# Some shots from my visits to West Park



## fly my pretties (Sep 15, 2009)

*Some shots from my visits to West Park (updated btm pg 1)*

I think 99% of the planet know about West Park Asylum by now, so I don't know what else to say really. I have been documenting this massive complex for the last year, and have seen it get worse with every subsequent visit. I don't think it's current state is going to last much longer, as vandals and taggers have started to visit with alarming frequency.

I have around 300 different photos covering pretty much the entire complex, taken over eight visits starting last september. I've listed a few of my favourites here, though it's hard to pick favourites because each image of West Park is just as good as any other in my opinion. As I'm also a commercial photographer, I even took a model with me there to do a shoot in the padded cells, I think that may have been a first! It was for his portfolio and he wanted something interesting. The third shot is of him getting changed between shoots. I lugged studio lights, reflectors and powerpacks with me that day, it was a long journey from the car park to the cells, especially with a portable studio on your back and three cameras!

Hope you enjoy.


----------



## UrbanX (Sep 15, 2009)

Wow, great shots! A bit of a write up wouldn't have gone a miss, even if it was just your experience. 
Looking forward to your future reports!


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 15, 2009)

Oh christ, I did a writeup and must've copied over it when I pasted the URLS! I'll write something now. Thanks for the comments


----------



## ImmortalShadow (Sep 15, 2009)

Some great photo's there, the unmade beds are slightly creepy! I like the perspective shot along the corridor, and is that a hoover in the photo above it? 

Also, I wouldn't like to have a bath in that bath....


----------



## v-w-chick (Sep 15, 2009)

f*ckin the best pics. love it and welcome also i just added you on flickr, kelly by the way 

i soo need to go there !!


----------



## iwaniwan (Sep 15, 2009)

i can say straight away : that man knows how to use his camera. 
imho one of the best WP shots i ever seen

PS: i sent u a friend invitation on flickr


----------



## lilli (Sep 15, 2009)

fly my pretties said:


> I even took a model with me there to do a shoot in the padded cells, I think that may have been a first!



To be honest your prob one of quite a few or even one of many! 

Nice shots thou


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 15, 2009)

lilli said:


> To be honest your prob one of quite a few or even one of many!
> 
> Nice shots thou



I dunno, I'd be surprised if any other commercial shoots have taken place in the cells.


----------



## bonecollector (Sep 15, 2009)

That last shot is fu##ing amazing.
I could quite happily hang that on my wall.
Excellent pics.


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 15, 2009)

Thank you very much for the kind words everyone


----------



## lilli (Sep 15, 2009)

fly my pretties said:


> I dunno, I'd be surprised if any other commercial shoots have taken place in the cells.



Part of a recent "grime" music video was shot in there .... they also filmed in Guildford/Granton ward  There was also a graffiti photographer that was taking "artists" in there recently while making a video documenting their work and taking still shots.


----------



## mookster (Sep 15, 2009)

fantastic photos, added you as a contact on flickr too


----------



## iwaniwan (Sep 15, 2009)

lilli said:


> Part of a recent "grime" music video was shot in there .... they also filmed in Guildford/Granton ward  There was also a graffiti photographer that was taking "artists" in there recently while making a video documenting their work and taking still shots.



i heard about that video once i had unwanted conversation wit sec @ westpark anyone know where can i find it??


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 20, 2009)

lilli said:


> Part of a recent "grime" music video was shot in there .... they also filmed in Guildford/Granton ward  There was also a graffiti photographer that was taking "artists" in there recently while making a video documenting their work and taking still shots.



Hmm, damn, well, were any of them naked? My model was! lol


----------



## diehardlove (Sep 20, 2009)

dam why couldnt it of been a women,id have paid to see that
nice pics got to say some real fine work there


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 20, 2009)

hahah, yeah tell me about it. Bodybuilder ass and a padded cell just don't do the eyes any favours


----------



## tbkscott (Sep 20, 2009)

wow totally amazing photos mate well done love them all.


----------



## Foz77 (Sep 20, 2009)

Top shots there fella - they p*ss on most of the over-the-top HDR stuff out there (imo)

Thing I love about these sort of place is the "Marie Celeste" feel of them - how stuff is just left behind - bed linen, clothes etc. Almost as if eveyone left in a hurry.

"Right, we're closing this hospital down, ahh we'll just leave the bedsheets and the dental molds. Come on, let's lock up for good"

PS Can I ask what camera you prefer to use??


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 20, 2009)

Thanks man

That's exactly the impression I get when I walk around there. So much stuff just seems to have been discarded int he blink of an eye. Like you say, almost as if every single person just decided to drop whatever they were doing and leave in unison.


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 20, 2009)

Here is a couple more pictures


----------



## Allstar#500 (Sep 20, 2009)

Some very good shots there. It has left me wondering though how much do you play about with the photos in photoshop to add the sort of dark and dingey affects or is alot of it down to the original image? I don't know anything about photography you see and would love to produce something like that


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 20, 2009)

Well, in essense, everything is down to the original image. You can only work on what is already there. Don't get me wrong, the pictures look vastly different from what they do in the camera, but the interplay between light and shadow is what allows you to work on a picture so heavily. 

But to answer the question of how much I play about with them, I would say a lot. But, the changes are quite subtle, and each change builds upon an element of the picture that already exists. 

Essentially, I just change shit in photoshop until it looks good. Sometimes it takes ten minutes, sometimes it takes an hour. If it's paid work, it might take me three days.


----------



## james.s (Sep 20, 2009)

Very nice photos! I look forward to more reports from you


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 21, 2009)

Foz77 said:


> PS Can I ask what camera you prefer to use??



Didn't notice this before, sorry, wasn't ignoring the question.

I own a few cameras, but I always use the same two when in West Park. I use a Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-70L lens, and a Canon 50D with a 10-22 lens.


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 23, 2009)

Went back today and grabbed a few shots. Nothing to write home about, but this was my favourite one of the day:


----------



## Allstar#500 (Sep 24, 2009)

Simply... wow.. :shocked:


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 25, 2009)

Thanks. Got another picture to update.


----------



## Winchester (Sep 25, 2009)

Nice one, managed to work the cocks off the wall?

Such a shame it was Vandalised.


----------



## Allstar#500 (Sep 26, 2009)

The cocks got cleaned off, shame it was replaced by a couple of strange smiley faces


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 28, 2009)

couple more shots from today. Going to post them as I process rather than just as one big update.


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 28, 2009)

A few more:


----------



## mookster (Sep 29, 2009)

haha nice to see the walking stick I slid down the line of coat hangers is still there

stunning shots there mate, the floor buffers look like they're ganging up on that lone hoover!


----------



## fly my pretties (Sep 29, 2009)

Cheers mate, I can't take credit for the buffer shot, I just took the picture. I met a couple of good guys there, and one of them had a stroke of genius for the floor buffers so we spent twenty minutes or so moving them to create the scene.


----------



## SONAR (Oct 1, 2009)

great shots John, see you very soon I hope!


----------



## fly my pretties (Oct 2, 2009)

Definitely man, looking forward to it

Another update, some old, some new.


----------



## mookster (Oct 2, 2009)

again some of the best photos I've seen from West Park, love that first aid box one


----------



## fly my pretties (Oct 7, 2009)

Thanks Mookster.. Here's another I just finished work on.

Taken just outside the padded cell


----------



## Allstar#500 (Oct 7, 2009)

Blimey that ones a bit gruesome, but simply brilliant


----------



## mookster (Oct 7, 2009)

brilliant

*turns into raving fanboy*


----------



## Digitographer (Oct 16, 2009)

What a truly stunning set of photographs - possibly the absolute best I've seen on here, and that's saying something!


----------



## v-w-chick (Oct 16, 2009)

god i love this place, been thinkin about it for a while, really love it!
and ur pics just make it!!! VERY GOOD PHOTOGRAPHY 
kelly


----------

