abandonedbathroom 1From time to time I would like to highlight one of the countries that I have explored. Recently I have shared an article regarding my favourite country, Italy. If you haven’t read that yet make sure to check it out! There are some photographs in the article and I am sure you will like it.

This article however, is about the amazing France. The photos have been taken in the past 5 years of exploring and photographing abandoned buildings in this country. The buildings you see in the photos have a wide range regarding their purpose. They’ve been for examples homes, churches, hospitals, castles and transportation.

abandonedroom 1One place was obviously harder to visit than the other. Most of these buildings were a walk in the park, everything was open and no-one was looking after it anymore. Some of the buildings however, required me to carefully plan where and when I parked my car, walked across a park, climbed into an open window or crawled through a hole. It’s not always easy but I will use an entrance that’s already there. When a building is closed, it’s closed and I move on to the next one. That’s part of the game.

 

abandonedcloister

abandonedchurch 2

 

France has a lovely architecture and history which fascinates me. That’s one of the reasons why I love shooting abandoned buildings in this country. Funny thing is there is a noticeable difference between the Northern part of the country and the Southern part.

Personally I enjoy exploring the Southern part more. Roads seem to be wider, people seem to be less and there is definitely more sun. Buildings are just as beautiful as in the North though. The North is more accessible for me. Interestingly enough some of the buildings in the photos have either been destroyed or are in renovation. For example, the beautiful chapel with plants on the floor is undergoing renovation works. The cloister above has been damaged heavily recently and is undergoing repairs. The church on the right has unfortunately collapsed.

I currently use a Sony A7Rii with a 16-32mm wide-angle Zeiss lens, and a 24-70mm zoom Zeiss lens. In the past I’ve been used to shooting with a Canon EOS 650d and a 10-18mm Canon wide-angle lens. When shooting abandoned buildings, I mostly use my wide-angle to try and capture as much of the room as possible.

 

More photos can be seen below:
abandonedwinefactory abandonedstairs 3 abandonedstairs 2 abandonedstairs 1abandonedroom 2 abandonedlivingroomabandonedhospital abandonedgreenhous 1 abandonedgreenhhouse 2 abandonedcontrolroomabandonedchurch 1 abandoned chapel france abandonedcar abandonedbathroom 2 abandonedpiano abandonedmorgue