Location: Texas
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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 4 on 1/29/2014 6:15 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 





Ansion 


Location: BC, Canada
Gender: Male


The same, except different.

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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 5 on 1/29/2014 7:53 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I explore for the fun and discovery, that kinda thing. I never even brought a camera or anything like that with me, not until I found this site. The amount of gear some explorers bring along still amuses me to this day. IDK what I'm saying, really, just showing how I used to/currently explore.

(I don't get out exploring nearly enough any more, though - I think I peaked in the mid 90s)

"Explore thyself." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"...and abandoned stuff & things that look neat." ~ Ansion
dtewsacrificial 


Location: Bay Area, CA
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On my way out the door.

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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 6 on 1/29/2014 8:07 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Your whole thing with thinking that any state of UER* is representative of what is going on in the broader UE community reminds me of that old parable of the group of blind men trying to discern an elephant.

(* - And the state of UER is not nearly as dire as you make it out to be. Do remember you can't see any of the FM threads/goings-on, nor are you privy to all the private forums that exist for various reasons.)

Do remember that this place is called "Urban Exploration Resource," and not "Urban Exploration Be-All World and Achievement Validation." This place serves as 1) a source of inspiration to see what is achievable in UE, 2) a forum to establish your credentials as a capable explorer, 3) a social catalyst for the formation of communities (yes, I mean off-site and in real-life), and 4) a diversion.

In other words, most of what goes on in the UE community of a given area does not actually happen-on nor make-it-onto this website, just like most of what happens in your real-life life between your friends does not all make it onto Facebook (that is, unless you are a sad individual).

crows 


Location: Eastern Iowa


Il est interdit de faire smashy smash

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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 7 on 1/29/2014 8:16 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I like the adventure and the story, invented or otherwise. I mean, if the summer I ended up starting to do this was any indication I'd be spending my time just... rambling around the countryside in my car with my lover anyway, it's nice to have some kind of goal. ;) I like taking pictures to have them, to share them with a few friends who can't always be on the adventure with us but like to come when they're here, and occasionally to have reference material for drawing (there's a post-apocalyptic comic in my life sometimes).

Given how much I've seen vandalism and in general the alteration of sites frowned upon here in the short 18 or so months I've been reading this forum, I'd say that the community that's here for the exploration aspect of it are not the same as the people who are looking for a place to bust bottles and fool around. Sure, there's probably some overlap; there are a lot of crass kids out there, and a lot of people who never grow out of that stage in their life. I live in a small town that houses a very prestigiously ranked party school, and am a witness to a great deal of the aftermath of various drunken shenanigans. People don't need an excuse, other than it being the thing to do. There's no use for a 'hobby' to thinly veil your intentions when the activity itself is so celebrated among your peers. Sure, the community is probably less insular than it was 10 or 15 years ago, when it was mostly made up of word-of-mouth bonds or other, more selective and controlled communication. But the internet and the kind of social networking that it makes possible makes all communities less insular, and can expose things enough that other people can point in and say it's a trend. Higher volume means there is going to be more exposure to assholes, and those few squeaky wheels can make a lot of a din, but there's also - proportionately - more availability to connect with people and information that have a lot of value. Basically, I'm with the above poster who said not to let a few bad apples ruin it.

input: bacon | output: fiction
Dougo 

Wrong account -- Look for other Doug


Location: Victoria, Australia
Gender: Male




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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 8 on 2/5/2014 12:00 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by theshadow_razor
I feel like many in the Urbex community have gotten off base with the original intentions of this group, that rather than being a community of like-minded individuals set on photographing, preserving, exploring, or genuinely learning about the history of locations, we've turned this into a childish excuse to get drunk with some friends and vandalize old buildings with no consciousness of the historical significant of certain sites.


It's all just opinions but mine is that exploring was so much better before photography became such a big part of urbex. How anyone can explore with a tripod and a stack of photography gear is beyond me. "Go on without me, I'm going to spend 45 minutes taking a photo".

Many of these photos end up online ready for all and sundry. The internet is just full of spoilers (and of course these spoilers spoil things even more so because the photos look so much better than the real thing).

The only thing that really saves us is that there are SO many budding urbex photographers out there that the spoilers quickly get lost in a sea of peely-paint HDR staircase shots (although the naked girls are always good).

My opinion is obviously based on the Cave Clan so it's probably going to be different to most. My involvement in getting a group going in Australia was for socialising to be part of exploring. A lot of you would have heard of Cave Clan politics and of some of the members that have been kicked out and cried foul over the internet, however there have been thousands of people in the Clan and only a miniscule percent have ended up being asked to leave. Most of the time things are pretty good and shit gets sorted out pretty quickly.

My belief is that the heart of urban exploration in Australia for many (not all) is the social side. People start off exploring. They join the Clan and socialise with new explorers which leads to new locations and friends to explore with.

As I said, it's all just opinions and I don't have the energy to get overly passionate about these discussions nowadays, but if I were to pine for anything in "urbex", it would be to go back to the days where we just went exploring and took a few happy snaps and didn't have to explain that we, "Didn't have a tripod" or that we "didn't have time to take proper photos because of blah blah blah".

Cave Clan has people in it that take drugs and drink alcohol, probably even drug addicts and alcoholics (more than likely with the latter) and we’ve had the occasional vandal, but there are plenty of non-sensitive locations to party in, just as there are locations where you wouldn't even fart in for fear of disturbing dust and having someone notice that people have been there.

I suppose my opinion is that exploring wasn't always about HDR photography, lock-picking & secret squirrels and it doesn't have to always be in the future.

Plus most explorers are fucking idiots

Cheers,

Doug

PS. What do you mean I sound old and bitter

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puddlejumper12 


Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male




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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 9 on 2/5/2014 3:06 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
The genuine explorers will always be at the heart of UE, but the people that are on the fringe are the ones that screw it up and get in the news or vandalize. They don't have the interest as strongly as the rest of us. That being said, those that vandalize will move on to other things and new kids will show up. It's just the way she goes. The heart is still there.

I am 100% into the history and the past and how we got from Point A to B. Pretty much everything you stated Razor. Any location, big or small, thrills me in this sense.

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SDR69 


Gender: Male




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Re: The heart of urban exploration.
<Reply # 10 on 2/5/2014 11:12 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Dougo

My belief is that the heart of urban exploration in Australia for many (not all) is the social side. People start off exploring. They join the Clan and socialise with new explorers which leads to new locations and friends to explore with.



Amen brother! I'm in the wrong damn country!

“In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” Ansel Adams
UER Forum > Archived UE Main > The heart of urban exploration. (Viewed 376 times)



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