Never edited, never happened, an urbex trip to never forget
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This blog post is a long time in the making. Or maybe more specifically a set of photos that are not edited and shared are never taken, right? I have these photos sitting on my hard disk for over 4-5 years now and sort of forgot about it until I “rediscovered” these. Wait, wait, I shot these in 2015, so even my memory is off. So time to share an epic urbex trip or as more commonly known urban exploring and also a reminder to revisit your photo library now and then.
So urban exploring is, the "examination" of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of human civilization that is mostly in decay or left behind and documented through photography. You can see when you like architecture photography - which I still do - this is a really tempting area of photography as this is also the thrill of what to expect, what to encounter and a grey area if this is legal or not.
In this case I went down to the Ardennes in Belgium to photograph an old family owned castle or big manor or really fancy old country villa. In the end it’s called Chateau de Noisy / Miranda - which is by translation a castle. To me it seemed more of a country estate / castle. It doesn’t really matter it was impressive nonetheless. Unfortunately it is now demolished which is a shame, but in the state it was, it was the only option I guess.
The entrance to this magnificent building is impressive, but that is not how you get in. It being a bit of a grey area if this is legal or not you needed to go around back and find a way in. But once in, you immediately can feel the history, how this would have looked like in its prime and the million photo opportunities that you discovered in the first 5 minutes. That is why this is also fun and very difficult at the same time. How to convey this object, feeling, light and architecture in a set of photos. My friend Marc Duiker (link) still does this best, take a look. However I will give it a try.
So entering the building you immediately entered one or the stairwell areas where you can see the detail in the woodwork, stone and ceilings. The colours although faded in time are still present, so it immediately sparks your interest and you start to wonder how this would look like when it was an actual house. This was a perfect place to start exploring.
Due to the nature of this type of photography and the limited light in these settings you need to exposure blend, so taking your time with the composition, light and architectural lines you absolutely need a tripod. Doing this handheld will let you rush through this environment which is a real shame. So you are forced to take it slow, easy, think, see, process and hopefully come home with some proper photos.
After the first shots the real exploring starts. After the first photo in the bag, wondering around you stumble on three main areas, one with a beautiful red ceiling, an open space and a sort of library or reading/living room. In the end you don’t know as all is in such state of decay. However the light, colours and pealing wallpaper on the walls is absolutely fantastic.
Exploring continues to other parts of the main building, seeing small hallways, specific rooms (bedrooms, living quarters). The challenge here is, what do I photograph? What is the story? What ….. damn this is hard. Well just do and see, but I told myself as well, this was never supposed to be easy.
Once done with the hallways and other areas you could enter the “basement” where the other rooms are, probably for the domestic offices and staff accommodation and also the kitchen area, which is mostly impressive. The stories that happened, shared and experienced here are probably very intriguing but we will never know.
Going through the whole basement area and heading back up you end up in the biggest hallway and stairwell. This was quite sketchy as most of it was already far gone, wooden stairs were rotten, beams from the ceiling fallen down and stone and rubble all over. So this was nog the most sturdy area to go up. In the end I was walking from beam to beam were the floor was also gone. Again, not the most safest way - but worth the experience.
Ending at the bigger hallway and access to the tower. That last one really was not safe to explore, so I did not, but it made for some cool last photos of that day.
You can discuss if this is safe, legal, a good idea, but to leave these magnificent buildings to rot in a forest is a real shame as they are so beautiful, tell so much history and is just a story in itself that needs to be told. I tried this time, as hard as it is, I really enjoyed it. Even writing this blog post (not the best writer) makes me want to go out and start shooting again. Best thing ever!
Let me know what you think and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or an e-mail. Click to view larger in a light box and navigate with mouse or arrow keys. Enjoy!
