Sometimes you get those invitations that you can't refuse. Some friends who also shoot invited me to go out and focus on street photography for a whole day. The inexperienced photographer in me was dying to go out with these pros. I awoke early on the agreed Saturday because it was still a long drive. I got my backpack ready, batteries charged, a ton of sd-card and all the lenses I could carry. I wish I could control the weather because it was cloudy and it looked drizzly. But that didn't stop me. Hopefully, it will turn out well because the city we were going to visit was not known for its beautiful architecture and gorgeous colors.
Canon M50 28mm F11 1/60 sec ISO 100
The first gloomy look was at these buildings when we parked our car. Grey and bleak. What a sad sight. But typical for this city, so worth taking a photo. Still hoping the sky would clear, I looked around for some color. Indeed there was some color.
No color to be seen yet, but I immediately noticed a hypermodern building that was showing off between the old stuff. And in the foreground, a statue could get a nice spot on the building by looking for a good point of view. Sometimes you must play with what you see to get a funny picture.
Canon M50 45mm F11 1/60sec ISO 100
We followed the river and eventually ended up at the market. Finally, some color. All sorts of stands popped up. Food, clothes, electronics, jewelry, and even animals were sold there.
Canon M50 45mm F11 1/6 sec ISO 100
Canon M50 28mm F11 1/60 sec ISO 100
After strolling the market for an hour, I concluded that street photography is different from my thing. I couldn't find what I wanted to shoot, so I resorted to the buildings around me when I saw a sliver of color appears around the corner. A beautiful graffiti piece adorned a gray wall. The colors splash off. Wow, yes, this makes me happy.
Canon M50 45mm F11 1/25 sec ISO 100
We ended our city trip at these steep steps. It was quite a job to get to the top. But after 374 steps, I reached it anyway—quite an achievement with my heavy camera bag on my back. I'll spare you the desolate photo of my view of the city. What a pity that the weather was so bad.
Canon M50 15mm F11 1/50 sec ISO 100
But my adventure wasn't over yet. I already suspected that my friends had a double agenda. They still needed to ask me to do street photography. They knew I was fascinated by urban exploring but needed more guts to start it myself. I prefer to admire the work of others safely behind my computer. So they took me to a suitable location to change this.
A high wall surrounded the site, and a fence closed the entrance. But I could easily squeeze myself through.
That's how I came to my first urbex location. Buildings loomed everywhere, and I imagined myself in a post-apocalyptic world. The facilities are dilapidated and full of graffiti, all rooms have been robbed, and there is evidence that homeless people and junkies still use this location as a refuge. That's why I was happy with my friends and not walking around alone. That was not a safe idea.
Canon M50 26mm F11 1/20 sec ISO 100
The buildings have had different functions over the years, from monastery to hospital and fortress to barracks. Currently owned by the municipality, but plans to renovate everything have yet to be shelved.
Glued to my photo buddy, we walked to the first building. I have no idea what to expect so that I won't leave his side for a moment. This place creeps me out.
I set up my tripod in front of the entrance and tried to take a few nice pictures. The colors of the graffiti, the dark windows, the bare trees, and the cloudy sky all work together to create this photo.
Canon M50 15mm F11 1/20 sec ISO 100
Because the buildings are ancient and no maintenance has occurred for a long time, entering is only partially without risk. Still, I take a chance and resolve to use common sense and let my eyes properly assess every situation.
And the fact that I am writing this now, we can therefore conclude that all went well.
The graffiti "art" also continues inside and provides a welcome change from the gray and drab. Plants grow here and there, slowly making their way to gain ground.
Canon M50 21mm F11 1,3 sec ISO 100
That nature is slowly taking over is noticeable when I want to walk to the next building. There is a narrow path, which is almost overgrown by blackberry bushes. I get a few vicious jabs through my jeans. The stairwell completely collapsed here, so we decided not to go inside.
Canon M50 15mm F8,0 1/125 sec ISO800
Canon M50 15mm F11 1/10 sec ISO800
Evidence everywhere that the influence of humans has been pushed back here. Trees grow from the walls, and roots creep in through the window.
Canon M50 70mm F13 1/20 sec ISO 400
Canon M50 15mm F13 0,3 sec ISO 400
Daylight slowly starts to decrease. I entered one more building. The stairwell looks stable, so I venture up the floor. The symmetry, the light that slips in, the rawness, and the graffiti tempt me to this photo.
Canon M50 15mm F13 16 sec ISO 400
With my last photo, I wanted to play with the shutter speed—half a minute. My camera was on the tripod, the remote control in my hands.
Looking closely, you'll see two shadows before the window. I created this by standing still for the first 15 seconds of the photo in front of the right window, then moving to the other window and standing still for the remaining seconds. That way, I tried to create a spooky atmosphere.
Canon M50 38mm F13 30 sec ISO 400
After a tiring day, I went home satisfied. And I concluded that street photography is different from my thing.
Is urban exploring really where my passion lies? I love doing it, but you must have guts for it, and I may have to master that first. No, there is no lion's blood flowing through my veins; instead blood of the faint-hearted.
And also, the fact that you often have to enter a location illegally goes against my feelings and judgment.
But do you decide to walk this path after reading? Then stick to the urbex code:
Leave nothing but footprints
Take nothing but pictures