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B+WPHOTO PROJECT 16:
IN A RUINED PLACE
TECHNIQUE
A
s the complexities of our modern day life
increase, our physical environment exists in
a state of permanent flux. On a local level,
new replacing not so old is commonplace and
farther afield we see iconic symbols of state,
society and enterprise fall by the wayside.
The crumbling city of Detroit, the now numerous deserted
shopping centres, housing schemes and industrial ruins are
all rich areas for exploration – and for the photographer
they provide a great source of inspiration.Although our interest in ruins seems like a modern
phenomenon, Romantic painters, garden designers and
landscape architects in particular have been exploring the
visual potential of the ruin for more than 200 years. Yet it’s
not just the chance to capture the picturesque that a ruined
place provides – it can be more thought provoking than that.
In this project, we’d like you to explore a ruined place
and use it to chronicle change and transition, but also to
decide whether to tell your story in a celebratory or
cynical manner.SECTION 1: THEME IDEAS
Pick a location that you’ve got easy access to and devise
your own personal response to one of these themes:1 BUILDINGS IN TRANSITION
The books of photographer Simon Marsden, especially In Ruins:
The Once Great Houses of Ireland, are an excellent place to
start thinking about this project. Marsden’s unique photography
celebrated the ethereal beauty of ruins across the world,
captured with his trademark infrared film.
Think of a nearby derelict site that you’ve got access to – it
doesn’t need to be on a grand scale – then visually explore its
changing character. In this example, I’ve found a derelict site that
has become overgrown with thick vines, changing the shape,
form and appearance of the original building.
Think carefully about the season you’ll be shooting in and
how this lets you see more or less of the underlying structure.
In Lightroom, lighten the Yellow and Green in the Black and White
Mix controls to create a similar infrared effect.How we think about the boundaries between our cities, towns
and villages is with fixed, well-defined edges, yet the reality is very
different. On the outskirts of our habitable places is another kind
of space that has now become known as edgelands.
Part-residential, part-industrial and seemingly with multiple
purposes, the edgelands can be a place where transition and
ruins are highly visible. Look at the photographer Alex Soth,
especially his book Sleeping by the Mississippi – a wide-ranging
project recording the social flotsam and jetsam, loosely
structured along the banks of the Mississippi.
In this example, I’ve traced the derelict buildings alongside a
disused railway track and found plenty of evidence of former use.2 THE EDGELANDS
If you are drawn to photographing crumbling, derelict ruins then
you’ll already be hooked on preserving the past with your lens.
Tim Daly takes you through the next practical project.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
‘Let photography quickly enrich the traveller’s album
and restore to his eyes the precision his memory may
lack. Let it save crumbing ruins from oblivion.’- Charles Baudelaire
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