Urban Decay - Bourton Mill

S

SKM

Messages
3,119
Edit My Images
No
The mill has operated under many different guises from producing boilers, steam lorries and gas engines, in the first World War, hand grenades and from 1933 until 1998 operated as a dried milk plant following which it has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair but a fantastic place for photography with with graffiti covered walls, carnage and many of the original rusting machines and plant

The whole site is now fenced and boarded up but we found a gap in the fence and an open door to give access - but only by climbing down a 20 odd ft vertical ladder

28412504070_f6cd78dd4e_z.jpg


Here is a taste of what we found

Stan

28664628406_70ee9c9e8c_c.jpg


28412510630_b26b38da2f_c.jpg


28696897495_03d607717f_c.jpg


28079803374_f3fe2bb029_c.jpg
 
stanm said:
Pardon ??

I thought that was the whole point of posting on a forum
Click to expand...
Sorry, hope I didn't come across as rude there, I didn't want to add any critique without knowing that is what you where after.

Firstly that looks a fantastic venue and your exposure looks spot on. Kudos for finding a way in. I just don't feel drawn into the pictures, perhaps there's too much detail in them I don't know where I want to look. An addition of a distant figure would work really well.
 
There's a great bit of graffiti in your third image, to the right. That could be very interesting
 
Last edited:
Sorry, doesn't really work for me, Looks like you've dabbled with a bit of HDR ? makes the image very flat and cluttered to me, maybe focussing on some graffitti detail might have worked. As far as "urbex" locations go it's pretty uninteresting. Maybe try and get a bit of moodyness into it.....just my opinion mate.
 
Looks like a good spot to have a walk about, maybe try picking out some detail rather than using a wide angle lens and getting as much as possible into the frame. Also, its a shame there doesn't look to be much in the way of small items of interest to pick out such as old tools etc such things often make effective still life type images in these types of places!

Matt
 
Thanks guys

I have not bothered to come back on this one and although I do welcome all sorts of feedback, be it positive or negative I can't really get my head around these - the same images were posted on another forum to which I received lots of positive feedback. Could of course be they were all wrong, but the one comment that sticks out her e is ' as far as urbex locations go it is pretty uninteresting'. There is so much detail, colour and decay how can that be said. These shots were just to give a bit of an overview and as well as the wide angle I shot and posted close ups elsewhere of the rusty machinery and tools left behind but haven't posted here as there seemed to be little point

Stan
 
I think it's a target market issue.

The location looks fascinating - enormous potential. The images presented here are quite small, crammed full of bright pumped up colours and given very strong shadow recovery (I can see the shadow noise even at this size) that makes them tonally fairly flat and un-involving *for a photographer*. Composition is patchy, with the first being the strongest, and the rest looking like record shots for information rather than having expressive photographic intent. Showing these pictures to people interested in urbex but not photography for it's own sake is likely to provoke a positive response. Showing them to people who are serious about photography and have an interest in urbex has resulted in the comments here.

To me, they're not strong images that communicate, but are rather brightly coloured record shots that would work well on Facebook or Instagram - target market. I was just looking at your damselfly shots - so completely different where this approach helps rather than hinders - and lovely to see.
 
Last edited:
The comments of mine you referred to, i was trying to say if its an "urbex" shot then the place (to me) is pretty boring but that's personal preference i suppose. I dabble a bit and there's a gazillion more interesting places of its that type of photography you trying to do.
 
I'm no expert but I would go back and focus on some of the smaller details. amazing find.
 
Great find! Some of the graffiti looks interesting, and I like the machinery and the detail in the ceiling on the last photo, so maybe closer up with more detail would be good.
 
Before I read the comments I thought pretty much the same as everyone else.
It would be cool to invite some lad with skateboards and bikes to break in with you though. It looks an awesome venue.

It's a bit hypocritical of you specifically ask for critique and then dismiss the critique because you have had positive comments from elsewhere. That's kinda the point, not everyone's taste is the same.
 
I've done a bit of urbex in my time (see my signature), so I'll weigh in with a few comments:

1) Compositionally, they're all broadly similar - looking at scenes from more or less the same angle. Try varying the compositions - try getting down low, try getting closer to things, try looking at things side on, try isolating things of interest.

2) If you can, use different lenses and / or focal lengths. I don't know what equipment you use or if this is an option for you.

3) To be honest, it's not the most interesting of locations from an urbex perspective, but there again, not everywhere is Battersea Power Station or Pyestock, and I've photographed loads of empty mills myself over the years, with varying degrees of success. The secret is getting some variety in the photographs that you take (or show) and trying to find things that capture the essence of the place. That can be hard when you've not got much to go with. My approach is to wander round and take the place in, just observe it and see what stands out, then start to photograph things that catch my eye. Themes then start to emerge in what I see and photograph - windows, graffiti, doorways, furniture, decaying walls or architectural features, etc.

Hope this helps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top