Abandoned (Scotland 2013)

The theme for this selection of photographs from the Scotland trip in 2013 is abandoned homes, or crofts, on the Isle of Harris. It was not subject I would have pursued myself but other photographers on the trip were keen, so I joined in, albeit a little halfheartedly.

It appeared, particularly in one croft, that the last residents had left suddenly leaving behind some furniture and a few possessions. I guess, I didn’t feel totally comfortable with this at the time and subsequently I did nothing with the photographic results when I returned home.

On reflection, I am surprised how much of the photography from this Scotland trip went unprocessed with only a few landscapes cherry-picked for competitions or display online. Revisiting the Scotland trip has allowed me to take a fresh perspective on my photography in 2013, something I have enjoyed doing, including re-looking at the abandoned homes images.

Although I would not have been able to articulate this in 2013, I do see an attempt at describing a sense of place, going beyond representational landscapes, and saying something more about the Isle of Harris. Of course the results are not coherent in this respect, and even today I would identify the development of a refined sense of place as my biggest photographic challenge...

Abandoned Hotel - Part 3

The remaining photographs in the abandoned hotel series includes one particularly impressive piece of art work. I have no idea who is depicted in the mural or whether it has any cultural significance...my interest was therefore to simply reflect the artistic impact of the wall painting:

There was some evidence that people had used the hotel's apartment or bedroom spaces as temporary homes - although I saw nobody whilst I was walking around the building:

Finally, the building has collapsed at one end and it looked fire damaged:

Right, that concludes all the photographs of the abandoned hotel. Hopefully I managed to convey something of its eerie scale, isolation, and derelict nature -  there was a strange silence as I walked around the building which I found quite disconcerting and although I enjoyed the photography I was pleased to start the journey back towards Playa Blanca.

Abandoned Hotel - Part 2

In my previous post I set the scene for some photographs of an abandoned hotel in Lanzarote. Here, I show shots taken at the rear of the building which I think includes window spaces that would have formed corridors had the building ever been finished. There is also an underground entrance which may have been designed to accommodate store rooms or possibly the kitchens.....whatever was intended the building is now in a poor state - eventually it will be demolished I guess....