Photographic Books on Urban Decay

<p>Does anyone know of any photo books showing urban decay? I don't care if the images are all by one artist or from various... It seems really hard to find anything like this so help is really appreciated.<br /> Thank you.</p>

<p>Flickr has plenty of photos of urban decay. Photo books? I don't know. Do you have a budget?</p>

<p><a href="http://powells.com/s?header=Search+Form&kw=Camilo+Vergara">http://powells.com/s?header=Search+Form&kw=Camilo+Vergara</a></p>

<p>There's a guy -Compoundeye- on Flickr with some very good urban decay photographs and a book on Blurb under his real name, which to no-one's surprise turns out not to be Compoundeye. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.blurb.com/books/611263">http://www.blurb.com/books/611263</a></p>

<p>Lots of good stuff on Flickr , though it appears almosyt mandatory to use a very obvious HDR rendition and there's probaly enough to keep you occuppied for the next year or two. Look also at the portfolio of Alecu Grigore here on Photo.net. </p>

<p> Don't know of any books, but Detroits Urban Decay is a good place to start under Yahoo Images</p>

<p>Elle,<br />Here are 5 titles for you to consider. I'm not sure if they're what you're after... I'll vouch for all but the last one. I can name a few others, drop me a line if needed.</p>

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<p><em>Asylum: Inside the Closed World Of State Mental Hospitals, </em>Oliver Sacks+Chistopher Payne, MIT Press<br /> <strong><strong>ISBN-13:</strong> 978-0262013499</strong><br /><em></em><br /> <em>Ghostly Ruins: America's Forgotten Architecture</em>, Harry Skrdla, Princeton Architecture Press,<br /> <strong>ISBN-13:</strong> 978-56898-615-9<br /> <em></em><br /> <em>Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape</em>, T. Rinaldi + R. Yasinsac, U.P.N.E.<br /> <strong>ISBN-13:</strong> 978-1-58465-598-5<br /> <em></em><br>

<em>Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America</em>, Brian Vanden Brink, Down East Publisher<br /><strong>ISBN-13: 978-0892727933</strong><br /><em></em><br /> <em>American Ruins</em>, C.J. Vergara, Monacelli Press<br /><strong>ISBN-13: 978-1580930567</strong></p>

<p>Urban decay and urban industrial photography is a personal interest of mine so, here are my suggestions:</p>

<p><strong>Troy Paiva:</strong> <br /> Website: <a href="http://troypaiva.com/">http://troypaiva.com/</a> <br /> Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostamerica/">Lost America</a> <br /> Books: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Night-Vision-Art-Urban-Exploration/dp/0811863387">Night Vision</a> (most recent), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lost-America-Abandoned-Roadside-West/dp/076031490X">Lost America</a></p>

<p>Troy Paiva's work features abandoned factories, military buildings, roadside features, gas stations, the famous airplane graveyard, ghost-towns, and anything else illuminated in surreal and intensely coloured light from gelled flashes.</p>

<p>His subject matter seems to be almost entirely in Southern California.</p>

<p><strong>Tom Paiva:</strong> <br /> Website: <a href="http://www.tompaiva.com/index.html">http://www.tompaiva.com/</a> <br /> Book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0971692807?ie=UTF8&seller=A14C3TJ7QY5MDZ&sn=Image%20Room%20Books">Industrial Night</a></p>

<p>Tom Paiva is Troy's brother. In fact, Tom was a photographer first, and helped introduce Troy to night photography when troy was looking for a creative outlet from a career in animation.<br /> Anyways, I like Tom's work much more. I guess I just prefer the "natural" surreal artificial light of night photography rather than the gelled flashes that Troy employs. Tom works with large format cameras and film.</p>

<p>His work was recently (2007) featured in View Camera Magazine. Tom has posted the pdf on his website: <a href="http://www.tompaiva.com/pdf/ViewCamera.pdf">http://www.tompaiva.com/pdf/ViewCamera.pdf</a></p>

<p><strong>Jeff Brouws:</strong> <br /> Website: <a href="http://www.jeffbrouws.com/">http://www.jeffbrouws.com/</a> <br /> Books: <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Approaching-Nowhere-Jeff-Brouws/dp/0393062740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261193977&sr=1-1">Approaching Nowhere</a> (recent, in-print), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Highway-Americas-Endless-Jeff-Brouws/dp/1556706049/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261194039&sr=1-6">Highway</a> , <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Readymades-American-Artifacts-Jeff-Brouws/dp/0811836770/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261194039&sr=1-4">Readymades</a></p>

<p>Jeff Brouws work covers a number of different subject areas within his exploration of the American Cultural landscape. His work often includes a quiet social commentary. He has looked at the life, death, decay, and inherent mythology of the highway culture. He has explored the transformations wrought by the franchising of the America. One of his earliest projects was a study of twenty-six abandoned gas stations. His most recent project is about the ongoing/remaining impact of nuclear arms in America.</p>

<p>Perhaps most pertinent to your original post is his look at discarded downtowns of smaller American cities.See: <a href="http://www.jeffbrouws.com/series/main_discarded.html">http://www.jeffbrouws.com/series/main_discarded.html</a> <br /> <strong><em></em> </strong></p>

<p><strong><em>Approaching Nowhere</em> is one of the best books of photography I have ever purchased or looked at. I recommend it wholeheartedly.</strong></p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Some other options that I do not personally own, but have looked through at some point:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Joel-Sternfeld-Prospects-Andy-Grundberg/dp/1891024779/ref=pd_sim_b_4">Joel Sternfeld: American Prospects</a> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ruin-Photographs-Brian-Vanden-Brink/dp/0892727934/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c">Brian Vanden Brink: Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America</a> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-America-Drive-Ins-Everyday-Monuments/dp/0847830403/ref=pd_sim_b_1">Michael Eastman: Vanishing America</a></p>

<p>***</p>

<p>Finally, I will be crass enough to toot my own horn. I have, personally, been working on a series of images of the Portlands are of Toronto, Ontario for the past two years. I recently compiled these images into a book that I have self published through Blurb. I finally received a good proof copy of the book yesterday and officially made the book public then.</p>

<p>The images explore this decaying landscape which contains a number of abandoned or deteriorating structures and facilities. You can see the images on PN portfolio or at my website <a href="http://www.iancoxleigh.com/">http://www.iancoxleigh.com/</a> . The work is divided into four sub-categories. You can see the Portlands project and its constituent folders here: <a href="http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Studies%20Portlands/">http://www.iancoxleigh.com/galleries/Studies%20Portlands/</a> .</p>

 

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<li>The book, called <em>Portlands</em> , is available through Blurb: <a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1099567">http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1099567</a> </li>

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<p>A smaller, 8.5"x11", cheaper, softcover version is coming sometime in the next few months.</p>

<p><strong>I hope that helped. If you buy one thing I mentioned, make it the Jeff Brouws' book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Approaching-Nowhere-Photographs-Slipcased-Autographed/dp/0393065391/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261195465&sr=1-1"><em>Approaching Nowhere</em> </a> . I can not overstate its brilliance.</strong></p>

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<p>Some Photo.net Members whose work might be of interest:</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2008195">Kent B</a> — Not really urban decay (although, there is some), more like photographic observations of the everyday world.<br>

In a similar 'not-really-decay' vein: <a href="../photodb/member-photos?user_id=2121478">Mattias Steup</a> , <a href="../photodb/member-photos?user_id=1013388">Eric Stolk</a> (both no longer active on PN)</p>

<p>Some Flickr Profiles you might consider looking through:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andres_medina/">*sagaz</a> — Urban decay photos. Based out of Madrid.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soviet/">Soviet</a> — Urban decay photos. Based out of NYC, especially Brooklyn. Night and day images. One of my favourite photographers on flickr. Highly recommended.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/miesnert/">Sander Meisner</a> — Urban decay photos. Based out of Amsterdam. Mostly night work.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16338723@N00/">dub_focus</a> — Smaller image set. Less 'decay' more urban exploration/night photography. Netherlands.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/23954414@N05/">El Miatou</a> — Urban decay photos. Based out of Paris.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/garmonique/">Garmonique </a> — Not really urban decay. More abandoned places, studies of quietude and shadow, and haunting imagery.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ensel/">devb.net</a> — Some urban decay. Brooklyn?</p>

<p>Have fun.</p>

 

<p>Elle; One of the best series of photos of urban decay is not about decay at all. Eugene Atget (1857-1927) spent a lifetime recording urban Paris. There are books about him and his work, but you'll have to hunt for them. In 1898 he began a series called 'Vieux Paris' (Old Paris). The Vieux Paris project lasted well into the twenties. The importance of his work is that they were photographs of a time and place all but destroyed to make way for the 'modernazation' of Paris begun in the early 1900's. In the 1920's and 30's two American Ex-pats, Man Ray and Berenice Abbot collected, and saved, many of his glass and other negatives, as well as remaining prints. Most of the places he photographed were gone in twenty years of less. One of the best series on 'decay' there is. Good luck; Lee</p>