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 person
   
Location: cincinnati
Gender: Male
 |  | Photography
< on 7/20/2010 9:09 AM >
|  | | | Vague title, I apologize.
My question is this. UER seems to be very photo-centric. Lots of photographers here of all different skill levels. Sometimes it seems almost like the main reason that people explore buildings is to take photos and post them online.
I too enjoy photography. I have a good camera, and I like to use it, although I'm not very talented. But more and more lately, I find myself either leaving the camera at home, or taking it along and then never bothering to stop and shoot, and eventually regretting bringing along the extra weight. I am finding more pleasure in the simple act of difficult infiltrations, climbing on shit, lying on a high roof at night in the cool summer breeze and having a few beers... fuck sitting around with a tripod trying to produce some kind of second-rate, two dimensional representation of the atmosphere of the place. I'm there, I can feel the still, musty air, I can smell that wonderful smell of abandonment, I can hear the bats or the birds or the cars rushing by down below or the sounds of the city in the distance. Fuck if I'm going to step out of the moment and play with electronics just so I can prove I was there.
It just feels restricting. What if I want to climb through a third story window into a pitch-dark building at 3AM, then slide out of the place before dawn, before there's any good light for photos? I don't want to think of that as a compromise... photos be damned, I climbed into the place at 3AM and enjoyed it, that's what counts.
Anybody else feel this way? It's not like I enjoy photography any less, but mixing with exploring is just getting old. I might do some shooting my second or third time through a location, or if it's extremely hard to get in I might feel the need to snap a few pictures for posterity, but for the most part, I feel like I simply can't be bothered much anymore.
tl;dr: just a bunch of bitching.
[last edit 7/20/2010 9:10 AM by person - edited 1 times]
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Sand
  
Location: Pac South
Everything interesting is always behind a fence.
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 1 on 7/20/2010 9:47 AM >
| | | | Don't worry. The more you read the forums, the more you'll realize that many of us also feel the same way. I used to take tons of pictures from a point and shoot just to become a FM, to prove that I was out and about and going to locations. Now that I don't have to prove anything, I take very few pictures. Having fun at a location is doing what you want - if you want to explore and enjoy and you think taking pictures is a chore, then forget about it! I have stopped myself at a point and shoot and a tripod. If I ever do kill this camera, I may get a dslr, but not before that point.
*I forgot to add, something I've been wanting to get into is videotaping explores instead of photography. The quick movies I've made on my camera are super exciting and really are fun to watch a few years after I've been to a location, rather than look at pictures. Maybe that's something you could get into.*
[last edit 7/20/2010 9:49 AM by Sand - edited 1 times]
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TurboZutek
King Dick
Location: Scotland
Gender: Male
Giant octo-penised rapephant
| |  |  | Re: Photography
<Reply # 2 on 7/20/2010 12:50 PM >
| | | | Yeah, I find that on the rare times I don't take a camera, I enjoy the explore a whole load more.
It's later on (a month, year, five years) that I wish I had some record of how awesome the explore was and the things I saw. Then I'm annoyed I didn't kick my own lazy ass to take some photos.
So yeah, perhaps passive video would be a good way of finding a happy medium - it doesn't take all your time and energy to setup shots but still gives you something to view some while later.
Chris...
We all had ostriches. My dad had an ostrich farm! I remember one day someone came in and said the high altitude bombing of Kosovo had been a limited success, so we all went out and celebrated… by killing an ostrich and boiling it in kiwi fruit. |
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bouncewiggle
Location: Johnson City, TN
Gender: Female
| |  | | Re: Photography
<Reply # 3 on 7/20/2010 7:53 PM >
| | | | for me it's gone from being only about the photos, to only about the experience, to about both at the same time. i think that there's a mix of all those reasons among people on here, and that for some it's probably dynamic. i don't think that just because you're taking a photo means that you're missing out on the experience. for some people taking that photo might make that experience more vivid since tiny details are sometimes noticed when composing photos. sometimes the photos bring back the memory extremely vividly, more so than what i can remember when i haven't brought my camera.
basically i'm saying it's different for everybody, and all of it is valid. =P
"bouncewiggle, now more entertaining than Jell-O" |
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Steed
  
Location: Edmonton/Seoul
Gender: Male
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Race Traitor
| | | Re: Photography
<Reply # 4 on 7/20/2010 8:12 PM >
| | | | ...Wonderful smell of abandonment??
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person
Location: cincinnati
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 5 on 7/20/2010 8:34 PM >
| | | | Posted by Steed
...Wonderful smell of abandonment??
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Yes. I'd imagine it's a mix of mold/mildew, grease and oil, with perhaps a bit of rotting something or other thrown in. It makes me happy.
Anywho.
Thanks for replying to my rant. 
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Esoterik
Location: Kansas City
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 6 on 7/20/2010 8:46 PM >
| | | | There are a lot of photographers who prefer using abandonments as their subject matter.
nothing wrong with that because most everyone has the same goal: getting inside.
“You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.” |
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zero5four
Location: Southwest Florida
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Photography
<Reply # 7 on 7/20/2010 9:10 PM >
| | | | I see where your coming from and you have a very valid point. All I gotta say is I am really glad that people take these pics and share them because the reality is I will never go to most of these places in my lifetime, especially spots in other countries. I enjoy looking at everyones pics (even the bad ones)
gotta get in, before its gone forever |
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Liska
Location: Western Massachusetts
Gender: Female
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 8 on 7/20/2010 9:42 PM >
| | | | I'm mainly a photographer, but there are times that I leave the camera at home and just go explore because it's so darn peaceful ;) You aren't the only one who feels that way, and in fact you'll likely find more people who explore minus camera, vs with. The ones with a camera just tend to post more often
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Loki
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 9 on 7/21/2010 12:01 AM >
| | | | But if I don't take photos, how will people know how much of a 1337 urBex ninja I am?
Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank |
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Brent
Location: Indianapolis
Gender: Male
Silent Partner
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 10 on 7/21/2010 12:54 AM >
| | | | Here's my two cents:
I find that I feel like I'm incompetent at best with photography, all I do is look over the photos I took of the place I was just at and wish I could have done better. You know, maybe if I ponied up for something better than my cheap-o point and shoot (I do have a 'pod), then maybe my pics would be something I wouldn't be ashamed to share. Therefore, I just say screw it, and only take a pic if the mood strikes me, I'm not trying to impress anyone or live up to anyone else's standards, and if they think that I'm not hardcore or talented enough, oh well.
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TicTac
Location: Philly
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 11 on 7/21/2010 2:52 AM >
| | | | I'd bring a camera the first time, then leave it behind if I go back to that location.
I just need to start getting to locations in the first place >.<
The Viaduct runs through the Callowhill Loft District, which is overrun with hipsters. This is just another one of those things a hipster would probably do.
-Byberian Fanman |
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FLEW2
Location: La Pascua Florida
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 13 on 7/21/2010 3:26 AM >
| | | | You have to consider that there may be a finite amount of time in which these places may still exist. These locations being abandoned means developers see dollar signs where we see a chance for exploration and enjoyment.
Imaging these places preserves them for future reference and also enables you share those experiences with others. If that's not important to you, and you find fulfilment in just being there then more power to you.
If the main obstacle to your enjoyment to these experiences is the camera then ditch the camera.
If the main obstacle is the bulk of the equipment itself, then find yourself a good point and shoot or cell phone camera, and that will take some decent images without weighing you down.
[last edit 7/21/2010 3:28 AM by FLEW2 - edited 1 times]
dyslexic, astygmatistic, & spastic. |
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insanedArk
Location: GTA
Gender: Male
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 14 on 7/21/2010 5:14 AM >
| | | | I like to keep a record of my explores with photos.
Stay tuned for Exploring the World with Insane Dick! |
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DJ Craig
Moderator
Location: Johnson City, TN
Gender: Male
Break the Silence
| | | | Re: Photography
<Reply # 15 on 7/21/2010 5:49 AM >
| | | | I'm SO glad to see someone else on UER that feels the same about UE photography as I do! I completely feel like taking photos while exploring holds me back, slows me down and takes me out of the experience. I hate carrying the equipment, spending time setting it up, and dealing with the technical, mundane aspects of photography while I'm trying to actually enjoy the incredible beauty of decay as a real-world experience.
It was originally photography that got me into UE. I'm very interested in photography and know a lot about it and since my dad is a photographer, I've got many years of experience on both film and digital. But now photography and UE have evolved into very separate things for me.
One thing I've found that makes a great compromise between documenting what I do and still actually experiencing a location is to ditch the big DSLR and tripod and just carry a high-end point-and-shoot and a gorillapod.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." -Dr. Suess |
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hatsumi
| | | Re: Photography
<Reply # 16 on 7/21/2010 11:21 AM >
| | | | eh, i'll be a dad soon, so i expect i won't look back and regret taking a camera with me when i no longer get as much time to explore and places i've been are knocked down or no longer accessible.
i may regret it if the authorities get anal and then use my hundreds of over processed soft focus blurry images of third rate abandoned petrol stations and barns and decide to charge me for visual terrorism, or trespassing.
drainasaurus maximus |
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thatwhichisi
Location: connecticut
i am nemo... and so are you.
| |  | Re: Photography
<Reply # 17 on 7/21/2010 2:14 PM >
| | | | i do agree with you. it does cheapen my emotional experience to a degree, and speeds up and shortens exploration time. i never ever photographed abandonments until recently. the best camera i had was a point and shoot that fit in my pocket, no tripod. that still let me feel it more. the only reason to bring them i suppose, as many have already said, is to take photos of things that YOU like, and want to remember, (yes because it wont be there, but so many things in life come and go..) and sometimes when i see old photos, i remember mindsets - what i was thinking when i took this photo, lighting in the next room that looked like something from a dream that a camera (mine at least) could never capture, if i was with anyone that day, who they were to me... who i was that day.
video seems like an excellent idea, and i have a small amount of video. sadly i dont know how to fucking put it on a computer...
also, i used to take a tape recorder with me. record building sounds. talk to whatever may be there.. even without tape recorders, talking to the building, when alone.
cameras dont have to be such a hinderance, is what im saying i guess, put it in a bag, get a tiny tripod.. though when you have it it tends to be on the mind alot more..
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NotBatman
Location: MSP
Gender: Male
Secret Cult Member
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 18 on 7/21/2010 2:21 PM >
| | | | I've been out exploring a few times where I never really took the camera out of it's bag and honestly, I don't think the camera ruins anything or detracts from the experience, for me.
I like to see the photos, long after the fact. They help me remember what a great time I had and what amazing things I've seen.
More than that, I like showing the good shots to friends and family and talking about all the amazing things that the city holds and hides. I've started making prints and I love to see a nice rooftop skyline of the city that I shot hanging in people's houses.
FOR ME the camera adds more than it takes away. I can totally see the other side of that, though. If the camera isn't a part of what you feel you're doing, leave it home or get something smaller and more compact. I consider my explorations more along the lines of Adventure Photography, so I choose to haul the gear.
I'm a "Leave only footprints, take only pornography" kind of guy, myself. |
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GreenHat
Location: SW Ont
Gender: Female
| | Re: Photography
<Reply # 19 on 7/21/2010 2:47 PM >
| | | | I only go to places so that I can take pics. That being said, I am a photographer and that's what I do. I also only bring my camera(s). No tripods or anything else to lug around. I've enjoyed it, but I get your point
Living is easy with eyes closed. |
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