I think/hope I'll never let a job stop me from exploring. It's one of those things that would make me feel completely caged by society. Might sound a bit immature, but still. Also, exploring is one of the few things that make my life interesting. I need that thrill once in a while to not feel like a zombie. Regular life is so easy and safe, it gets tedious to me if I don't do something exciting/dangerous once in a while.

Maybe if the job is even more awesome than exploring I'd think about it.

I don't really see what the risk is if you're not doing something that will get you arrested. If a trespassing fine is similar to a speeding ticket then undoubtedly you won't be the only government employee with some petty misdemeanor on their record.

IMHO, if this is your passion, or even a very part-time hobby, I think it's sad to let a career stand in the way (then again, maybe that's why a "career" has never appealed to me). Life is too short, dude.

As a self employer, I double enjoy my UE escapades for photography travel and equipment write-offs.

Posted by AtticAddict I don't really see what the risk is if you're not doing something that will get you arrested. If a trespassing fine is similar to a speeding ticket then undoubtedly you won't be the only government employee with some petty misdemeanor on their record. IMHO, if this is your passion, or even a very part-time hobby, I think it's sad to let a career stand in the way (then again, maybe that's why a "career" has never appealed to me). Life is too short, dude.

So its sad that I like to shoot places but also want to have a steady career so I can afford to buy things? You know, a house, a new car, etc.

Posted by sirpsychosexy I think/hope I'll never let a job stop me from exploring. It's one of those things that would make me feel completely caged by society. Might sound a bit immature, but still. Also, exploring is one of the few things that make my life interesting. I need that thrill once in a while to not feel like a zombie. Regular life is so easy and safe, it gets tedious to me if I don't do something exciting/dangerous once in a while. Maybe if the job is even more awesome than exploring I'd think about it.

What sirpsychosexy said sums it up perfectly for me. The only time I've changed my exploring was when it was a location directly associated with my job. Without getting into too much detail, my company was involved to an extent with the overall management of the demolition of a certain huge bridge I had been getting on. This didn't stop me from exploring it, it only made me change the way I published photos and stories of the adventure online so as not to draw attention to myself.

Posted by Rinzler So its sad that I like to shoot places but also want to have a steady career so I can afford to buy things? You know, a house, a new car, etc.

Work harder at never getting caught and you can easily do both without a worry crossing your mind.

I'm a bartender. Not much of a reputation to tarnish

Posted by freeside Work harder at never getting caught and you can easily do both without a worry crossing your mind.

Pretty sure thats not how it works.

Fortunately, for me, it does heavily impact my "UE", because I get to move freely through many different kinds of buildings, commercial, residential, or industrial. Sometimes, they are partially abandoned, and on a few special occasions, I get to see a fully abandoned one that is ready for a demolition (but that is extremely rare). It's part of my job to look around for things in nasty places, so people tend to leave me to my own devices as I am working. Last week, I explored a tunnel system in the basement of a nightclub in Providence. It must have been a quarter mile of tunnels. Really weird, with lots of disused rooms and machinery, all put there well before the nightclub was a nightclub.


In addition to the inspections, much of my day is spent driving. As a result, I have spotted dozens of things I might want to photograph on a later date.. I just mark it on my GPS, and give it some generic name. Occasionally, I will sneak some easy photos on a lunch break if it looks safe and do-able.

Everyone at work already knows I am a "photographer", and they share their enthusiasm with me about it, even though I have not actively disclosed my Flickr profile. No doubt, people could find it, if they felt like trying. I am not hell-bent on hiding my photos, because I don't see how pictures of dilapidated buildings is supposed to be incriminating, regardless of how far I went to get the photos.

I suppose that if I accidentally get the police interested in my activity for taking pictures where I looked "suspicious", and a trespassing charge is put onto my record, I could say to an employer (or potential employer) that it was my hobby of photography that made me trespass. I.E. "The devil made me do it."

Posted by Rinzler Pretty sure thats not how it works.

But it does work that way, at least for several people I've met.


Personally, I think having a career definitely adds to the risk of certain explores. But it doesn't affect my willingness to take calculated risks anyway. A career is a job is money, and there are other ways to earn money. Pretty sure there's no substitute for exploring.

Posted by sara'mer But it does work that way, at least for several people I've met. Personally, I think having a career definitely adds to the risk of certain explores. But it doesn't affect my willingness to take calculated risks anyway. A career is a job is money, and there are other ways to earn money. Pretty sure there's no substitute for exploring.

Not all the time. There is no guarantee ever, that you won't be caught, unless you do shitty ass locations. Police patrol 24/7. Caretakers/owners own property 24/7. Sure, you can maybe take all the appropriate measures to make sure you dont do anything to get caught, but whats to say that a caretaker won't enter his property on a Sunday morning? Or that a cop won't enter the admin building for a random patrol? Those are two things you can not ever control, no matter how much research you do on a place.

Posted by Rinzler Not all the time. There is no guarantee ever, that you won't be caught, unless you do shitty ass locations. Police patrol 24/7. Caretakers/owners own property 24/7. Sure, you can maybe take all the appropriate measures to make sure you dont do anything to get caught, but whats to say that a caretaker won't enter his property on a Sunday morning? Or that a cop won't enter the admin building for a random patrol? Those are two things you can not ever control, no matter how much research you do on a place.

+1.

And heed Rinzler's advice. Every time I got myself into a stupid jam, it was because of something random I never could have predicted, or me drawing attention to myself. (Actually, I could have predicted one incident, but that was just me being stupid.)

I have had guns drawn on me by apparent vigilantes, and extremely aggressive, free roaming dogs sent out to search for me for hours. The moral of the story is that you never know what they will send in after you, once a completely random resident spots you and calls the cops, acting like he just spotted the devil incarnate.

The other problem with photographing in an area where you are not supposed to be, is the fact that actual bad shit might have happened there earlier in the day or week, now leaving YOU, the hapless and intrepid explorer, as a possible suspect/ target for law enforcement.

Now it's YOU who looks like the guy they are after because there was a fire, or a break-in on Monday, or whatever.

Posted by Rinzler

I didn't mean to imply it was a risk-free hobby, and right - there are no guarantees. Just saying there are people on this forum (not me) that have professional jobs and have been doing risky explores for years with no legal problems thus far. But you already know this! I don't think we're in disagreement here.

I'm an IT manager for a law enforcement agency so my job is always at stake in the event of an arrest. My housemate has a military security clearance so me getting arrested would quickly become an issue for her.

So for me it becomes a situation where I have to balance the risk and reward. If a site is clearly posted as No Trespassing, then I generally stay away. Most of my exploring is in very rural areas so there is actually little chance of getting arrested. A friend and I had hiked over a large ridge looking for a mine we had found on a map. After we found it and explored it, we hiked out to the road only to find No Trespassing signs on the way out.

I think that many of us would have to agree that part of the attraction of exploring is the risk, whether it's the physical risk of getting injured or whether it's the legal risk of getting arrested. Without any risk it would just become an interesting tour of an old building.

Abby

I'm finding that I go out more now with a full time professional and state evaluated job than I did when I was stringing work weeks together every which way. I think UE helps me deal with the idea that I may not be doing what I truly enjoy. Now if I get to the career of my dreams...I'll probably still explore.

My family owns a building supply yard, there is like a 90% chance if the owner of a local abandoned building is not a customer, one of their friends is. I've gotten permission for all kinds of stuff, to the point where I don't even have time to follow up on everything. I also get insider info on whatever is about to be torn down. It's actually really helpful. Plus, I am guaranteed to find stuff as a driver, I go all over NJ on back roads since I can't take the Parkway so I always find new places.

Self-employed. Don't give a shit. When I was previously gainfully employed, didn't give a shit then and I was way public about it.

Yes. It has become difficult to get out and explore while being on-call in case something happens to a server. The further I am from a real computer, the longer the downtime will be. A smartphone just isn't enough sometimes.

Edit: grammar

I'd actually say being a father of 3 limits me more than my profession (stock broker). It cuts into my exploring time quite a bit. As for my job I can't always take spur of the moment opportunities because I'm usually wearing a suit, although I have done some quick recon in my business suit and at least once I just grabbed a clipboard and hard hat from my car and did an active site and everyone working there just assumed I was some kind of management and kept out of my way!

First of all, Rinzler is 100% right.

I was perfectly satisfied with my career status before, but I recently started a job that's a big step up for me financially. They did a background check on me, which my hiring was contingent upon the successful passing of. Pretty sure a trespassing or B&E charge (which I've never had) would have been an issue, and I'm glad I didn't have to find out how much of one. I signed something acknowledging that they can repeat the check at any point in the future, but it honestly hasn't affected my exploring decisions. I still do risky places. I guess I have faith in my ability to talk my way out of shit as a mature person and make sure shit doesn't go to court.

Posted by Mike Dijital For us its apples and oranges when it comes to this, I play things fast and loose, while she is as quiet as a mouse and super careful not to go to high risk places.

Dude, when was the last time you explored anything?

Lots of people seem to take the "I'm self-employed so it doesn't matter" approach.

I spent several years as a self-employed consultant of sorts, but am currently a full-time W2 employee. It's not uncommon for self-employed people to be offered a full-time job by a customer upon successful completion of a project. As for me, I have a mortgage, wife and kids so it was sensible to take an offer that paid my health care and retirement. The company I work for does pretty rigorous background checks.

Thankfully my one misdemeanor trespass charge didn't stop me from getting the job, but it is possible that several charges (indicating you are a serial offender) would be treated differently. I do personally know a person who was denied employment citing multiple trespass charges.