HAUS DIGITAL

Leave only footprints, take only pictures

Consider yourself a guerrilla historian? Then you may be part of one of the fastest growing and exciting disciplines of photography: Urban Exploration. Howard Mosley-Chalk talks to adventurer, photographer and ‘Urbex’ professional Ben Tucker.

“Someone is planning to climb the Minster”, my old boss once told me, “there’s people chatting about how they’ll do it on some weird online photography forum.” As I was working for that particular ‘big church’ at the time, I had something of a passing interest in how someone might by-pass security and scale the centuries-old stones. I looked at the forum. Apparently it had been done before: anonymous contributors writing about their dangerous adventures on the roof of York’s tallest building. ‘What scamps’, I thought… then I caught a glimpse of the pictures.

There were men all clad in black, climbing the scaffolding of the Minster’s east front, lead-topped roofs and exposed ancient stones. As it appeared to be the dead of night the shots over an eerily still York, all subtly alight and gently glowing orange, were incredible. In fact the whole discussion forum was incredible and it turned out the Minster-boys were only the amateurs. That was my first introduction to the phenomena now known as Urban Exploration (aka ‘Urbex’) and from then on I was fascinated by it. I forgot all about the potential ‘new’ climbing of the cathedral. Ah well, good luck to ‘em…

I caught up with Ben Tucker, a photographer whose website (http://www.benscamera.com/urbex) opens with: “Urban Exploration is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limit parts of urban spaces or industrial facilities. How many times in your life will you see a building such as a hospital stand completely still…?” I asked him how he was first introduced:

“I stumbled upon Urbex completely by chance. It all started a couple of years ago. I was taking a walk in the countryside not too far from my house in Wakefield when I stumbled upon some abandoned ruins of what used to be an old town. The place was really old and most of what remained was just shells of buildings which looked to be at least a couple of hundred years old and one more modern farm house which had suffered a large fire. The whole roof was gone and I had a wonder around and took a couple of photographs. When got back home I went on the internet to do some research simply to find out some more information about this abandoned little village, that’s when I came across a few websites dedicated to Urban Exploration.

Hours of reading later I was already hooked and planning a number of further visits to various sites and the adrenalin was already pumping. After doing a couple more explores I was addicted; going out in search of new places, ones that hadn’t been documented and revisiting a few more popular sites which were frequented by various people who shared a passion for Urbex.”

I’ve seen the term ‘Guerrilla Historian’ applied to urban exploration photographers. What does this actually mean and would you consider yourself one?

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term before but I’m certainly a fan of the phrase. My interpretation of that would be that we are historians using none traditional means to document through photographs and research the decaying derelict society that we so often overlook. I can honestly say that before I started with Urban Exploration I didn’t have a clue how many abandoned places there are around us, now I find myself spotting potential sites wherever I go.

A big part of the challenge/fun for me is establishing the history and the story behind these places. Google has of course made this much easier for us but it can still be pretty tricky, in some cases you really have to look for some clue at the site that might give an indication of the places previous name or even a matter of simply confirming the buildings address.”

It sounds like your lens has seen quite a few special places. Do you have any one particular favorite location you have explored?

“There are so many to choose from… I’m personally a fan of the larger industrial sites and old hospitals as I find these to be the most interesting and photogenic. The best site I’ve been to would have to be Thorpe Marsh Power Station, just outside Doncaster. Although most of the site has been cleared, the cooling towers remain and the sheer size of those things give me goose bumps every time I spot them in the distance when approaching the site. There’s not a lot left to see other than the towers themselves but the site is pretty out of the way and so the risk of being caught is much lower and the towers make for some great photographs.

I’d really like to explore some more hospitals, every attempt I’ve made so far has been relatively unsuccessful with the exception of Whittingham, an old mental asylum where we managed to get access to one small part of the site. In the future I’d love to visit some abandoned buildings abroad, top of my list at the moment is Prypiat in Ukraine which is an abandoned city which used to have a population of 50,000 people before being completely abandoned following the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant. The place itself is so well preserved and holds so much history I’d love to visit sometime in the not too distant future.”

You speak about the risk of being caught – what kind of dangers do you put yourself in to get that perfect photo?

“The thing about Urbex is that most of the places you visit have some form of danger associated with them, either the danger of getting in, the danger of getting caught or the sheer danger of the building itself. If come across all sorts from really unstable floors which were crumbling and collapsing as I walked on them, to some places which were really difficult to access and involved all sorts of climbing and crawling.

One which stands out was probably the aforementioned Thorpe Marsh Power Station. There is a building in between two of the cooling towers which has some really old rusty metal staircases on the outer wall. First you have to climb a rope (which someone has kindly placed there) and pull yourself up to the first level which is difficult and dangerous in itself. Climbing the stairs was so scary, every footstep felt like it might be my last and I held the rails so tight my knuckles turned white! Although the photos I got that day were not the best I’ve captured simply due to the light and weather conditions I’m glad me and a friend braved the ascent and I’ll probably go back and see if I can get the shots I was after.”

How do you respond to those that call themselves Urban Explorers but only really do it for the excitement of trespassing?

“People explore these places for a variety of reasons and I’ve heard a fellow explorer quote one of the websites “leave only footsteps, take only pictures”. I thought this was an excellent rule to live by and its one I have always adhered to.

I have always entered through natural access points never breaking or damaging to make my way into these buildings. I never take souvenirs and I never vandalise. These rules make a lot of sense though, if you cause damage to enter the building you are committing a criminal offence of breaking and entering, if you take something away from the site you risk the chance of criminal prosecution for theft. If you follow the simple rules at worst you are looking at a civil offence of trespass if you get caught. Although I do get some excitement about the trespassing aspect it’s not my primary reason for going to these places; I like to document and photograph these places, learning more about them before they eventually get demolished. If those who do Explore simply for the buzz of being somewhere they shouldn’t be don’t cause any damage or draw any unnecessary attention to themselves or the site I have no issue with them.

Everyone I have met does this for their own reasons, the only people I take issue with are those that visit these places to cause damage and to steal things.”

Any experience of Urbex in York? If not, is there a structure or building in York you would like to explore and document?

“I’m sure there must be some real gems to explore in York given the age of the city. I expect most of the really old ones have become tourist attractions but The further you get from the centre I bet you can find some interesting sites.

I’ve visited an old nursing home in Stanford Bridge which isn’t too far from York; in fact that was one of my first explores. I’ll never forget that visit because my mother actually tagged along with me as she had worked at the place whilst is was still open before the fires which ultimately lead to the building becoming derelict. The building itself was quite unsafe having suffered a lot of damage in the fire so preceding with caution I explored the site and my mother provided a running commentary about the history and details of each of the parts of the building.”

I’m no photographer (nor much of an explorer) and yet I’ve heard about Urban Exploration and understand the basic principles. As interest grows in the sub-culture, what do see as the future for Urbex?

“Unfortunately I see a rapid decline in the future of Urbex. As its popularity grows at such an alarming rate so too will the publicity surrounding it. The more people that take part will lead to more being caught, more being injured and ultimately the majority of the best sites will become secured in such a way that it becomes nearly impossible to get back in.

It’s already happening, more and more of the sites I have been to upon return visits I find have been tightly secured with new metal shutters and little prospect of natural entry points. Some might argue that as older buildings become secured, new ones will become derelict and there will be a continual cycle of sites worth visiting. Although this is correct to some extent, I imagine that over the next few years there will be fewer opportunities to gain access to some of the better sites and more increasingly some of the ‘classic’ sites are being demolished. Take Cane Hill for example, a large ex mental-health hospital. it’s an Urbex dream, a brilliant site which has stood derelict for years but over the last couple of years demolition has started, security has tightened and the majority of the site has since been leveled. You’ll find this is a common theme at the moment with a lot of the older hospitals being knocked down for various reasons. It’s such a pity to see them go because they hold so much history and I regret getting into exploration too late to have seen some of these amazing sites. Urbex will ultimately become a victim of its own popularity.”

Ben’s work is a study of decay. Although the sites he photographs are no longer in use and separated from us, we can all relate to the subject. Urban life is all about decay; it is around us constantly as the buildings we live and work in are themselves in line to be the Urbex photographer’s folly of the future.

There are clearly those that do it for the thrill; for the fun of the chase, the breath-taking heights and the sense of being somewhere they shouldn’t. There are also those that do for posterity’s sake; those that wish to record and document what is left of our past via a modern and accessible a medium. Either approach, I believe, must be congratulated. Urbex is a reaction to the increasing and nauseating ‘Health & Safety’ attitudes of today’s society; those that stop people exploring their own urban landscape. As the rite to roam protects the explorers of the countryside, so there should be the city alternative. Until then, let our world be revealed by these gallant artists.