Weekly Photo Challenge: Decay

I’m posting from the road this week. I’m just on a little trip seeing some of the sites that are close to me, but really too far to drive there and back in a day.

Today I did a bit of rural-exing – exploring barns and such. I’m always in awe of the way nature starts taking over almost immediately after humans abandon a structure. I love all the textures that come from weathering, exposure to the elements

This week, the challenge is to go out and…

Photograph Decay

If you’re thinking of going urban-exing or rural-exing this week, remember safety is Rule One. I’ll do rural-exing by myself since I grew up in he country and feel I can handle any of the critters I might encounter – though by “handle” I generally mean “avoid”.

We could smell skunk at the last place I went with a friend and we wouldn’t want to trip over a board and starle the poor thing. So, we moved very carefully and quietly away from the oder.

Schmeekle Farm – Barn in Distance

EXCITING NEWS! This year I will be teaching alongside several of my favorite photographers at the Out of Chicago Spring Photography Conference. It’s taking place in Grayslake, Illinois from April 27-28, 2019 and I would love for you to join me. Use the discount code SPRING when you register to get $50 off. Spaces are filling fast. For more information, visit http://www.outofchicago.com/ spring.

Urban-exing is a whole ‘nother thing. I only go with an experienced go up or stay on the outside – plenty of good decay shots on the outside. So far I’ve been lucky and not encountered any human animals, but that’s always a possibility.

In both cases remember the structure is turning to dust maybe directly under your feet and avoid any structurally-dodgy areas.

Abandoned Chair I was with a group of photographers exploring an abandoned building in St. Louis. We saw no one, but it likely wouldn’t have been safe to explore alone. There’s safety in numbers!

Mostly, I stick to the textures I can find without (too much) trespassing. In fact, I have a nice and growing photographic collection of “No Tresspassing” signs.

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This week, look for weathered wood, peelings paint, overgrown structures and see the beauty that’s there under all that decay.

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