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I have long been fascinated by urban exploration (UE) photography and have admired the work of the photographers who are brave enough to seek out abandoned places and delve into the sometimes dangerous world of decay. Julie from Forgotten Beauty is one such artist whom I admire and an interview she did for the Camera Angles market introduced me to the subculture of UE with all its adventure and all its dangers.
Truthfully, though I was inspired by the art of UE, I never thought I would incorporate the subject matter into my own photography. One, I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to entering places that may fall a part around me and two, the subject matter just seemed too sad for me to document. This, however, all changed when I entered Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) in Philadelphia. I went with my family for a nice relaxing day out. Our plans were to explore a haunted prison and then have lunch. (We had all seen the Ghost Hunters episodes on the prison and were hoping to catch a glimpse of something spooky for Halloween.)
As soon as we entered the first Cell Block, I knew I was hooked. I couldn't believe how a place that had experienced so much pain and fear, anger and frustration, sadness and remorse, could also hold so much beauty and even redemption in its decay. I began immediately to photograph the peeling paint and dusty old desks, the crumbling walls and the rusty old doors. "Wow," I thought, "I finally get it."
Though, exploring a somewhat "safe" historic prison definitely doesn't at all qualify me as an urban explorer, it has sparked in me a new focus for my work and a new avenue that I had never thought I'd love so much. To begin my new series The Art of Decay, I thought I'd start with the small, lonely beds and nightstands that were left standing in the crumbling cells. Their solitary, stoic presence seems like a fitting beginning to a hopefully long and fulfilling journey.
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