A few weeks ago, James, Helena, Bennett, and myself headed out north of Poughkeepsie to visit the abandoned Hudson River State Hospital, a former psychiatric hospital designed by Frederick Clarke Withers in 1867. The facility, overlooking the Hudson River, was closed down in 2001 and since then has fallen into a state of disrepair. This site is one of the largest I had ever set foot in. We decided to stay away from its most hazardous corners and explored a ... Continue Reading

A few days ago James, Bennett, and myself took the long ride back to Sullivan County to visit the Dundas Castle. Perched on a small hill overlooking the Beaverkill, this abandoned manor is a fine example of Neo-Gothic architecture, a movement that appeared in the late nineteenth century in North America. To our surprise, we bumped into many passersby walking the castle's corridors that afternoon. Its three turrets visible from the road and good structural integrity have made this mountain ... Continue Reading

In late 2011 Albany Barn Inc. will begin transforming the abandoned St. Joseph's Academy building located in the heart of Albany's Arbor Hill Neighborhood into a 40,000+ square foot creative arts incubator and community art space. Two months ago I was contacted by Craig Shufelt on behalf of a new gallery, “Stage 1”, located near the Academy. Craig, with the support of Albany Barn, was looking for new artists with an urban feel to showcase their work. I had donated ... Continue Reading

Back in 2010 Bennett and myself spent a few hours exploring an abandoned mill in Victory, east of Saratoga Springs. Originally a textile mill opened in 1846, the Victory Mill has been abandoned since 2000, its closure essentially leveling the local economy. The 215,500 square foot monolith towering this quiet town can hardly be missed. We scouted the surrounding area in September and came back a few weeks later, armed with our best innocuous looks. Here is what I brought ... Continue Reading

The Central Warehouse caught fire, October 22nd, 2010. It upsets me to see this landmark go down in flames. An eyesore for many, this concrete behemoth was the first abandoned building I explored with my own camera, back in March 2009. I brought back eerie pictures and a thirst for more. These photos opened many doors for me. Truth is, I owe a lot of our urban explorations, the show at UG and even the book to my trips to ... Continue Reading

I can see its looming smokestack every day on my way to work. I can make out the sign, bold, all-caps letters against the sky: FIRST PRIZE CENTER. I even approached it last year, shying away from a shady tunnel down its crumbling structure at the last moment. I wasn’t going to let you taunt me much longer, my friend. A few weeks ago, B and I finally made it in, explored this industrial maze and came back with a ... Continue Reading

Back in May, Darren and I spent a hot afternoon exploring an old cement factory near Kingston, NY. According to the studious people at hudsonvalleyruins.org, this plant dates back to the 50’s, when the Hudson Cement Factory decided to exploit vast limestone deposits in this 300-acre site. It was previously occupied by brick yards which went out of business like numerous others by World War II. Many of these white silos, up to 300 feet tall, appeared along the Hudson ... Continue Reading

... stays in Monticello, but I can tell you anyway. I enjoy exploring abandoned buildings, sharing those time capsules with people, but every now and then we get kicked out rather unceremoniously. This was such a time in the small town of Monticello, NY, where I was chased down a few blocks after pushing my luck a little too far. Don't get me wrong, it has happened before and will happen again. It's not completely undeserved, if you know what ... Continue Reading

I am proud to present my very first photo book, “The Unnoticed”, available now at Blurb.com. I've assembled 110 photos from 10 abandoned locations in this 136-page volume, available in hard cover, soft cover, and ebook format for iPad/iPhone. Just like the show I set up earlier this year at the Albany Uncommon Grounds, putting this book together was an interesting experience that I recommend to any photographer, and I'll share more about this process in this post. ... Continue Reading

I am proud to present my very first photo show, “The Unnoticed”, on display at Uncommon Grounds in Albany, NY for the next 7 weeks. This series of 30 photos was selected from my Urban Exploration collection, a small journey through abandoned memories of Upstate New York that I invite you to share with me. ... Continue Reading