Down in Rotorua on the opposite side of Lake Zero remains New Zealand’s first Hydroelectric dam. A popular place for kayaking and white water rafting, I was there for something else. Usually only accessible when the water levels are quite low, I managed to get lucky on my visit here. Plenty of different compositions to shoot here but I was drawn to the lead in lines of this old rusty support beam and used a long exposure to smooth the movement in the water out. I love the colour and the water contrasting with the rusty man-made objects that are left behind. Well worth a visit if you are ever down in the area.
The old feed store and packing building that used to be up the road from me. Now a mini mall shopping centre. I love exploring industrial sites and this one had it all! Conveyor belts, silos and silent alarms! We managed to set it off. It cut the explore short and we never had a chance to get back inside before demolition unfortunately. A pity because there was so much to see and photograph.
One of the firsts spots I have ever explored. An old boarding house in Auckland’s downtown area. Its state is quite surprising as the real estate is worth a lot there. Several floors of graffiti and homeless squatters, rubbish and leaks and areas of real interest. This is the top floor and the asbestos concrete tiling has failed, allowing the building to leak. To gain access we had to scale up an elevator shaft. Sadly after a solid 10 years the building has finally succumbed to developers and will most likely become luxury apartments.
Another shot from Challenge House, this one so different from the last. It always reminded me of an orange face or monster, like something a child would draw. We had to wear masks in this location as the smell from dead birds was almost unbearable. Something about the feel to this image I just love, perhaps the warmth of the colour yet the obvious lack of warmth from the surroundings. It was definitely a great first explore and made me hungry for more urban exploration.
An old catholic girls boarding school set right in the heart of Hamilton, NZ. Like so many, now torn down and replaced. It was still in relatively good condition when we arrived apart from some flooding from the roof in this room. The birds had used this as an access point into the building and many had become trapped and died. The basins were full of bird poo and dead birds. Sometimes a shot is so obvious from the feeling it conveys or the way the light falls on it. This is one of those. If you look closely you can see one of our feathered friends watching over us from the roof space.
So many buildings to explore here and so many that we didn’t get a chance to. Sadly with demolitions we will never get that chance. Every room and every building here has its own feeling and stories I’m sure. The colour schemes reminiscent of the era of health care we’d rather forget it seems (not the first old mental health establishment to be torn down these days). I remember being drawn to this pile of straw and grass in the room almost as if someone had made a small bed in the only area of light beaming down into the room. It felt religious in a way. It gave the uneasy feeling of a need to escape these walls.
One of the best buildings to explore in Tokanui in my opinion. This was the dorm room by appearances, beds stacked in one corner. A lot of the time I will try to find a symmetry point in a shot and allow the smaller details to fill where they need to be, it must be the Virgo in me!
Just through the other room was the scene where someone had scrawled a pentagram on the floor and arranged chairs around it. Down another hallway was a set of cells with thick heavy metal doors and perforated steel for windows. This ward definitely had a dark and heavy feeling to it while exploring. Unlike most other buildings on the site the interior colours were the last muted here. The more you look into the history here the more uneasy you feel exploring the place. Sadly it won’t be around for much longer by the looks of things but hopefully the people that have explored it and photographed it can share the beauty that can still be found amongst such terrible history.
The feeling of walking these hallways was intense. Scratch marks in the paint on the inside of the doors, the steel-plated backs heavy and hard to move. The lack of sunlight in these cells made the rooms depressing with more heavy steel plates covering the entire windows. It felt more like a prison than a rehabilitation centre. We walked the rooms silently wondering what life must have been like for people here. It made for a quiet eerie experience.
Favourite urbex shot I’ve taken so far. This room was seriously chilling. What you can’t see is the pentagram scrawled on the floor in front of those chairs and an intercom that has been ripped from the wall and placed there in the centre. This whole block was actually pretty creepy. The cell rooms had finger nail marks on the insides and paint was peeling everywhere. The bird poop was inches thick in the hallways and the air smelt and tasted stale. It actually tastes like death would if you could imagine it. I bet these walls had some stories to tell and they had seen some horrors. The atrocities that went on here account for over 500 lives lost during its operation. A very somber and surreal explore.
This place just creeped me out. It’s always a commando style mission to get here. Well-planned and thought-out. Sadly it’s on its way to be demolished and most likely the history will be lost along with the reminder of our sordid past into mental health and the terrible ways in which people were treated in the last 40+ years at places just like this all over the country.
What appears to be a therapy pool we were totally unprepared for the find and were quite shocked to stumble across it in the condition. Such an unassuming building until you walk into this room. The typical colour scheme of many facilities just like this, the mural on the walls helping break up the mundane “keep it calm” styling to the interior here.
Every time we visit this place it’s with a heavy feeling. Knowing some of the history and stories only makes it worse sometimes...by capturing and sharing these places we hope to somehow remind ourselves and others of mistakes not to make again and hope that the lessons linger long after the buildings are gone.
Sadly this spot recently was a victim of arson. I’m sure, like many spots of this historic nature, it was deliberately lit to allow for redevelopment of the site. Such an interesting building and interior colour scheme littered with rubbish and graffiti. It had its own charm. A good friend supplied us with some atmospheric spray to try which gave us the fog like clouds. Being such a large space to fill it made it quite difficult and the few broken windows didn’t allow the effect to settle as much as we had hoped but I do like the patchy look it has given. If you’re interested in the cabs you can find them at Atmosphere Aerosol, available at most good camera shops throughout NZ and Australia.
Another from my little lost workshop in Taranaki. This was the first room I stepped into. I love the contrast between the couch, the walls and the floor, so full of texture. When I go exploring it can often be tricky to get everything in the scene into one shot or find a suitable angle to shoot. Mostly I’m looking for a nice bit of light somewhere in the scene. This location was amazing for light, just enough to add drama and interest. I had limited time here as we were on our way to get wet feet at a closeby waterfall but sometimes less is more!
I quite literally came across this place by accident getting lost in the way to Taranaki falls. Thankfully I have a very understanding wife who doesn’t mind waiting while I “have a nosey around this place”! A great little interior with just the right amount of drama and a carpet of lovely little ferns. Treading carefully around the place as to not trample to much or leave it ruined for the next person who explores here (a pet peeve of mine!) I picked off a few different images at this location. I just love the way the light falls in some areas and it can often turn a full image into a great one in my opinion. Textures and colours play a strong part in this too, both plentiful at this location.
I must have explored this place at least 5 times. Each time we get a chance to see or note something we missed first time around. This building is quite easy to access being on the outskirts of a large mental health facility. Another one in the process of being demolished to make way for redevelopment. The amount of asbestos used in these old buildings and usually the level of decay don’t really make economic sense in repurposing them (the original plan was to turn it into a tech tertiary facility). The history also lends itself to some trepidation on the owners part and this site has such a history. Stories of horrific experiments done to people who called this place home, electro shock therapies among other cruel treatments, often on children, make it a sobering place to walk amongst. Recently a memorial plaque was put up on an adjacent site for the 500+ souls buried at this site. May they finally find peace.
A good friend gave me a tip-off to an abandoned private college in the middle of nowhere. Upon arriving it appeared that the buildings close to the entrance had been rented out! Damn! Now what?! My wife suggested just being my usual friendly self and knocking on the door and asking. What do you know it worked...after having a nice chat to the gentleman that lived in one of the houses and a guided tour of his extensive novelty hot air balloon making operation he organised a wander around the grounds with the caretaker’s blessings. With a little more persuasion I was able to at least have a good look at the indoor swimming pool, all other buildings were under lock and key for renovation as the complex had been bought and was soon to be developed as a private residence. Fair enough, I was happy to see at least a small part of what was once a sizeable private country school. Oh and the balloons, those were super cool too.
Even the hallways are creepy at Erskine. Dark and narrow I guess the wood panelling and detailing have a luxurious feel to it in its glory? Now damaged and graffitied, windows broken. Every time you walk a hallway quietly you can’t help but have in the back of your mind “I wonder what’s around the corner?” Thankfully I’ve never bumped into another fellow explorer on a mission but I get that would take away your breath! Every creak and groan in a building reminds me of this thought. It also keeps me on my toes every time I hear noises inside a building!
The bathrooms at Erskine were by far the worst affected areas. Open windows and street kids/vandals likely had left taps turned on. A lot of water damage which although terrible for the building, makes for great details in images. The avocado basins so typical of this era still mostly intact. If it wasn’t so hard to get in and out I would have taken one just to save it! Definitely tread with caution in a wooden building when there’s signs of water damage... I’ve heard of stories overseas of people putting a foot right through the floor.
Sadly this building has been redeveloped/repurposed. Another gem lost to the urbex community, another grand old building gone to make way for progress. An absolute mission to access and even worse when exploring solo! Let’s just say I won’t go into details in case my understanding wife reads this! Well worth the explore but also bittersweet, I didn’t get to all the areas in the building due to silent alarms. The chapel I had been told was amazing but not worth getting caught as a few had. Lots of break-ins and obvious signs of vandalism (hence the silent alarms) have not done this grand old building well. It saddened me to see it in such a state as do so many that I visit. Maybe we weren’t worthy of keeping her around?
One of the hardest areas to shoot at Kingseat due to the white walls and large number of windows here. I love the room though and the pillars are an attempt to make it look much fancier than it may have been. The paint flakes here are huge and can be used quite effectively to lead the viewers eye into the shot. You can only wonder what it was like with furniture in the room, people lounging out in the warmth of the light through the windows...it almost seems nice until you dig a little into the grim history of the building.
Another image from the Kingseat visits. This was an adjoining kitchen area. The subtle yet in your face yellow combined with the marbled vinyl floors must have looked fancy back when new. Thick layers of dust and broken glass scatter the floors and everything has a stale smell to it. Despite a lack of furniture compared to other abandoned spots it’s still achievable to get some interesting shots here, the light is always really bright in this particular building but somehow always works.
The infamous Kingseat hospital has its fair share of horror stories. It’s still a creepy place to be and the locals are a colourful bunch. Many a film series and movie has been filmed between these walls. Thankfully working in the industry has allowed access to such spots. The era of these institutes always seem to share similar pastel hues.... pale greens, yellows and blues - apparently to induce a calming effect. Not so sure it’s working! One of the few spots around that still have amazing peeling paint textures still intact. Almost likely this area will succumb to a developer and be lost forever but I’m sure the stories will stay with those that have heard them or at worst those that lived through them.
Kingseat hospital has a dark history, the stories I’ve heard make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Are they true? I can’t say but I’ve heard first hand from families of victims that stayed there. I say victims because that’s how bad the stories are. Just to the left of this area is a room with a two way mirror used for observation of interviews. This whole ward is in as much decay as this room and has that stale, damp smell. The textures in this room were the usual mix of pastels and stained wood, just like most buildings from this era. I’ve also always wondered what the door in the roof light area was for...
Down the line there was a crazy little mussel farm that had several old large machines on site. My good buddy, Nick, and I decided to try some Astro photography here one night and while we were waiting for the sky to clear we decided to try some light painting of the machines there. This was my favourite shot from out little experiment. Shortly after this image was taken the milky way started to rise and and that kept us busy for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately the machines have been loved from this site but we will always have these images to remind us of an epic mission!
Shot on the same evening as the big yellow grader, this is the bow of an old navy minesweeper boat that was scuttled to make a break wall for the mussel farm harbour entrance. The long history of the vessel has been documented and it’s quite an interesting read. This was lit by a large security light just behind me. I love the detail given by the light shining on the scene here. It’s long overdue for another visit.
There’s a little house tucked away in the hills on the way to Aucklands West Coast beaches. It’s been sitting dormant for a while and has a lot of furniture and personal items scattered around the house. Dead mice and rats and mouldy carpet are prevalent throughout the property and although the house isn’t in terrible condition it has seen better days. There’s lots to shoot here and it’s a great little secret spot. A lot of questions arise, whose house is it and why did they leave so abruptly leaving their items? Are they coming back? Will these questions ever be answered? Who knows.
I call this spot blues house because every room has a real blue colour associated with it. It’s an odd colour and configuration but obviously the owner likes it! The amount of items left behind in the house leaves a lot of questions most likely never to be answered.
While on holiday in France I spent a lot of time exploring little lanes and the back country around Lyon. Sometimes you are cruising down a country lane and you look in your rear view mirror and spot something, an old country mansion perhaps? One of the first explores in France, this place was old! Much older than places I’d been to before.
While on holiday in France I spent a lot of time exploring little lanes and the back country around Lyon. Sometimes you are cruising down a country lane and you look in your rear view mirror and spot something, an old country mansion perhaps? One of the first explores in France, this place was old! Much older than places I’d been to before.
This little spit was actually across the valley from the in-laws’ country farmhouse on the outskirts of Lyon. I had spotted it from a walk down a few lanes and decided on a hot summer’s day to walk out to it, little did I know I’d stumble on 3 other properties along the way tucked-in behind large patches of trees! I got the fright of my life here when a local turned up but he was friendly and explained he lived out of town and had tried to purchase the property some years ago from the elderly owners who turned him down (as he didn’t grow up in the region and they were kind of stuck in their ways about outsiders). We had a great chat about it and a look around before we both went on our ways and I went to the next abandoned building in the valley. Here you can see a feeble attempt to tidy the place up a bit for the new owners...
This was another abandoned family home in the same valley as the in-laws’ French home. Found while exploring other interesting buildings in the valley, this place had old stoves, furniture and items relating to the previous owners scattered about. The gas cans and chairs were quite cool items and I knew there would be shots here. A poster on the wall was from a regional fair from 1973.... it seemed the place had been left for quite a while and yet very well preserved and probably not visited in many years. It was surprising how many places had been abandoned in such a close area but it made for a great holiday!
This place has been used on many an NZ film show. I’d overlooked it thinking it wasn’t that interesting but a good friend and I found ourselves bored on a rainy Sunday and thought why not go have a look?! I’m glad we did as I love a good old abandoned workshop. Once used to work on rail locomotives it smelt of oil, grease and coal. The grunge and grimy appearance made for some fantastic shots and we spent a lot longer than we thought here. The large high windows gave an amazing light on the interior and I can’t believe I’d overlooked this spot for so long!
This was shot at the abandoned steam locomotive workshop. I love looking for textures and odd compositions at the abandoned places I visit. Trying to make an image appealing to the eye but fit into some form of symmetrical grid in my vision. Often it focuses on vertical and horizontal lines and trying to lead the viewer into the shot. The peeling paint in this building was fantastic and being a rainy day allowed for a greater range of shots by having such soft diffused lighting stopping a lot of harsh shadows in the images. If photos could be smelt what would this one smell like?
Not a composition I would normally shoot but it somehow works here and I love this image. The feel seems to sit so well with what you are looking at. Shot at the old railway station I was not expecting to find this scene and at first I didn’t think there was an image here but I took a few shots and when it came time to edit it was one of my favourites from this location. Just goes to show sometimes trying something different works in your favour.
The old railway repair station out in south Auckland was a great spot, lots of decay, abandoned items and a distinct smell of steam and oil. Used by many film and tv crews over the years, another spot that has succumbed to a land developer no doubt. Sad to see this one go but I’m glad I got a good visit in before it was torn down. The juxtaposition of bright orange walls and grease, steam and oil made for some great images.
The old Patea freezing works on the North Island’s West Coast. Not much left to be honest but what was once a thriving industry now ruins. There’s some great shots to be had at this location and it’s always worth stopping in to have a look. Lots of graffiti around the place and dumped rubbish too. We had some cloud cover during our visit but when it’s bright it’s quite a hard spot to photograph. There are some places where you can escape the sun though and this is one such area. I love the lead in lines to the image, drawing you towards the hole in the roof of the structure.
We’d been told about this spot down in Stratford near the Naki. A plan was made and a weekend booked off with my good buddy Nick. We had a few spots to hit and throw in some landscape photography and we were set! This place had the weirdest chemical smell, an old fertiliser storage place. This top floor was quite sketchy and walking around trying to find shots you had to be so careful not to step back in through the large holes in the floor. The look of the building was awesome and has heaps of lovely textures to it, mould and decay everywhere, our kind of place!
Such a contrast between this hallway and all other rooms in this ward. A colourful mask to ease the suffering? I’m not sure but it felt like that. Such an interesting building I only wish we had more time here before it was demolished. This is by far my favourite picture of the trip to Taranaki.
The fabled Barrett St hospital. I’d always wanted to get to this spot and when Nick, my good buddy, and I heard it was soon to be demolished, we made a trip down. This was in the children’s ward, this image was so different to the scene 90 degrees to my right (the rainbow walk image). It feels like it’s showing the true reality of what was felt by patients here. One on my favourite trips I’ve been on exploring.
I’d seen this church with the ever increasingly tall grass growing around it several times and thought it had to be abandoned, sure enough...
This is a shot looking down the cellar stairs. I love how the light illuminates this particular scene. Mysterious and moody. It was a vast contrast between the basement and the top floor that was far more lavish.