Images by iwanp

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

While fascinating and mysterious, abandoned places and objects are not usually known for their joyful appearance or radiant colours.  But apply HDR photography techniques and suddenly the reinvigorated colours and contrasts are enough to bring even the most dreary building or wrecked vehicle back to life.

Image by Fergus B

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

While UGM firmly believes there’s a melancholy mystery swirling around abandoned places, tumbledown cottages in the rural landscape are some of the few that can truely be called picturesque, adding to a rugged view rather than detracting from it.  The abandoned cottage above in Donegal, Ireland is the photographer’s first attempt at HDR.  And the resulting image really captures the atmosphere of this rural abandonment.

Image by JanLendL

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Dominican Hill in the Philippines was built by Dominican monks in 1915.  It was used by refugees fleeing the Japanese army during World War Two, and later bombed.  Heavily damaged but not destroyed, Dominican Hill became a Diplomat Hotel in 1973 but was abandoned in 1987 after the death of its owner.  Locals claim to hear strange noises and screams from the deserted building to this day, but irrespective of any supernatural rumours, there’s definitely life after death here thanks to the wonders of photography.

Images by spaceamoeba

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

This photographer discovered an abandoned farmhouse and barn by the side of Provincial Highway 7 in Ontario, Canada, between Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph.  Abandoned farm buildings usually look like these collapsing shells, but HDR has reinvigorated the fading walls and even added some sparkle to the junk littering the floor.

Image by williamcho

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

The subject of this picture – Telok Blangah Hill Park in Singapore – isn’t itself abandoned, but the photograph, titled Spooky Rendezvous, has a – well, spooky – story behind it.  Photographer William Cho and his friend Reggie were trying to snap some pics of the abandoned Alkaff mansion nearby, but couldn’t get close enough.  They ventured into the park’s terrace garden, when suddenly an elegant lady in red appeared on the steps behind them, seemingly out of nowhere, before casually walking off.  The park has allegedly had its fair share of strange happenings, and the pair were certain there was nobody behind them before they wandered down the steps…

Images by Gregory Tonon

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

This abandoned hospital would be another spooky exhibition of peeling paint and decaying furniture, but HDR techniques have defined its vivid colours and accentuated the contrast between light and shadow, lending the sinister sanatorium a new lease of life in the process.

Images by Velo Steve

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Bodie in California is probably America’s best preserved ghost town, existing in a state of “arrested decay”.  This means preservationists won’t allow the town to deteriorate beyond its current condition, neither will they restore Bodie to its former glory.  Despite its steady demise, the town looks as though its residents left in a hurry.  Both inside and out, Bodie is a photographer’s dream.

Images by glasseyes view

(Ima ges licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

It takes some imagination – and excellent photography skills – to make a broken down old toilet block and a smashed window look like works of art!  Combine HDR photography and Axel Hartmann’s (aka glasseyes view) vision and the results are stunning.  Want to see some bizarre toilet conversions?  Check out this article from our archives featuring 5 fashionable former public toilets.

Images by Chloester

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Even this dreary abandoned steel mill has come alive once again in an explosion of vibrant colours.  To see more industrial abandonments, join us on our Rust Belt Road Trip and visit these foreboding former factories.

Image by Daan M

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

While the anti-graffiti lobby won’t be impressed about this sizable scrawl, lime green certainly adds a touch of vibrancy to any surface it touches.  Unfortunately this scene won’t be quite as colourful to the naked eye, as the reality of a non-HDR world will render it as nothing more than yet another vandalised wall fronting onto waste ground.  Speaking of graffiti, see what you make of this.

Images by fakelvis

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

A bumpy track in northern Grenada leads to this secluded beach beyond Bedford Point.  Derelict houses and boats – some destroyed, others merely abandoned – linger on after Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc here in 2004.  The beach and its battered boats have an eerie tranquility about them, as does this former Cuban airliner at Pearls Airport.

Image by Robbie Ryke

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

Abandoned vehicles are another popular photographic subject, and not just for use as police evidence every time a car is stolen.  This old van has been left to the mercy of vandals, but looks like a good clean and some air in the tires would get it up and running again.  Regardless, the van has come back to life through the HDR touch, its blue paint probably brighter than the day it rolled out the factory.

Images by Alan Smythee

(Images licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Alan Smythee has done a great job of accentuating the colours in these old cars, trains and school buses.  The rust and undergrowth consuming the condemned vehicles is no match for their original body colours when brought back to life by a touch of processing.

Image by Camilo Diez

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Photographer Camilo Diez found this old car rusting away in a field.  It’s bound to look better here than it does in reality, but surely it’s not just clever photography that can bring this old classic back from the brink?  Any car enthusiasts out there?

Image by Tim Marshall

(Image reproduced with permission of Tim Marshall)

Last but definitely not least, Tim Marshall’s fantastic photo titled “Still on Guard”, showing the last Lightning fighter jet to survive at the abandoned RAF Binbrook.  As recently as the late 1980s, this was a front line British fighter base.  Today the jet engines have been silenced.  But despite the airfield’s sorry condition, the last Lightning remains protected by local conservationists, determined to keep its spirit alive at its former home.  (This image is for sale in a range of different formats, and custom versions.)

If you enjoyed this article, explore more urban ghosts within our archives.  You can also subscribe to our feed, become our friend on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Partner Sites

Image by b0r0da

The answer is highly subjective, but many urban explorers and those fascinated by hidden history would say “yes”.  Smashing Magazine explores the subject of urban decay in a fantastic must-see photo essay, while this collection of 42 stunning images should help you decide.

Images by craigfinlay

The pictures above show the abandoned City Methodist Church and the auditorium of a former school in Gary Indiana.  The church has been featured in several previous articles on Urban Ghosts Media (here and here) but like photographer Craig Finlay points out, it is the “Mt Fuji of urbex”.

Images by craigfinlay

Craig Finlay’s atmospheric images are among some of the best to be found on Flickr, and Urban Ghosts Media has featured them in several articles.  Check them out via the attribution links beneath the pictures, and also on Bearings – a fantastic repository of fascinating media.  The lower two pictures show the old Harland and Wolff drawing office, where the Titanic and other great White Star liners were conceived.  Find out more about Titanic here.

Images by tibchris

Whether or not there is beauty in decay, there’s no question that certain images of urban abandonment appeal to a broad cross-section of people – for reasons we often can’t place.  These haunting pictures of Bodie ghost town in California show the effects that can be achieved, and how particular techniques are ideal for such a subject.  Bodie also featured in the early days of this blog, and again with this collection of Wild West ghost towns.

Image by kainet

This grand old building in Budapest shows urban decay at work in Eastern Europe.  The magnificent architecture is no match for the passage of time and a lack of proper maintenance, as the stone facade is gradually stripped back to crumbling brick.  At least the carved heads above the windows remain in good shape – but are they gargoyles?

Images by mattwi1s0n

From one beautiful old Mediterranean building to something you definitely don’t see every day!  If someone got this Mini down it might even be worth restoring…

Images by Irargerich

Infrared photography is certainly one way to infuse urban abandonments with a plethora of pretty pigments.  Still, the church has an eerie glow about it – almost like a pinkish mist – with the guardian angel watching silently from above.

Images by Simple Insomnia

So what’s the verdict?  Is there beauty in urban decay?  It’s far too subjective to say.  But beauty or not, there’s certainly wonder and fascination – and plenty of scope for great photography, as the images above of the decaying Deer Lodge and old prison in Montana show.  But enough of what we think.  Have your say here!

Discover more fascinating abandoned places and atmospheric examples of urban decay here.

Partner Sites

The old mining settlement at Bodie in California is arguably America’s best preserved ghost town. Dating back to around 1859, Bodie is frozen in a state of “arrested decay”, looked after as a historic park but not restored to its original condition. This makes the town both authentic and mysterious, with original fixtures in the buildings left untouched since their occupiers deserted them. In essence, it is as though an entire community just disappeared.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

In the words of one Urban Ghosts reader, “Bodie is a photographer‘s dream”.  So with that thought in mind, here’s a selection of stunning images to inspire and intrigue, accompanied by stories of hauntings and curses that’ll make your blood run cold.

Bodie Folklore

(Image by Photographersnature.com.  Licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

Local legend speaks of a little girl whose family moved to the town from San Francisco.  Depending on who’s telling the story, the girl allegedly wrote in her diary: “Good, by God, I’m going to Bodie” or alternatively, “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.”  The inherent lawlessness and shadowy profiteering of the Wild West certainly suggests the latter, but could there be more sinister forces at work here?  Read on!

Haunted Bodie

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

Unsurprisingly, Bodie abounds with legends of the paranormal, none more famous than the haunted Cain residence.  Jim Cain was a local businessman who prospered from bringing lumber to Bodie.  Buildings were constructed from and heated by wood, and the mills burned vast amounts of it in their steam-driven engines, fattening Mr Cain’s wallet with every last ember.

(Images 1 & 2 by Mispahn, 3 by Melissa Wiese, 4 by Thomas Kriese.  Licensed under CC-2.0)

Cain built his home at the corner of Green and Park Street and hired a Chinese maid.  Rumours soon spread that the pair were having an affair, and the maid was promptly fired by Cain’s wife.  Publically disgraced – an impressive feat in a town dominated by gambling, prostitution, shoot-outs and robbery – the unfortunate maid was unable to find work and took her own life.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

Legend has it the maid’s ghost haunts the Cain house to this day, unable to rest or let others rest within its walls.  Over the years, the house has provided accomodation for park rangers and has also been open to the public.  Children have reported a ghostly apparition in an upstairs bedroom, while others have heard music coming from the same room, which always seems to be empty.

(Images by Daniel Mayer (top) and Thomas.fanghaenel.  Licensed under CC-SA-3.0)

In one chilling account, the wife of a park ranger said:

“I was lying in bed with my husband in the lower bedroom and I felt a pressure on me, as though someone was on top of me. I began fighting. I fought so hard I ended up on the floor. It really frightened me. Another ranger who had lived there, Gary Walters, had the same experience, in the same room, except that he also saw the door open and felt a presence and a kind of suffocation.”

Taken in isolation, incidents like this can easily be discounted as a figment of the imagination or a bad dream.  But when different people report the same spooky experience, it’s time to call in the ghost hunters.

(Images by Telstar Logistics and James Marvin Phelps.  Licensed under CC-NC-2.0 and CC-2.0)

The Curse of Bodie

One of the most bizarre stories associated with Bodie is a mysterious curse that, again according to folklore and hearsay, has been cast on certain visitors to the town.  Allegedly, the spirits of the dead residents serve as guardians of the town today, bringing bad luck and misfortune to souvenir hunters who take anything – regardless of size – with them after they leave.

(Images by Jon Sullivan via Public Domain Photos)

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Ghost towns exist across the world but rarely are they more intriguing than in the United States, where former mining towns played host to the pioneers of their day.  Other towns grew up around the railroad, as civilisation gradually spread from the eastern seaboard to the Wild West.  Reasons for their abandonments are wide and varied, from the inherent lawlessness of the era to the depletion of natural resources.  Whatever the reasons, ghost towns provide a fascinating glance into our history.

Bodie, California

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Bodie is a ghost town in California east of the imposing Sierra Nevada mountains.  The town is thought to be named after W.S. Bodey, one of a group of prospectors who discovered gold there in 1859.  The discovery of more profitable gold-bearing ore in 1876 turned Bodie into a frontier boomtown.

At its peak it had two banks, four volunteer fire companies, a railroad, several daily newspapers, a brass band and post office.  In the true spirit of the Wild West, it also had a jail to accomodate the pervasive lawlessness.  Main Street was a mile long and lined with 65 saloons.  Not surprisingly then, murder and shootouts were common place in this wild land where a man’s life was all too often measured by the speed at which he could draw his gun.

Image by Jon Sullivan

Decline set in around 1880, when miners were lured away to other promising boomtowns like the fabled Tombstone, Arizona.  Bodie lingered on as a more family orientated community, with a new Methodist church and mines remaining profitable as technologically advanced.  But by 1912, the Standard Consolidated Mine had closed and the last copy of the Bodie Miner newspaper was printed.

Image by manyhighways

By 1917 the railroad had closed and gold mining in the U.S. was halted to make way for war production.  It never resumed.  In 1962, the town became Bodie State Historic Park, and receives around 200,000 visitors annually (although it is rumoured to be closing soon due to budget cuts).  Spookily, many of the supplies and household goods are as they were left years ago when the town was finally abandoned.

Calico, California

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Calico is a ghost town also located in California, this time in the Mojave Desert.  Unlike Bodie, it was a silver mining town and once boasted around 500 mines.

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

The town was abandoned in 1907 and its last original resident, Lucy Bell Lane, died in the 1960s.  Her house now forms the main town museum.

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Not quite so authentic today, Calico was extensively renovated by Walter Knott around 1951, and visitors can now enjoy staged gun fights (rather than the real thing!), gold panning and trips on the old Calico & Odessa Railroad, bringing the past of this once lawless Wild West town back to life.  By all accounts, the town could soon be heading for the big screen!

Near Brenham, Texas

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0)

Not strictly a ghost town in the Wild West sense, but according to photographer Trey Ratcliff, writing in January 2009, these buildings had been recently abandoned for one reason or another.

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0)

They are interesting for two main reasons: first, the high definition photography really brings out the atmosphere in these old buidings; second, their bright colours generate a lively and jovial feel which contrasts with their abandonment.

(Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0)

They look inviting and forbidding at the same time, and leave us wondering why they became abandoned in the first place.

Related Articles:
Ghost Town and Abandoned Mines in Alaska, Arizona and Askansas
Abandoned Mansions, Farms and Ghost Towns
Ghost Town of Bodie: Spectres, Curses and “Arrested Decay”
Suburban Exploration: Ruined Canal Town of Matildaville
Scotland’s Outer Hebrides: Ancient Ruins and Crumbling Crofts

Partner Sites