Project 4 - Researching photography of abandoned places

http://emorfes.com/2011/02/10/abandoned-places-photography-by-sven-fennema/

Sven Fennema's photos of abandoned places were among the ones that sparked the premise for this photo project. Although all of my locals are outside (I was unable to break into abandoned, condemned apartment complexes etc), my photo essay remains in the same spirit - to document decay and to show that there is still beauty within.

http://www.nikifeijen.com/

Niki Feijen has an interesting theme here, contrasting old and new technology. This was an idea I was going to implement, but ended up abandoning. The places I found didn't lend themselves to it, and they were amazing in their own right.

http://www.christyhunterphotography.com/f34132521
Christy Hunters photos gave me lots of ideas. The old faded logos in ghost town-like environments were particularly evocative. Once again, I was going to have all my images desaturated, but ended up deciding against it. I found abandoned places with a surprising amount of color, and recalling that was one of the options for the photo project, I ran with it.

Project 4 - Beauty in the Abandoned

Artist Statement

In this photo essay, my intention is to explore and portray the human condition, metaphorically left behind and conveyed by these buildings and structures. I find that these buildings have become much more interesting in their decrepitude than for what they were originally designed. 

Condemned apartment complexes, abandoned warehouses and back-lots, closed businesses, old run down bridges - once bustling with activity and hope for the future. Although most times, right out of frame is a busy city, these images could just as well have portrayed a silent post-apocalyptic world. Everything you see in these images is but a shadow of what it used to be – yet in those shadows, there is hidden beauty. Hidden treasures.  

Little microcosms of textures, flaking, curling, rusting, crumbling,

seeping, ... growing. Trees and vines do not care from what crack or crevice they emerge, nor do they pay mind to the surface to which they attach. Sooner or later, nature and the elements reclaim all, and in that process, sublime and wonderful things happen.

Daniel Wolters

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Project 3 Reseach - 3 sources of inspiration on how to create a sense of place

www.anseladams.com

Obviously when it comes to nature photography, and placing the view right there in it, the first name that comes to mind is Ansel Adams. His way of capturing otherwise hidden beauty in the oddest places truly was an inspiration to during this project.

http://theoribeiro.com/portfolio/landscapes-and-places-photography/

The over-saturated colors of this photographer was something I was mindful of when working on Project 3, and I utilized the contrast of high color saturation and low color saturation between the different photos in order to emphasize the change in mood depending on the weather, which I touch on in my artist statement. 

http://www.willieholdman.com/Utah_photography/

Once again, another photographer who uses contrast between color saturation in order to create mood, and show the versatility in places. 

Your Neighborhood: Creating a Sense of Place (Creek Ridge County Park, Michigan City)

Artist Statement

This photo essay documents one of my favorite places, Creek Ridge County Park in Michigan City. For someone like me, who enjoys walking trails, this is one of those places that are better off-season than anytime else. Its solemn atmosphere and the nature in hibernation hold real beauty that is otherwise covered underneath heavy foliage - and large masses of visiting people during summer months. From the common area to its belonging nature trail along a serpentine creek, Creek Ridge park tends to completely change mood depending on weather and over-all lighting. Cheerful, saturated colors immerse the trails on a sunny day, while on dreary overcast "off"-days, the surroundings give off an almost haunted quality.

The park is adorned with several areas for playgrounds, dog runs, and my favorite - walking trails. The trails appear in dirt paths, boardwalks and black topped. Community gathering areas and overhangs are provided for families and gatherings, while the walking trails can take you what feels like away from civilization within a matter of a few hundred yards. 

I wanted to document the park, but I concentrated more on the nature trail because that is what is closest to my heart. I attempted to show elements in nature as they are unaffected by people, the moss covered tree stumps and rocks, natural drainages filled with leaves, the low bubbling of the creek, filled with fish, drawing wildlife of all sorts to its edges. My images focus on these things, because this is what creating a sense of place meant to me when doing this assignment. This is Creek Ridge Park to me.

Dan Wolters

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