Why do you do it?

[tom83]

Why do you do it???

I get asked this alot from various family and friends, regarding Urban Exploration, especially now Ive had a brush with the local plod.

My answer is simple, I have a great interest in the 1st and 2nd World Wars and am a collector of Militaria from that period. Ive done my family tree and found out a great deal about my ancestors actions during the wars.

Now I want to visit the remaining Military Sites and photograph them in their current states for my own experience before they are demolished and forgotten underneath future Building developments.

Although I must admit, since joining this site I find myself getting interested in Hospitals and Industrial Sites for future explores, never say never so to speak.

The reason for this post is because Im curious as to how and why everyone else on here got into Urbexing, and I for one would love to hear how your first steps into this odd recreation came about.

Tom

 

[littledasypus]

Interesting...

Thats really interesting because it is almost completely different from why I do it. I get fed up with being trapped in the grid of ordinary life. If most people look at a map of their area and mark the routes they usually travel through it, all the paths and roads and places you are supposed to go, they cover such a tiny area of available space. We've built a world where our movements are largely dictated by lines and grids, and everywhere is owned by someone. So I like to go on adventures. I didn't even bother to document my explores until I joined sf0 (zero on the end, not 'o'), which is my other favorite hobby (website sf0.org), which if you take a look you will either get, or you won't. Now I have changed my perspective enough that I don't see a flat landscape that dictates my path, if I'm out and about, I see possibilities in many directions and everything is a lot less mundane.

I don't know if I'm explaining it right, maybe sounds a bit pretentious, but its hard to put it in words. I guess I just like fun more than I like real life! What can I say, I like to stray from the path. I've been doing it since I lived in Boston in the US as a kid, it jsut feels natural to poke your nose into the more interesting bits of your environment.

 

[urbtography]

I agree with Dasy, It is more interesting to wander off the beaten track, see what others may not ever see. I do it for some of the same reasons really, i get bored with always seeing what other people see and going where they go, i also love photography so combining the two is urbex really.

 

[zimbob]

Twas the glamour that attracted me

 

[lost]

Like littledasypus said - escapism

 

[Pip]

I'm not a 'hardcore' urbexer or anything , I'm just really fed-up seeing places from 'my' past slowly being eroded away. I'm getting more into my local history, enjoying books about local life from years past.
At the moment, a local hospital appears to be losing space/buildings to modern revampment/housing and I've got to say that it really pisses me off:icon_evil
Since joining this forum I have discovered so much (not directly) about my area that I probably would never have known about, and for that I thank you all for giving me ideas


Pip

 

[Black Shuck]

I enjoy being different and going to places other people would not dream of. A lot of my family think I am totally mad with what I do but I just say I have an interest in History and architcture and to me its totally normal! Its good to be different to the rest of society because if they are not interested then they will never see what I have seen, so in a way I find myself lucky.

 

[shatters]

I'm a nosey bast**d

Phil

 

[Black Shuck]

I'm a nosey bast**d

Phil

Short and to the point Shatters! But very funny!

 

[natevansate]

It was down to getting the train past battersea and it always called out for me to explore it, so i started to search. I still need to do battersea but at least im doing what i love now, and that it has pretty much sorted my photography degree out.

 

[escortmad79]

Mainly my love of old buildings, getting inside & seeing what treasures may lie inside.

Fantasically carved stonework, ornate plasterwork etc

The fact that various Scottlish castles & mansions have been abandoned fascinates me.

Old industrial history, from a time when we did actually have an industry, recording all in photographic form for future generations to see.

That & I'm a nosey git too!

 

[ricasso]

Twas the glamour that attracted me

not the uniform then?

 

[mcspringzy]

I do it because I crave internet attention.

 

[Evilgenius]

I enjoy being different and going to places other people would not dream of. A lot of my family think I am totally mad with what I do but I just say I have an interest in History and architcture and to me its totally normal! Its good to be different to the rest of society because if they are not interested then they will never see what I have seen, so in a way I find myself lucky.

Il go with Black Shuck, plus the rush of knowing your not meant to be in certain places and you could get busted, gets the heart pumping!!

 

[Andyj23uk]

because i can

 

[Dystopia]

Andyj23uk-Love your signature!

Well for me it is largely curiosity and I enjoy the sounds, smells and textures of things as well as sight. As weird as it sounds, it feels "natural" to me and brings a strange sense of peace when I'm in somewhere and the madness of society is outside and unaware that I'm there. I also like the thrill of knowing I shouldn't be there and could be discovered. Then there is the social side-I've explored with loads of great people and continue to meet fun folks through this hobby.

 

[thirtyfootscrew]

The pay's good, and at least we get dental .

The real reason is kind-of varied, I initially got (back) into urbex through photography but deep down it's something most of us did when we were kids - you just naturally explore everywhere around you. As an adult that will to encounter the unknown diminishes and most 'normal' people's idea of exploring their environment is going to a new shopping centre or eating at a new restaurant.

Even in the time I've not been doing 'real' urbex I've always been a wanderer, I spent months trying to find different ways to walk to work across London so I could see more alleyways and back streets and got photos if memorable people, places and events like these...




... just by putting myself in different places and taking in the world around me (and there's a good few cool things I didn't get photos of either). I'm not saying they're great photos but they represent different and varied slices of life that I'd never have seen if I just got the tube or just walked around ignoring the world around me like so many people do.

This has turned into a bit of an "I have a dream..." post but to answer your question really - I do it because it gives me a different view of the world and I do it because it makes me feel the freedom that most people let slip away.

 

[mexico75]

It's the buzz of being somewhere your not supposed to be, closest I can find to regressing to my childhood Plus you get some great shots and meet some top people along the way Oh and it's a lot cheaper than going to the pub on weekends.

 

[apoo..]

i like being a kid again

 

[Foxylady]

Wow...all of the above really. How long have you got?
From a very early age I would contrive to get lost so that I could discover new places by myself, then later exploring farmhouse remains... finding bits of broken crockery and other treasures in the fields to put in my 'museum'.
I have an insatiable curiosity about the world around me. I love the countryside, photography, walking and making connections with the land by discovering where a lane ends up and where the gate across the field leads to...it never fails to make me happy...and researching the local history and tying it all up together.
I love going into an abandoned building or forbidden site and feeling as if I've crossed a doorway into another world where no-one else goes...and the adrenalin rush of taking loads of pics and getting away with it unseen.
And then there's the aesthetics...architecture, gorgeous and interesting details, peeling paint...lol...and finding something that I didn't know was there...and being where ordinary people had become extraordinary during WW2...
...and coming home soaked to the skin and covered in mud and scratches from brambles, just like I did as a kid. The only difference is, I don't get my legs slapped now!