Photography
Urban Explorations
Follow Me to the abyss
"He who is not bold enough to be stared at from across the Abyss, is not bold enough to stare into it himself"
-Anonymous
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The Darkness that Lurks in Our Minds
Everyone has them... Those dark, crazy sounding thoughts that you keep to yourself so that everyone will think that you are just as normal as them. But here is the undeniable truth: They are keeping the same darkness from you too...
Creative Portraits
Sometimes a simple head and shoulders shot is not enough. From simple, lighthearted, and whimsical, to the dark and brooding, and more, a portrait should show you down past the skin and into your heart.
The Places we Once Knew
Without a second thought most people just pass these places by, not giving a second thought to the many things that these places have seen. Memories trapped deep into the rust and decay, solidified into the grooves of the concrete, and scribed on, and into, the places we once regularly knew.
Urban Exploration Favorites
During our various explorations, I am constantly snapping pictures. Some of them come out really good, others are just extremely gorgeous. These are a few of my absolute favorites...
Late Night City Lights
Cool night air blows through my car's open windows, and as it rushes past my face, I recieve it's chill of mystery. I take a deep breath, and sigh aloud, relaxed by the warming sensation of the city's lights burning pleasantly inside my head. The lights streak by, my memory not wanting to let go.
See "The Two Handed Nightmare's" story at Sideshowfables.com
See "The Masochist"'s story at sideshowfables.com
See the Tin man's story at Sideshowfables.com
Photographic oddities
Care for a double take? These are some of the more odd and/or interesting photographs that I have taken and manipulated. Check out some of these on the Freak Show page at www.sideshowfables.com
Their Heaven, Their descent
It resides in the shadows of the city of Houston, crumbling away at the distress of the economy. Times are hard for the Neighborhoods near this bustling airport. Simple People struggle to make ends meet. Flying above their restless heads lies a beautiful world of hopes and dreams, waiting for them to look up.
The Carnival never ends
I still remember the lights and fun filled days and nights of the carnival as a child; The fun seemed to never end. Now as an adult, I am able to appreciate it on many levels, seeing not only the fun and joy, but also the wierd and creepy. The memories made by the carnival mean something different for everyone, and in that sense, it will never end.
[baby] howard
On one of our several explorations, we came across this lil' guy lying in the grass. We couldn't resist giving this eerie one leg baby one last photo op before he lay to rest again, possibly for good. Good luck Baby Howard.
Urban Exploration:
Journal of the Past,
Present, and Future
By: Anti-Paradigm Productions
An Introduction
To the Basics of Urban Exploration
Although the art and sport of Urban Exploration has been around for hundreds of years, many have chosen to stay away from such activities, some possibly, because of the negative stigma that surrounds and often precedes it.
Urban Exploration is a very multifaceted operation, which simply boils down to exploring the unknown variables of the urban environment. This may include any and everything from exploration of steam tunnels, storm drains, abandoned buildings, live buildings, restricted areas, and much more. Just like a jungle, wetland, or ancient ruin, Urban environments are teeming with extraordinary treasures of the eye that many will never see.
Some of these areas are very simple to gain access to, sometimes as simple as opening a door. Often times though, it might require some real feats of stealth and athleticism to procure a first person view of these Urban treasures.
The inlying text and photos are a guide and a journal of my own personal experiences and journies through the beauty and the interesting madness of the "urban jungle".
Take my words in your own way, and do with it what you may, but for all realistic and liability purposes, this journal is for entertainment purposes only. In other words, "Don't try this at home".
Enjoy!
Travis
a.k.a. "TheAntiParadigm"
Chapter One
"Genesis" (Bruce Elementary)
It began as a personal research project on the many disturbing pieces of land here in the Houston area known as "Superfunds". I was extremely intrigued by the way that the government handeled these toxic fields of various pollutants (Dig up the barrels, cover it with sand, push sand around with a dozer for a week. $1 million spent on cleanup).
Some of these lands were so incredibly polluted from buried chemicals, that children in nearby neighborhoods that might have accidentally ingested some of the soil could contract severe nervous system damage. So was the case of Bruce Elementary.
I found an Elementary school that had been shut down and abandoned in Houston's fifth ward, directly across the street from MDI (Many Diversified Interests) Superfund. I figured that this MASSIVE Superfund lot (1,500,000 square feet large (see map)) had to be the cause of the school's closing, but figuring isn't enough for me. I needed to find out some hard facts.
Click an image to enlarge.
All map images obtained from Google Earth.
I decided to gather a small team to do the exploring. I wasn't about to go alone. Me and the three others arrived at the location at around eight P.M. and surveyed the area. Interestingly enough, there were no "No Tresspassing" or "Private Property" signs anywhere, so we decided that we were as welcome as anyone into the area. This was also a bit unsettling.
As we approached the building our entrance was either through an open gate a hundred feet away, or under the fence right in front of us. The fence was our first choice, because it was the quickest closest way in, and going the opposite way wouldn't gain us anything extra. So under we went,I went second, quickly sliding my camera gear under, followed instantly by myself and three others crawling under as if passing through a minefield.
Our first stop on the journey was the "Cafetorium" as it was labeled. This area comprised of everything from the janitors lockers and the kitchen, all the way to the cafeteria and the school stage. Proceeding slowly and cautiously, I snapped pictures as i went, finding small clues along the way as to this place's time and condition of abandonment.
The side entrances to the "Cafetorium" were all boarded shut, with the exception of one. The door we passed through gave way to a small locker room with papers scattered asunder. The scene was lit from a single light bulb residing over one of the two remaining stovetops. Passing through the locker room and into the kitchen, we decided to take the immediate righthand door first (eenie meenie...) which led us into the cafeteria (...miney mo) and stage area.
The cafeteria was empty, with the exception of two remarkable things, the first of these being that someone got creative on the wall murial of the star spangled banner, tossing a bucket of blood-red paint all over it. It looked gruesome. I was so intrigued with the paint job, that I nearly missed the second interesting thing. To the right about three feet and at about waist level, someone pasted a series of pictures of one of the students, possibly from portrait day. Suddenly, the school had a soul. This building hadn't forgotten that little girl. I could imagine see her coming in to eat her lunch with friends... but what happened after that? On the last day of school, what happened? We continued to the stage in search of more, but found only a shattered mirror, and a fallen stage curtain.
Much was the same in the kitchen freezer area. A back door to the loading dock, and an empty walk-in freezer with nothing inside but a jar of pickles from 2007 (btw, it is 2009 at the time of exploration. Nasty.)
Out into the courtyard we went, looking for the next entrance inside. This came upon reaching a locked gate that led to the second floor of the school's west wing, then turning around to see the open door for the lower south wing. Through this door we found a hallway with several offices that would have been empty if not for shredded paper lying about, and we ended up in the School office area. Windows looking out into the hallway were smashed and cracked, held together only by the wire mesh that laid inside them. In this hallway there was one locked door, with the glass window broken out of it. This made for a cool picture.
In our haste to get to the upstairs music hall, we completely passed up the library. Damn! I didn't notice until later reviewing a map. Upstairs though, lies room after room of chalkboard grafitti, broken cellos and violins, smashed guitars, and rusting electric keyboards. An interesting site. I took a lot of time photographing each one. This floor is where I also found a map of the building to chart our progress. Just like in the video games...
One of the things I love, and equally totally hate about Urban Explorations is that moment when a proped open but locked door accidentally shuts behind you, and you know that the door in front of you is locked. Your heart leaps out of your chest at the thought that, "I might just have been trapped in here..." and you start to panic. But I beseech thee, stay calm. There is a way out. This is why I now carry a pocket sized lockpick set on me...
We were exiting the upstairs via a southwest stairwell, when the door behind us came "unpropped" and slammed shut. We looked at one another, then ran to the bottom of the stair well where we found ourselves locked in a cage-like outdoor room facing a locked door, and a restroom door to our back. One, Two, three... my heart was skipping beats left and right, especially when the first tug on the gate's door was impeded by years of rust. Thump, Thump, six, seven thump... The door opened on the next tug, relieving my anxiety.
Having seen all that was accessible and not looking for a breaking and entering arrest, we decided that we had seen enough for this dark and quiet night. I snapped a few more pictures, and we slid back across the playground, under the gate, and quietly into the night. As we were creeping to the car, I turned back, seeing the school again from the outside. I still needed to find out what happened, but I turned to the car, in need of hydration, vowing to return soon.
Chapter Two
"Renaissance" (Bruce v2.0)
With the short term memories of our first visit to Bruce Elementary still burning inside of me, I had to go back. This time, instead of opting for the cover of darkness, we relied on stealth and silence during the day to pull off this exploration.
10:30 am. We arrive at the site, where we meet two others, (a fellow photographer and friend) who upon looking at the school decide not to join us. The rest of us enter through the open gate this time, casually walking in unnoticed. Once again there is not a sign or person around forbidding us to enter, so we do. But all is not well. The problem we encounter on this trip is access. Once inside the playground which is complete with high grass and scattered broken objects, we find all the doors locked, save a few. I sigh at the knowledge that I had at least been inside the locked doors in the previous exploration. We continue past the locked Cafetorium, around the courtyard, and over to the offices, to find the previously unlocked door now inaccessible. Just then, the gate behind us creaks open, giving access to the 2nd floor west wing.
We turn and look at one another, then slip through the open gate. We are greeted by a flight of stairs, and two bathrooms. I take interest in a pile of kids books lying on the ground; The subject: "Ghosts". Hmm hopefully this is not foreshadowing the rest of our exploration...
Inside the bathrooms, we find very little, except broken sinks, toilets and an interestingly old looking heater hanging in each corner. Turning around and heading up the stairs yielded a very unique scene. The only light upstairs was coming from the end of the hallway bleeding through the double door and side windows.
And so we went, from the south to the north side, and every room in between. The first room on the right, we found an open window, giving roof acess. I was tempted to go out onto the roof, to see if I could use it to my advantage, but from this vantage point I couldn't see any gain in access. This room had what was the first of many chalkboards to come that read "Tommy and Woo" on it. I guess we weren't the first ones here, but most likely the first ones to enter with a repect and interest in history and arcitecture.
The next room was empty, with a few exceptions, a teacher's tablet with names of children on it, (handwritten roster) a film negative strip with biology pictures on it, and iMac computer user guides (not the new iMac, the old one that was basically just a CRT monitor with i bit more bulk). The classroom adjoining this one was totally trashed. Shreds of paper everywhere, broken wood, and piles of school work lay everywhere. It was creepy, becuase the room before it had next to nothing inside... It was a very controlled chaos... Crossing the hallway, we saw a few motivational posters, that I'm sure were there to keep otherwise depressive 5th ward hopes lifted high. After seeing a couple more empty rooms, we came across another with two interesting artifacts.
There was a posterboard on the wall that stated three phrases: "Meees world sex" "Get out spot" "Just do it". Sounds like someone went mad on the last day of school. Maybe the Superfund chemicals got to them?
Shhhh. We hear a noise. That moment comes again where you slide into the dark, and sit in total silence attempting to read the faces of your explorer companions, listening to your heart beat, trying to breath slow, deep and quiet, in an effort to slow your heart's increasing rate. We listen, but hear nothing else. Just the wind? Perhaps. I hope.
We finish the top floor, and head back down the only exit, the stairs, to check out the first floor for an entry, only to find that it is completely sealed up. Someone else has obviously been here since our last visit... When we reach our car we see a plume of smoke coming from somewhere down the road. Interested, and ever curious, we decide to check it out.
We had the opportunity to thoroughly see Bruce Elementary, and we did indeed. But, there is one last room here at Bruce that might still hold the answers we seek... I was upset that we missed it the first go around, but they do say the third time is a charm...
Chapter Three
"To Build Anew" (Target Store)
Driving along Highway 59 we couldn't help but see this gem lying in wait. It was a Target store building that was under major renovations. I scouted it out about a week in advance, as I usually do, looking for the best entrance. The front was wide open, but in perfect view of everything. The back was open too, but had much less visibility from outsiders, so it was our obvious target (pun intended). We parked at the store next door, walked along the side of the building, to the back, and across to the Target.
When we reached the entry point, we noticed lights on inside. The construction crews were off that day, or so we hoped. After listening for signs of life, and hearing nothing, we entered. We were greeted by makeshift walls and busted concrete floors, construction equipment and scaffold. Most of the entry area was empty, but mad efor some good pictures. We took a left, and headed for a large open area on our right, preceeded by an open doorway that led to a gated in trash disposal area. We will need to remember that for later.
In the middle of this wide open area lies a restroom for the construction workers, and an interesting sign warning shoplifters of Target's prosecution standards awaiting anyone who tries. The distant walls were laiden with large metal bars that made the place feel like a cold dark prison.
We continued to the front of the store, noting the obsessive-compulsive-like order that all of the construction lifts were parked in at the middle of the store. I take some pictures, and then continuing on to the front. We slid along a wall adjacent to the front doors, quietly as we could.
I peek around the end of the long wall to check if it was clear to proceed, and saw nothing. But just as I am about to turn to my fellow explorer and tell him the coast is clear, about 50 feet away, from the former spot of the sliding front doors, a man sticks his head in to look around. Shit! I quickly signal to my buddy to make a quick exit. We try to keep our footfalls as quiet as possible while walking as fast as we could. In my haste I accidentally kick a small piece of metal on the ground which makes a loud "CLANG!" as it returns to the ground. Now we are running strait toward the trash disposal area for an exit, praying nobody is waiting for us in back.
One of the more important rules in urban exploring is to always leave yourself at least one exit strategy. Proper planning ahead of time can save your ass big time.
We made it to the trash disposal area, and found the gate unlocked. We hurried out side, quietly shutting the gate back, and then we casually walked off. "What? No, we were not inside there... We were just strolling by!.." Another rule to always keep in mind, especially when you think you might be comprimised: Always have an alibi.
We made our way to the shaded fenceline about fifty feet from the back of the store, and made our way back up the side of the adjacent building, and to our car. When we drove off, there was another car parked at the entrance of the front of the store. The car looked to be running, but nobody was inside, possibly becuase he was in the building looking for us...
Chapter Four
"Roof With a View" (Sierra Vista)
Perhaps one of our shorter explorations, we saw Sierra Vista after we had left the Target store, and were in transit to base. "Whoa, look at that place..." my fellow explorer exclaimed. "The stairs lead all the way to the roof!" I accidentally cut a guy off getting over to the apartments I was so excited. (I don't know about all over the world, but I know here in Houston, it is not often at all that apartments, or any building for that matter, has an open staircase leading all the way to the roof)
We parked at the end of the complex, and I grabbed my camera, leaving all of my usual exploration equipment behind, (I am a gadget and equipment freak) becuase I knew that this would be cool, but wouldn't take long. We casually walked across the parking lot, and a couple of men unloading building supplies from a white work van watched us for a few seconds, then continued working. While we ascended the first flight of stairs, we noticed that the walls were crumbling away leaving a really interesting wire-mesh/plaster texture. I snapped a picture, as I always do.
I find that on any outing in which I bring my camera, the shutter button is constantly depressed, leaving me with usually over 500 raw images. It's not that I am comensating for lack of photographic skill, it is just that I fear missing anything. Your surroundings can change in an instant, and unless the camera is ready, you will miss it. I would much rather take 10 pictures within two seconds of time and delete 8 of those later, than look at two pictures and wish I had caught that one moment in between that I missed.
We reached the top of the stairs and found the stairwell to be locked by a large steel gate. Discouraged, we headed down and onto the next building in the complex. At the top of these stairs; sucess. The lock inside the gate had long been busted out by the looks of the gate itself. We quietly and carefully walked up the last bit of stairs making sure that we were going to be alone on the roof. A sigh of relief washed over me upon seeing that we were indeed alone. It wasn't much up here, but the view was awesome. And it was an incredible day. I could just sit up here and contemplate the world and it's wonders for hours. After hanging out on the intriguingly soft and weak feeling rooftop for ten minutes, I decided we should get a move on to another location, while we still had time.
Chapter Five
"Pilgrimage" to the Holy Grail
We had seen this place before, as it didnt lie far from Bruce Elementary. It is a large open warehouse looking building with an extremely tall loft about 75 to 100 feet up in the air. After heading away from Sierra Vista, we decided to give this place an exploring, and make it our last stop for the day. We parked at a different warehouse building directly across the street, and approached the loading docks first. "No Parking" signs littered the walls of the loading dock, but we didn't see any that said "No entry" or "No tresspassing", so we decided that it was smart to park acroos the street like we did, and contiued on in search of an entrance.
I can imagine that this building had tons of history, just from contemplating it's age alone. We turned the corner to the side facing the railroad tracks, greeted by another long loading area. I could see from a distance that there was a gate at the end of this walkway, and it looked to be open. We crept along quietly, taking pictures and listening for any noises out of the ordinary. Closer and closer we got to the gate, and just as we are about to enter, we hear a voice...
We spun around, jumped down and headed over to the railroad tracks, to get a better view. As we walked along the tracks on the side of the building, we could see that there was not just one person inside of the "Holy Grail" complex, but several. The building was so old and deteriorated, it was amazing that anyone would use it for anything. We decided that it also being in the fifth ward, you never know who it would be inside, so deciding not to start a turf war, we continued down the tracks to check out a train resting silently on the tracks. We climbed aboard the locomotive and took a look around. From this vantage point, we could see a little bit better into the Holy grail complex, and saw a very odd piece of machinery. It looked like something from back to the future or an Art Car parade. Look at the pictures they tell its story best.
After tinkering with the Locomotive, and taking pictures from the cranes juxtaposed next to the tracks, we headed back in the direction we came, and once again saw nobody in sight inside the warehouse building. We headed back to the fence we started to enter, and I decided to go in first. From this area i could see an easier way in; from under the walkway I sqwatted down, crawling on hands and knees, through the light brush Just then Paul calls to me with a slight anxiety in his voice: "Trav...Someone's Coming!"
I quickly rolled out back out from under the walkway, snapped my camera out of my bag, and started snapping pictures of the outside of the building. Photography is always a good alibi. I use this later on too. I lower my camera after snapping off about five random pictures, and look to see two kids walking strait towards us down the railroad tracks.
We continue this charade of just taking pictures, (Paul pretending to be my spotter) until these young teenagers draw near. Right before they are about to walk right on past us, one of them turns and says: "Ya'll trying to get in there?" I reply: "Naw just taking pictures!" Although we both know better. He nods his head and begins to walk off. Before he gets too far, I decide that this kid may have some knowledge of the building that I wish to aquire. "What is this place anyway? Is it still in use?" I ask my new teen latino friend. "it's a community garden." he says. "Everybody puts some time into it and can take some of the stuff that grows there." "Thanks!" we reply, and look at each other as the kids leave. We decided not to interrupt the project and turn to walk down the tracks in the other direction. After finding a few cool things to photograph, and walking about a good 1500 feet the blistering Houston heat bouncing off of the black trainway rocks beats us into submission.
Although we didn't get all the way inside of the holy grail, we did see and experience some cool things on this expedition. And I know for sure this will not be the last time the holy grail sees us. My goal: make it all the way to the top.
Current Explorations:
Chapter 1: Bruce Elementary
Chapter 2: Bruce Version 2.0
Chapter 3: Target Renovation
Chapter 4: Sierra Vista Apts.
Chapter 5: The Holy Grail
Coming Soon:
Chapter 6: Pilgrim Elementary
Chapter 7: Madison Aptartments
Chapter 8: Park Place Apts.
Click bottom corners to turn pages...
Go against the flow. It is a mantra that has served me well throughout the years, yet has also been one of the hardest things I have ever done. Trudging on in the other direction against the crowd is not an easy task, but it is very liberating.
I am a Photographer, Digital artist, and Urban Explorer. I love finding the beauty in decaying buildings, urban cities, and suburban areas. (There is just something about an abandoned factory covered in vines, or a tree growing from the rusty shell of a vehicle that makes me stop in my tracks...) I love photographing almost anything though, from the above Urban Landscapes, to Fun and interesting People, and even Architecture.
I don't talk much about myself, because I would much rather keep my thoughts to myself, but I do occasionally keep in touch via myspace, facebook, and twitter just to keep you in the loop. Follow my trace on the Contact page.
Published Works
Nice picture, but my artwork is on page 4 (next picture)
Picture that I took in the X-ray lab at HCC's Coleman college of health sciences as a student
Published on www.sideshowfables.com's "Mueseum of Freaks"
To be published on www.sideshowfables.com's "Mueseum of Freaks"
Published on the homepage of the horror/fiction mag "Rotten Leaves" www.rottenleaves.com
If for any reason you need/want to contact me, do so with this simple contact form, or leave me a voicemail with the google voice widget.
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For any special event request, like as Weddings, Grads, and such, put "Event" in the subject line of the email, and in the body describe it with dates and times. I will respond as soon as possible.
I also will accept UE requests, so if you have a location in mind, let me know, and I will get back to you ASAP.
The Abyss
Myspace
The Abyss is a "loving" name that I have given to modern online society, a collective unconsiousness that eats at our minds, and can kill our ambition.
That said, it can also be used (if used correctly) to inspire, create, and keep a hold on that with meaning.
Here are my rope-ladders leading into the abyss:
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(C) 2007-2010 ANTI-PARADIGM PRODUCTIONS Houston, TX
