This could potentially be quite a depressing post here on Hive. It's the time of the year in December where I often reflect on my year and what I did or didn't achieve. I say in my bio I like to do a little urbex or urban exploration in abandoned buildings. But this year I've come to realise that locally to me, urbex is becoming very difficult, if not impossible.
I drove past another site a few days ago to see bulldozers flattening a great place to a pile of bricks. I also thanked my lucky stars I got to photograph it before it was levelled to the ground.
This is a collection of what I consider to be top notch locations but are sadly demolished or if not gone they are certainly now inaccessible.
An unexpected surprise
In researching this location at Loxley in Sheffield, England, I hadn't expected to find this old kiln. I was completely taken aback to find a 20 meter long kiln at the time and returned in the dark to capture this.
The site is now locked down tight with security cameras and barbed wire everywhere. I can't tell whether this kiln still stands but it's a real shame that Sheffield's industrial heritage is being slowly destroyed.
The Chair of Doom
The floor inside this old, dark office of the George Barnsleys factory in Sheffield was dusty as hell and the floorboards were the kind you wouldn't bet your life on.
I knew this place would be dark inside so I took along a tripod and a few RGB LED lights.
George Barnsleys is another fascinating place which is now pretty much impossible to gain entry. I'm not sure of the future of this factory of Sheffield's industrial heritage but with the state it's in, I'm convinced it'll probably fall over before anything is done about it.
The Old Stores
I've been fascinated by these shelves also in George Barnsleys and I promised myself to return with a model to pose on the chair. It'll sadly be an opportunity missed now this is inaccessible.
Dobroyd Mill
I only ever got to visit Dobroyd Mill in West Yorkshire twice. The 2nd time around we were intercepted by a chap who appeared to act as if he were the owner and wanted to know what we were up to. He wasn't aggressive but was curious to learn why people were fascinated by derelict buildings.
I haven't visited since I shot this but I understand Dobroyd Mill was reduced to rubble not long after. Another piece of British industrial heritage gone forever!
Tortured Soul
Derelict buildings make great locations for model photoshoots. We arranged to meet Neena here in Derby, England and she directed us to this abandoned farm.
The farm is sadly now demolished but I'm pleased to have captured this shot of Neena, a proper collaboration of ideas between photographer and model. I asked Neena to show a tortured pose and she came up with this mind blowing shape!
Neena strikes a pose
Possibly one of my favourite model / urbex images, this is Neena posing in the nude (as you can probably tell) in front of a line of vertically stacked railway sleepers. I realised that if I set off a smoke pellet behind the wall with a flashgun to illuminate, the smoke would seep it's way through the cracks in the sleeper wall.
Chayla strikes a pose
This post to Hive started off as a topic about long gone abandoned buildings but as I wrote this blog I realised I have many images of models in derelict places.
This is Chayla posing in the old shower block of Firbeck Colliery before it was demolished:
Stanton Iron Works
I only managed to get in to Stanton Iron Works the one time and on that occasion we were intercepted by Notts County FC supporting security guards. We denied having been in the factory complex, which we had, but then had a distraction discussion about my undying love for Sheffield United FC and comparing football stats. As soon as it was convenient, I terminated the pointless conversation and we legged it!
Inside the factory are huge cranes and heavy machinery all in various states of dereliction. I haven't been back since our encounter with the Notts County security guards but it does appear the site has motion sensors so I'll no doubt be forced in to another pointless discussion about football!!
Firbeck Colliery
Derlict buildings also make great locations for lightpainting in the dark. Deep in the dank, dark and foul smelling cellar under the main colliery building, I used a camera rotation tool to create this image in one photographic exposure.
Sadly, Firbeck Colliery is completely gone and in it's place is a well to do new housing development with homes I cannot afford!
A lunatic visits an asylum
This is Rauceby Lunatic Asylum in Lincolnshire. It's currently under redevelopment in to posh apartments and extra houses in the grounds. I've logged in to the local authority planning department and downloaded the planning documents. I'm pleased to see this place being reused and brought back to life rather than flattened. This is how it should be!
Private
These offices in George Barnsley had the most inhospitable atmosphere of dust and something very foul smelling. I didn't stick around for long but managed to capture this, one of my favourite urbex images.
Gina smouldering in the pit
And finally.... this is Gina smouldering amongst a bunch of illegally dumped tyres in Firbeck Colliery. When the bulldozers rolled up to demolish this place, I'm willing to bet they didn't bargain for this many dumped tyres!
About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex, landscape and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; the social side of photography is always good!
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Some really fantastic photos here. As a fellow Brit I can appreciate your work in capturing images of these places before they disappear. Find it hard to imagine the bland housing that is replacing many such sites will attract as much interest in the future.
Thanks @benwesterham Ben, it's becoming a problem to find somewhere "new" to shoot so much so I've travelled all the way to Devon to an abandoned dairy factory. Could get expensive this urbex lark!
That's commitment!
You got some gems in this post... even if it's getting tougher to find the right spots to shoot! Seems like you've made the most out of your opportunities! Cheers