Urban Decay

I've always been fascinated by architecture, both of large and small structures. I love old archetecture. And in the past few years, I've really become interested in the decay of buildings, even towns and cities.

The way nature slowly begins to take over abandoned buildings and their surroundings is an interesting process. Not to mention how paint slowly peels away from walls and bits of plaster and stone fall, it makes for some interesting settings to photograph.

Recently, I saw an article in a community I belong to on Livejournal about The 10 Most Amazing Ghost Towns. This list includes some old favorites of mine, like Prypiat in the Ukraine and Kolmanskop in Namibia.

This article lists a few others that are very interesting for their histories, as well as the photographs of their decay. Gunkanjima (pictured above) was the first to gain my interest because it's an entire island that is abandoned. Once a coal mining town that had an unbelievably high population, now more of a forbidden zone, except for a brief stint as a movie set for "Battle Royale 2."

I highly recommend reading this list and looking at the photos. All of these locations have interesting histories behind them, and the photographic evidence of what remains of these ghost towns are quite beautiful.

I really must go urban exploring someday... I know that there are plenty of interesting places in NYC and the surrounding areas to check out.