Photographing Abandoned Sites: The Rule of Three




The advice on how to tackle photographing an abandoned site is limitless. With Photoshop, many can take rather so-so photos and sex them up with deeper colors, blurring, even make them look like old photos. Hocus pocus, aside, let's talk about how to take advantage of sites that don't need sexing up post production. They need to be exposed and raw and in their natural form as you found them.

Context:
This is my very first thing I consider when looking at an abandoned site. In the picture above in which the crumbled building is far in the distant desert, I photographed if that way on purpose. When I approached the site, the thing that amazed me the most was that it was nothing but flat open desert and an exposed guts of a home. To show the magnitude of the surrounding desert and it's crumby unnoticeable little place in it, I took advantage of a more panoramic shot. Look at the context in which the place is located--is it in a tenement row? Take advantage of the tall narrow perspective. Is it in a row of abandoned buildings? Take a shot from in front of the end building looking down the row of them to show how many there are; all abandoned together. Context creates mood.

Lighting: There is something magnificent about light coming through cracks in broken boards, shattered windows and the sight of hazy dust motes. Shadows cast onto the building and within the building all make for more mystery. The lighting is so crucial. In the burned out building above, I took the shot into the sunlight to take advantage of the rays hitting the building just right. It took it from being just a dead building to window panes to heaven. Lighting creates atmosphere.

Framing: The closeup shot of the concrete sign was not a normal instinctive way to take the shot, but what I wanted to create was a piece of the scene, not the whole thing. It's more evocative if you have no context for this photo. You see part of it, but your mind fills in the bigger scene of where it is set. You leave the viewer to create the setting in his mind's eye. What is this sign attached to? You can almost picture it, can't you? Framing creates mystery.

I've given tips on photographing abandoned sites a lot on here and you can no doubt find them in the search bar. I gain knowledge each time I do it, but one thing I always keep in mind are the context, lighting and framing. Those three things alone if considered for each shot will give you something unexpected every time and also capture your memories of the place in a way that you can look at your photos and instantly recall how it smelled, felt, and what you thought of as you walked through the site. Consequently, those who did not go there in person will still get the same imagery because you captured what it was like to stand there.

As an addendum, check out this pic of me on the beach in CA.

It's a sunset shot, but why show the sunset--boring. Show how it affects everything around it. You still see the sunset, but this tells more story, doesn't it?

Comments

  1. If I ever find myself in an abandoned site with my camera, I'll keep these tips in mind - LOL!

    (Now you've got me thinking about some pics I've taken of abandoned buildings in Detroit - I'll have to look for those!)

    Actually, these are good tips in general, even for sites with people still in them. (Especially lighting: Good lighting can make or break a shot)

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  2. Glad to help ya out, Sknroiws.

    Eric;
    Definitely check those out again. See if the ones you really like have those 3 elements.

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  3. When I did photography for an ad agency, one of the rules I had was to never crop with the camera. I would always leave plenty outside the frame, then allow cropping on (at the time) the film, now, Photoshop. Sometimes it is a tough discipline.

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  4. Lighting is good to take advantage of. I look for that as well as I have a thing for windows and doors so I will take pictures of just that, sometimes from different angles. Makes for interesting shots!

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  5. MM;
    Cropping on photoshop is a must. I love how you can take it down to just what you want to focus in on. When I used to do oil painting, people were baffled by what I would paint, but I would only include a piece of the scene like the corner top of a tree, a cloudy sky, a bird going off frame. They would think it was strange, but the more they studied it, the more they pictured the whole scene that it was a part of and they felt like somehow I captured a person staring at just one part of a huge pastoral scene before him. I love making people wonder what isn't in the shot instead of everything that is in the shot.

    Sis;
    I adore your photography. I would never give you tips. You have the eye of an artist and that's not an easy thing. Some people get so carried away by "pretty house" that they don't notice the muddy footprints on the sidewalk that tell more of a story about who lives in the pretty house. I love how you see things and I noticed that not only do you do amazing framing and lighting and context but you also capture patterns in the environment. That's someone who doesn't miss a thing!

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  6. Since I have been shooting abandoned sites with you, I have learned lots about all three rules. I know that my photos are getting better and are much more interesting. BTW, you do have a good eye for seeing a good photo op.

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  7. Sis;
    I think it's just that I have a child's way of seeing the world. You know how a kid gets excited about the wrapping on a gift more than what's inside? I see places that way. I don't see the whole scene, I see its affect on me and others and other objects and sometimes its irony. I lived in Redondo Beach for years. My ex and I would go to the beach and photograph sunset after sunset after sunset. I was (yawn) bored with it. I told him, "turn away from the sunset and show what the sunset does to those on the beach." He got pictures of a row of huge beach houses giant glass windows reflecting the sunset and the sunset in my sunglasses and my skin awash in colors. That photo of me didn't show the sunset, but you saw the sunset in it. In fact, I should put that one up here if I can find it...

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  8. Wow sis, I would love to see those pictures.

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  9. Loved the lesson. Much appreciated, thanks for sharing.

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  10. You are all too sweet. I can't wait to give you lots more pics this winter/spring as I hit the road for new spots. I also am planning on hosting some video tours of abandoned sites and talking to y'all as I get myself into no doubt some dangerous places. I told you I'd share the antics and I will.

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  11. True what you say about Photoshop. I'm planning to go through my old digital picture directories reviving great shots that had the wrong lighting or a goofy-looking stranger in the background.

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  12. Sucio;
    So true. No more strangers in your holiday pics, eh? I love it for the clone stamp tool. You can get rid of a blemish by stamping it on the skin nearby and then taking that copy and stamping it atop of the blemish. Voila! Suddenly flawless. I miss the old modeling days when someone was hired to do that for me.

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  13. BTW, you suggested "charlatan psychic" as a key-phrase. Now I have to explain to Natália why her key-word is "fellatio".

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  14. Sucio, I'm certain that I should have been fellatio and not charlatan psychic.

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  15. Sweet pictures. I'm really diggin' the creepy vibe.

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  16. Ben;
    Creepy is my middle name. Hang around here and you'll get your creep on. :-)

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  17. good photos here :P photography is a great hobby :D

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  18. Absolutely beautiful photographs.

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  19. Vapor;
    Thanks. Now that I have a good camera, I can't wait to see what I get. I was using my ex's crappy leftovers he gave me. I had to bang it against my hand to make it work. I had so much fun going at that with a hammer when I got the new camera.

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  20. Nice photography. And good writing.

    I just stumbled across your blog looking up something bout ghost hunting.

    Keep up the good work!

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  21. Thanks Rob.
    Feel free to use the search bar on the right hand side under my video of Ben Hansen to find any subject you're interested in. As well, if you have a sense of humor and like ghost hunting shows, look at the bottom right hand side at the LAUGH series. It will give you a chuckle and a smile.

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  22. Chuck;
    Thanks buddy. I am excited with the new camera on the next trip I'm taking because I'm going to two of the most creepy ass places in the world. The pics should be awesome and I hope to also host some videos and take y'all on a tour of the spots. I hope you have a sense of humor because like our pajama ghost hunt, there will no doubt be some weird ass vids too like drunken strobe light dancing or some other weird shit. I tend to make it a rolling party when I do road trips.

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