BLOG - Blog

The destruction of a true work of art is never something to revel in. The erasure of a beautiful cathedral like Philadelphia's St. Bonaventure is a tragedy for all, and an enormous hole torn both literally and figuratively in the community around it. An Abandoned America blog by Matthew Christopher


Read More

With every place lost, you lose a part of yourself.


Read More

Abandoned sites are more than just places to photograph or ways of getting away from the rules of society. Often they are the physical manifestation of something that has gone horribly wrong.


Read More

Does the photography of ruins exploit its subjects? It's a frequent criticism of the genre of work, and one that I disagree strongly with. Here's why.


Read More

The illusion of safety is all a matter of what side of the fence you're on.


Read More

One can endlessly summarize the experience of visiting an abandoned place or its past, but to what end?


Read More

Abandoned places: halfway between reality and somewhere else.


Read More

What if abandoned sites are our society's most important wake up call?


Read More

I don't know that a perpetual state of mourning is the answer, and sometimes I feel that perhaps it's a bit selfish. No matter how legitimate your suffering, its effect is often to turn your gaze inwards and sever your connection with others and the world around you.[html]


Read More

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing all of this for.


Read More

An isolative nature and abandoned sites go together quite well, surprisingly.


Read More

The effects of depression and the effects of decay are remarkably similar.


Read More

I come across a great many dead things during my travels. Some affect me more than others.


Read More

If, at it's core, the photography of ruins is dealing with death and mortality, how should it approach the subject? How does the literal depiction of death through art and photography play into the subject? In this post we'll examine these topics and try to come to some conclusion about the purpose and approach taken with regards to the subject, and what can be expected by the viewer. Thoughts and opinions are welcome.
Read More

What are reasonable expectations of the genre of the photography of ruins? What makes one's body of work a success or a failure? What expectations are reasonable to have of this line of art and the photographers who work in it? Who is to blame for the staggering losses these photographs present? Short answer: I don't know, and probably me.
Read More

What constitutes "ruin porn"? How did the term come about? And what is its use and validity in the discussion of photography of ruins? In the first installment of this series, I will explain the history and evolution of this overused term and where it fits into the dialogue about abandoned sites, preservation, and art. Thoughts and comments welcome.
Read More

Sometimes it's hard to get into how to edit photos during an on-site workshop. If you'd like to find out about RAW processing, bracketing, and layering in Photoshop, come join me in Philly for a fun night of photo processing, a Q&A, and light refreshments.


Read More