Decayed, Derelict and Abandoned

  I dont know why but i love abandoned buildings.  Many an hour has been spent poring over books and websites dedicated to the decayed and abandoned.  A book called Abandoned Places by Henk van Rensberge contains some of the greatest pictures of abandoned places i have ever seen.  To think these buildings once were a hive of activity with people milling about to and fro, but now are left alone to fall into dereliction and decrepity. 

  I am fortunate in that one of the most famous asylums in the country is just outside my city.  Whittingham Mental Asylum.  A huge complex of buildings shut off from the rest of the world, slowly collapsing and succumbing to the prying hands of vegetation.  I have visited only once and only the outside, but look around online and you will find some truly amazing photographs from this wonderful place.

  Also near me is an abandoned power station.  You can walk right into this one and explore the rooms and halls that once echoed with the sounds of industry.  This place is a popular fly tipping destnation and people have dumped many lots of strange things here.  Mostly sofas, which i find fun to shoot with different film/camera combinations.

  Being from Lancashire there are also lots of abandoned mills.  One in particular in Bamber Bridge draws me to it, its exterior being red brick and boarded windows; yet still it catches the eye and begs to be photographed.

  Perhaps its the solitude i feel when im in these places, or maybe the sharp dash up my spine whenever i hear a sound echoing round those empty rooms.  Whatever it is i dont think ill ever stop being drawn to these places.  There are still many many more on my list to visit and i may never get to them all.  But i can try.  And should the mood strike, so can you...