Tag:

abandoned

abandoned greenhouse – revisited

by Kaylah Stroup June 2, 2015

Back in January I shared photos of an abandoned greenhouse that Jeff, Brandon, and I visited. (See here) Although I loved the photos I got on that visit I was really excited to go back in the spring and see it all grown up. Last week I had that opportunity.

As we approached the greenhouse the three of us each let out an audible noise of excitement about how insanely green the place was. We even questioned how plausible it actually was to photograph since it looked so overgrown. Would we even be able to move around with all the vines, trees and greenery? Funnily enough once inside I was a bit underwhelmed with the growth. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the photos from the last visit that I realized how much more green the place was. Inside, surrounded by all these plants, it’s less like a greenhouse and more like a jungle. Save for the broken glass and pieces of metal peeking through in certain places it’s easy to forget what this used to be.

We read a few different accounts from people that had also visited. They said to watch out for foxes, coyotes, and other wildlife. So I entered with my fingers crossed, I wanted to see animals in here so bad. The pictures would have just been amazing. Alas, I didn’t see anything more than a quick orange cat who wouldn’t let me within 25 feet of him.

I’m hoping to get back here in the fall too, of course! It’s so much fun to be able to compare photos and see how it changes. Plus this place covered in shades of red, orange, and yellow has to just be magical.
xoxo

Salton Sea of the Midwest // on film

by Kaylah Stroup May 12, 2015

Back in March Jeff, Jason and I discovered a former vacation spot beside a lake that was full of abandoned trailers. That day I shot with both my pentax k1000 and my 60D (…and my land camera because what can I say, I apparently love to juggle cameras.) I posted the digital photos right away (see here) but just recently got the film from that day developed. I wasn’t 100% positive I would share these since I already posted photos of this place but the film gives off a whole different vibe than the digital images. The film photos are so much grittier and while I don’t necessarily think that is accurate to how this place actually felt, it sure does look good!

I’m looking forward to getting back here some time this summer and seeing it all grown up and green.
xoxo

All of the photos above were taken with a Canon T2 and Fujifilm 35mm Superia X-TRA 400.

Salton Sea of the Midwest

by Kaylah Stroup March 30, 2015

A little while back Jeff, Jason and I took a day trip to do some exploring. We were all pretty darn sick of being cooped up inside for the last few months. It was a gorgeous day so I don’t think it really mattered where we went. I was just happy to be out looking for things to shoot again. You could have told me we were going anywhere and I’d have been like “Cool! Sounds great! Let’s go!”

When we arrived at the destination, it’s safe to say we were all blown away. It was better than we imagined. This area, formerly a little vacation spot, has been abandoned since at least 2008. The left side of the now overgrown road has little cottages, and the right is lined with colorful trailers. In those seven years the weather has really taken a toll on these structures. Most of were still full of things like one day everyone just picked up and left. Essentially had we discovered the midwest’s version of the Salton Sea. It was incredible! We spent nearly four hours (!!!?) wandering in and out of each trailer and cottage taking photos.

It’s funny because the one big thing Jeff was really set on seeing last year on our road trip was the Salton Sea. It was amazing, we both took tons of photos and were just completely overwhelmed by it. But, y’all, this place! We both sheepishly admitted while strolling down the abandoned road these trailers rest on that it was a cooler experience than the Salton Sea. It’s so crazy to think that we had something like that so close. There have obviously been other people here, and we’re not the first people to photograph it but it’s fun to think this ours. It’s not a tourist destination like the Salton Sea has essentially become. Maybe someday it will become a spot that everyone gets but the three of us will still have all have the experience of discovering it together and memories of how stinking exciting it was.
xoxo

Ps. You can check out Jeff’s post from this place here, and Jason’s here.

Abandoned Motel

by Kaylah Stroup February 26, 2015

While the first day of mine and Jeff’s little escape was fun, the second day of the trip was the real highlight. We drove the back roads from Norfolk, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland, and even dipped into Delaware just so we could add another state to the list of them that we’ve been together. (Sitting pretty at 17 right now, can’t wait to add more!) We were stumbling upon incredible looking abandoned places left and right but sadly, due to the weather, we couldn’t stop. There was no where to park. Places that would be perfect to pull the car off the road were covered in enough snow that getting stuck was a real risk and not one we were willing to take.

Somewhere in Delaware, we stumbled upon this motel. We both saw it at the same time and looked at each with pure excitement. Luckily it was near a few other businesses that were still in use so we were able to whip around and park across the street in one of their parking lots. We trudged through the snow and snooped around this truly spooky site.

I’m obviously unsure of any back story on this place, and it’s hard to tell how long any place been abandoned. This place was so far gone. The inside was absolutely trashed and clearly, the outside is a wreck. I love colors but honestly, I think my favorite part might be that sign! It’s so creepy looking. I would love to see it in the spring, the vines covering it with leaves on them. I bet it’s lovely!

Rushing around like we did at the motel reminds me of when Jeff and I were out west last summer and we stopped at a ghost town called Two Guns*. I found it on Roadside America and it ended up being right on the way to where we were heading except we were majorly crunched for time. We had reservations, and had to check into our wigwam before the front office closed for the night. But Two Guns!!!! It looked amazing. We had to stop, there was no two ways about it. We agreed we’d only spend ten minutes there so we both got out of the car and literally ran from building to building snapping photos like crazy. The ten minutes was up in no time at all. We got back to the car gasping for breath and full of adrenaline. My pictures weren’t that great, and I’d love to reshoot it but it’s honestly one of my favorite memories from the whole trip. Now we’ve started referring to times that we rush around an abandoned property due to any kind of time restraint as “going Two Guns”

This motel was totally awesome but I think my favorite part will always
be the adventure of it. It was wide open and not a challenge to
get to at all but running across a divided highway and dashing around in
the freezing cold was so much fun. We definitely went Two Guns on that place!
xoxo

*Some of my Two Guns photos can be found in this post.

abandoned around Cleveland

by Kaylah Stroup February 11, 2015

I mentioned a little while back how we took some out of town explorer pals around to some of Cleveland’s abandoned hot spots. We hit my favorite, the elementary school, and a handful of other spots. I took a lot of pictures but instead of trying to squeeze a post out of each location I’ve just compiled some of my favorites from the whole day. It’s been snowy and a bit too cold for me to want to do just about anything outside so it feels like the perfect day to share these.

Any Avengers fans out there? The beginning interrogation scene with Black Widow was actually filmed in the place shown in the photo above. They actually cut a huge hole in the floor for the movie. In the film they used CGI to make it look like the holes kept going but in reality there is just one hole there. This was actually one of the very first spots Jeff took me, he was so pumped but I had never seen The Avengers. That night we went home at watched just the beginning of the movie so I could see the part filmed in that building. It didn’t strike me as cool right away but I’ve definitely come to appreciate how awesome that is that one of Cleveland’s abandoned buildings was used in such a big movie.

Hope you have a wonderful day!
xoxo

abandoned greenhouse

by Kaylah Stroup January 19, 2015

A little while back Jeff, Brandon, and I took a short trip outside the city to check out an abandoned greenhouse. We’d known about this place for a while but it didn’t seem like anyone was in a rush to get there. We were barely inside before the three of us were completely in awe. The complex is absolutely massive. Some glass tiles from the ceiling had begun to fall but had been caught by the thick vines that covered so much of the place. There were huge stacks of terracotta planters in multiple spots throughout, and the sun was in the perfect spot in the sky for great pictures. This was definitely one of my favorite adventures in a while.

Before it closed, this was one of the biggest and best greenhouses in the area. Not 100% of the accuracy of what happened but one story goes that they got the idea they could bypass paying for expensive city water and just pump water straight from the lake to water their plants. They got everything all set up except one of the valves had been installed backwards. When they turned it on, lake water flooded homes nearby. They went bankrupt after that.

Other stories suggest it was an infestation of whiteflies or competition with tomato growers in Mexico that caused the greenhouse to go under. Whatever happened the plants didn’t seem to get the memo. Even this late in they year the growth, although dead for the most part, was hard to navigate through. I can’t even imagine how incredible this place looks in the summer when everything is alive!

I doubt I even have to mention the fact I am absolutely interested in going back to photograph this place as soon as spring comes around. Honestly, I’d love to see it in all the seasons! Don’t be surprised if you see more photos of this place in a few months.
xoxo

abandoned school

by Kaylah Stroup January 12, 2015

Last week we showed some out of town explorers a few of our favorite spots around Cleveland. One of our stops was the abandoned middle school I blogged about a while back. This was my third time shooting it and I’m still not satisfied. I just want to shoot every corner of this place. This school is one of the very first abandoned places I ever shared
here on the blog. It’s also one of the very first I really really loved. It’s just so wonderfully colorful, and even after all these years of being abandoned it’s still packed with things. Things that help you get an idea of the lively place this used to be. Notes filled with secrets, and papers with names. Little pieces of what used to be.

I guess in the grand scheme of abandoned buildings this place isn’t
really all that great but for some reason I can’t get enough. I just feel a special attachment to it. I’ll honestly probably cry when/ if it gets demolished.

The first time I went I didn’t own the 10-22mm yet, which quickly became my absolute favorite lens to shoot with. For the longest time I swore I didn’t need anything other than a 40mm or 50mm but abandoned buildings got me itching to shoot wider. I wanted to show more than the tiny details. Other than my bike, that lens was my best purchase last year. I’m pretty excited about the shots above. The first one is probably one of my favorites I’ve ever taken in that school.

Hope you’re having an awesome start to your week!
xoxo

See more posts about this school here, here + here.

Favorite 10 abandoned spots in 2014

by Kaylah Stroup December 30, 2014

Earlier in the week I was going through my posts from 2014 to make up a little list of my favorites from the past twelve months. It was a great year, so naturally I had a lot of favorites. I was trying to keep the list varied but kept finding I wanted to add posts about abandoned places. They just kept adding up so I thought it might be fun to do a little recap of my favorite abandoned spots I visited in 2014. Well, I should reword that, these aren’t necessarily my favorite spots but ones that yielded the prettiest photos and my favorite blog posts.

The Rubber Duck Factory.

Bombay Beach.

Church.

Victoreen Instrument Company.

Amusement Park.

Home, Sweet, Abandoned Home.

There is still so much to see in Cleveland but I’m hoping, in the new year, to make a few trips specifically to see some abandoned places I have my eye on. Here’s to 2015, may it be chock-full of adventures.
xoxo

You can find the rest of my posts on abandoned places under the “abandoned” tag.

The Rubber Duck Factory

by Kaylah Stroup December 15, 2014

Last week some friends came up from Columbus to spend the day exploring Cleveland with me. I was racking my brain all week, trying to decided which places I knew of in the area would be perfect to take Jesi. We both prefer spots with things still left in them so that’s what I was really going for. I mapped out four fun spots. Our first stop would be the rubber duck factory. It’s not actually a rubber duck factory at all but I’m the sure pictures below will be able to give you some indication as to why its called that by other local explorers. It’s a large building, most likely used as some sort of warehouse. Now it’s filled with colorful graffiti, broken pallets, oodles of paperwork, and obviously rubber duckies. In a few rooms the roof has caved in. The building has very clearly seen better days and my guess would be that there’s no saving it now. Its in rough shape.

This was my third time visiting the building. The first time I visited this building I didn’t take any photos at all. The second time I went back I was excited to shoot the ducks but was ultimately disappointed when I found maybe a total of fifteen. I assumed people stealing them one by one eventually added up. This last time I knew there had to be more. So the three of us each set off to gather some. Even if we only ended up with fifty or so like I presumed would happen I would have been happy but after a few minutes, we hit the jackpot. In the lower level we found where they were all hiding. We grabbed boxes, started filling them, and within no time at all our pile was massive!

We ended up spending a few hours in that one building, just gathering ducks, taking pictures, telling TMI stories, giggling, and having a grand old time. It was perfect.
xoxo

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