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The Beauty Of Urban Decay
The city is a fantastic source of beauty and inspiration, with all the glitz and glamor glistening beneath the city lights. But there is another side of the city altogether, one rife with its own kind of allure. Across the tracks, away from the dazzle of downtown, lies a darker imagination, this one looking to grunge-ridden, dilapidated architecture for inspiration. There is a beauty that pervades this kind of urban decay and captured wonderfully through a photographer’s well-trained eye. These industrial city scenes are wonderfully dark and offer a glimpse of the weathered face beneath the city facade.
In this inspirational installment, we take a tour and show the charm of a more neglected and worn side of the city. We showcase the beauty of urban decay, a series of photos of this eroded elegance that photographers have captured brilliantly. These gorgeously grungy images have a haunting appeal, a stirring quality that radiates from within and that earned them a spot on this list.
You may want to take a look at the following related posts:
- The Beauty Of Street Photography
- 60 Beautiful Examples Of Night Photography
- 60 Stunning Underwater Photos
- 35 Beautiful Examples Of Rain Photography
- 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
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35 Beautiful Examples Of ‘Urban Decay Photography’
phill.d
“It never ceases to amaze me the different colors and effects you can achieve in a boring concrete R.C.P drain.”
Magnus Lindqvist
“Your Worst Nightmare”. “This is a bit different from what I normally shoot. I had this shot in my head for a very long time but it wasn’t until last weekend I finally shot it. The only light source is a shop light behind the door. The place is very narrow and kind of creepy. I had to make sure that the door behind me stayed open or it would have locked me in.” Lexington, Kentucky.
*pippyzz*
Fuckin’ days.
Escapista
That Train Don’t Stop Here Any More.
fotografie.berlin
“This Picture is not photoshopped. It’s real. Don’t really know how and why they made it.”
GraemeNicol
American Dollar.
Mr. Mark
Classic Blues in Cuba.
trocker
“Sienkiewicza”
Shifted*Exposure
Sun Beam.
stOOpidgErL
“Where Was God That Night”
photosecosse
Nevada City, Cart and Cabin, Ghost Town, Montana, USA.
Jano De Cesare
Corner mood. A corner in an abandoned asylum in Pistoia, Tuscany.
picaddict
Highgate Cemetery West London. This beautiful statue lying there as if it would be alive had to be covered with branches. (a wish of the the relatives) but the guide was so kind to clear the grave a little bit for us. I have never seen before in my life such a beautiful touching statue…
tofu_minx
Salton Sea – Bombay Beach – Broken Solitude.
anacm.silva
Aldeia de Mora – Vimioso, Portugal.
bsidez
Years of decay.
Darwin Bell
Rusty but proud.
DanielKHC
“Tyersall House”.
stephmel
“The Lonely Steps”.
scottnj
Curtains, a tattered old curtain hangs through the broken panes of glass in this abandoned old house.
inesbexiga
Door, Sobral de Monte Agraço – Portugal.
Wolfgang Staudt
Decay – the door in a hospital, Saarbruecken, Germany.
sheke1
“Somebody’s Bad Luck”
Ride My Pony
Corner Desk.
sheke1
Bells Piano.
Gundross
“Postnuclear”
bsidez
La Chartreuse. It’s a beautiful abandoned fortress in Liege, Belgium.
phill.d
“It never ceases to amaze me the different colours and effects you can achieve in a boring concrete R.C.P drain.”
Pavel Horak
Industrial Documentary: The Stain.
Timothy Neesam
“Broadway”.
briantmurphy
“You are beautiful”. This building is just a mile or so from downtown New Orleans, on the bank of the Mississippi.
Gundross
” Postindustrial beauty”
A.Guandalini
Inside an abandoned country house, behind closed windows.
Eric Matthew Gustafson
“Steel Office”
Dan Dumitriu
“Post-modern burial”
Last Click
Serret
“levels of initiation”
For the last click, we present the image that got this entire ball of inspiration rolling. “A Moment Suspended In Time” was the picture we found that sparked this whole showcase being put together.
Marcin Stawiarz
“A Moment Suspended In Time”
Sources and Resources
- Decayed Yet Haunting Beautiful Flickr Pool
- Urban Decay Flickr Pool
- Urban Fragments Flickr Pool
- Industrial Decay
- Urban Exploration
- Some Urban Decay Flickr Pool
- Abandoned Flickr Pool
- Urban and Rural Photography on Deviant Art
- Urban LIFE in Metropolis Flickr Group
Related posts
You may want to take a look at the following related posts:
- The Beauty Of Street Photography
- 60 Beautiful Examples Of Night Photography
- 60 Stunning Underwater Photos
- 35 Beautiful Examples Of Rain Photography
- 45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
(al)
Robert Bowen is an emerging author, celebrated podcaster and poet, and most recently the co-founder and imaginative co-contributor of the creative design and blogging duo at the Arbenting Freebies Blog and Dead Wings Designs.
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January 18th, 2009 8:12 pmAwesome Urban Decay Photography. A great source of beauty and inspiration.
- 3January 18th, 2009 8:14 pm
wow. such beautiful decay indeed!
- 4January 18th, 2009 8:28 pm
Nice article. Urban decay.. hmm I grew up in the city. /nostalgia
- 5January 18th, 2009 8:33 pm
This is Remarkable! Some images remind me of Da Vinci’s Drawings.
Keep it up Guys! - 6January 18th, 2009 8:41 pm
Beautiful!
- 7January 18th, 2009 8:48 pm
beutiful!
- 8January 18th, 2009 8:49 pm
Simply Beautiful photography. Great Job!
- 9January 18th, 2009 8:57 pm
Great collection.. here is another photographer who does outstanding ‘decay’ work
http://www.callybeart.com/gallery_134150.html - 10January 18th, 2009 9:06 pm
Awesome captures!
- 11January 18th, 2009 9:21 pm
more wonderful urban decay from yves marchand & romain meffre: http://reliques.online.fr/ and roche photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rochephoto/sets/72157603917583359/
- 12January 18th, 2009 9:27 pm
Yay, not a terrible comic!
- 13January 18th, 2009 9:31 pm
Loved it!
- 14January 18th, 2009 9:33 pm
Nice photography….good collection !!
DKumar M.
- 15January 18th, 2009 9:33 pm
inspirational… who would have thought that even in decay there’s such a beauty
- 16January 18th, 2009 10:11 pm
Some of these are over-processed HDR…but there are some amazing straight shots as well. Almost all show very good composition and creative ability.
- 17January 18th, 2009 10:49 pm
I have quite a lot of these in my “Abandoned Places” set on Flickr. Mostly tunnels, reservoirs, buildings and factories around Sydney, Australia.
- 18January 18th, 2009 11:03 pm
I was actually with Tim Neesam when he took that photo. I would agree with #12 about many of these being over-processed. Personally, I’m mostly a purist with my urban exploration photography. On the rare occasion I use HDR, I go for a “natural” look, if such a thing can be true of HDR photography.
Here are some of my urban exploration photos: LINK
- 19January 18th, 2009 11:38 pm
Beautiful Photos.
- 20January 19th, 2009 12:15 am
Something different…Very nice collection!
- 21January 19th, 2009 12:41 am
I really aprecciate author. Beautifull pics
- 22January 19th, 2009 1:39 am
I love Marcin Stawiarz phorographies.
Great article! - 23January 19th, 2009 2:00 am
Nice article. Great snaps!
- 24January 19th, 2009 2:08 am
excellent collection of shots and perfect inspiration for the urban – industrial themes I am working on at the moment.
- 25January 19th, 2009 2:10 am
Awesome photos!
- 26January 19th, 2009 2:16 am
wow ! loved it !!!!!
- 27January 19th, 2009 2:22 am
Here’s one of mine, from Berlin ;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monsieurlam/413840339/in/set-72157612030242440/
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- 29January 19th, 2009 2:39 am
nice pictures, some are a little over-photoshopped maybe ,-), some not really urban… but very nice collection anyway!
- 30January 19th, 2009 2:50 am
Beautiful.. ^^
- 31January 19th, 2009 2:59 am
just an idea, whe n you put photography lists togethor, might be nice to post a follow up list of users efforts of the chosen style a week later something.
great pics
- 32January 19th, 2009 3:08 am
Beautiful!
I love these type of photos, every one tells its own story.
An history, pain en hapyness. Incredible!! very inspirational.I’m getting goosebumps :)
- 33January 19th, 2009 3:29 am
i love them, my favorite though is Marcin Stawiarz
- 34January 19th, 2009 3:43 am
i like it but…….those photos that is taken must preserve and they must make it more beautiful………
- 35January 19th, 2009 3:46 am
Шикарно
- 36January 19th, 2009 4:08 am
beautiful work. Little is more interesting than old, decayed architecture, in my opinion. I would love to have seen these before they were Photoshopped-up with colors, overlays and HDR filters.
Sometimes I think people grossly underestimate their work, believing the original image lacks interest until they “job it” – which is usually not the case.
- 37January 19th, 2009 5:12 am
Awesome! I love it.
- 38January 19th, 2009 5:13 am
Some great shots. Urban landscapes are probably my favourite subject to shoot, that and natural landscapes so thanks for these pics. Great inspiration. I have some of my own photos here.
- 39January 19th, 2009 5:25 am
I like the photos but not the tittle nor the idea. There is nothing beautiful about social injustice (urban decay). No matter how a photo portrays it, urban decay not only shows but tells the story of inequality and injustices done to anyone without equal access top resources.
- 40January 19th, 2009 5:36 am
Some of the are fantastic, some of them truly abuse the use of HDR
But great post over allWhere is the New Orleans Shot ?
http://www.jpgmag.com/photos/1399758 - 41January 19th, 2009 6:32 am
Too much HDR.
- 42January 19th, 2009 6:34 am
Here’s a great photo sample of an urban decay :D http://lostphotograph.com/index.php?showimage=148losh
- 43January 19th, 2009 6:40 am
Nature bestowing it´s beauty on itself once again.
- 44January 19th, 2009 6:55 am
“Broadway” by Timothy Neesan is beautiful.
- 45January 19th, 2009 7:12 am
These are stunning. I love this sort of photography, and would totally love to go and do some urban exploring. There is another site that’s as stunning as these – Opacity.us you might also check out sometime.
- 46January 19th, 2009 7:42 am
nice collection, but for an assemblage of “urban decay” there’s too much HDR and photoshop.
- 47January 19th, 2009 8:26 am
Wow, nice pics.
- 48January 19th, 2009 8:35 am
Those are fantastic! The photo by Escapista looks like it had a UV filter used.
- 49January 19th, 2009 9:38 am
most of them are just boring pictures with a LOT of photoshop filters.
- 50January 19th, 2009 9:52 am
Great collection of artists. One not listed is Xavier Nuez, http://www.nuez.com, he’s been photographing urban decay for years.
- 51January 19th, 2009 9:59 am
wow ! love this collection !
- 52January 19th, 2009 10:03 am
What a great post , Thanks so much for this post ;-)
- 53January 19th, 2009 10:17 am
your site says “Welcome Googler!” when I come from my google rss reader.. can you fix that?
very nice pics btw and i love your site! Thank you very much - 54January 19th, 2009 10:35 am
Thank you so much. These are beautiful!
- 55January 19th, 2009 11:45 am
Urban decay. URBAN FUCKING DECAY.
there were 3 photos in there that werent even urban you fucking fagg0t.
dont start posting photography on urban decay then show me a picuture of a farm house, or half a wall of an old mill in the middle of fucking no-where. you never mentioned the beauty of rural decay. - 56January 19th, 2009 12:05 pm
I like many of these shots, but the extensive use of HDR and/or PS make the pictures look like paintings, loosing ground with reality (to me). Of course that’s a personal feeling, but I would have enjoyed more “rawer” versions so to speak.
- 57January 19th, 2009 12:26 pm
For those who like this stuff you may be interested in my Urban Exploration photography: http://abandoniaphoto.com/
- 58January 19th, 2009 12:27 pm
Beautiful pictures
Although they do look like screenshots from Half-Life 2
- 59January 19th, 2009 12:35 pm
Overall I thought the post was a nice collection of images. But have to agree with some of the comments about overuse/abuse of PS filters. For some true B&W photography of Detroit, MI by my husband and photographer…
- 60January 19th, 2009 12:45 pm
You got the Magnus Lindquist link wrong. It links to stephmel’s flickr page. Magnus -if we’re talkign about the same guy- is from Pattern Recognition, nice guy
- 61January 19th, 2009 12:49 pm
nice one ! I love them ! :)
- 62January 19th, 2009 12:56 pm
I really like the broadway one. really cool stuff overall
- 63January 19th, 2009 12:59 pm
The shipwreck photo isn’t urban decay … it’s the Peter Iredale on the Oregon coast near Fort Stevens State Park.
- 64January 19th, 2009 1:03 pm
Boy
- 65January 19th, 2009 1:28 pm
HDR overload. I kept looking at this post because some of pics were very moving. It’s just a bummer when some images lose their DOF through HDR.
- 66January 19th, 2009 2:55 pm
I’ll throw my own urban exploration photography into the ring here: Flickr. I’ve been a fan of bsidez’s work for quite a while now, and although a lot of the photos here were heavily processed, I think they’re still great art in their own way.
- 67January 19th, 2009 4:46 pm
Inspiring… Well Done.
- 68January 19th, 2009 5:27 pm
The purity is lost through HDR.
- 69January 19th, 2009 6:52 pm
beautiful~
- 70January 19th, 2009 8:41 pm
Thanks for the ’smashing’ post. I have my own collection of photographs that I took a couple months ago that would fit perfectly in this category! This proves that beauty doesn’t have to be new, clean, and in one piece, but rather to respect what has been left behind.
- 71January 19th, 2009 8:47 pm
Thanks for the ’smashing’ post. I have a group of photographs that I took a couple of months ago that would fit perfect in this collection! These remind us that ‘beauty’ doesn’t have to be new, clean, and in one piece, but rather to embrace what has been left behind!
- 72January 19th, 2009 10:53 pm
Ultimate, indeed! Thanks!
- 73January 19th, 2009 11:03 pm
I like urban theme. Also made Berlin photos in last year http://galeria.bigismall.com/berlin/
- 74January 20th, 2009 1:14 am
HDR overload. I kept looking at this post because some of pics were very moving. It’s just a bummer when some images lose their DOF through HDR.
- 75January 20th, 2009 1:48 am
Further evidence that HDR is one of the most abused photo techniques ever. Your affinity to it is ongoing and, at least by me, not appreciated. I don’t want to whine and I know you can’t appeal to all, but just for feedback’s sake I am a web developer (HTML, CSS, jQuery, PHP) and a keen photographer for many years and I am on the very very brink of deleting your entry in my “open every day” favourites folder. Sure that comic has something to do with it, but the commenter’s are overwhelmingly juvenile and easily pleased, and offer very little constructive feedback, it’s all starting to seem like a waste of time :( Remember posts like these? http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/17/showcase-of-minimalist-and-clean-designs/ a real time-saving roundup? The above post saves me no time at all, I could just go to Flickr and type “urban HDR” (like you did). Like I said I am on the brink, I can’t be alone.
By the way here’s that link, you can use it as a post if you like. My title is “5000+ super-incredible urban decay pics“
- 76January 20th, 2009 6:31 am
Well i’d like to say i’ve just found out i have 2 pictures on here. I can say hand on heart that my 2 are neither manipulted with HDR or even photoshoped (I don’t have it and couldn’t be bothered trying to work it if i did)
They were edited on Picasso with a little tweak. Nothing more.
I think there are a few other stunning pics on here too. HDR or not. - 77January 20th, 2009 7:00 am
#3 would have been nice if the highlights weren’t blown. And the cartoonie HDR pics? Please…enough’s enough. 11,14, and 21 can hardly be included as “urban”. #30 is almost good. Most of the guys on this site are trying waaay too hard, though. Just let it go.
- 78January 20th, 2009 7:21 am
Oh, and Chris (post #18)? You CAN get a natural look using HDR…if it’s done right.
- 79January 20th, 2009 10:46 am
all i can say is, i appreciate the fact that two of my images were chosen to be displayed in the group. my two images are not HDR, but have some minor tweaks in photoshop. i do believe there is an art to taking a picture, but photoshop can be a wonderfull extension to the art. sometimes HDR images have the dramatic feel one might be trying and get across. to each their own, i say
- 80January 20th, 2009 1:51 pm
UNA COLECCION EXCELENTE DE FOTOS, MUCHAS DE ELLAS SIRVEN PARA HACER REFLEXION
- 81January 21st, 2009 1:15 am
Good collection of decay images. I do this type of photos too…
Enjoy my collections on Flickr
- 82January 21st, 2009 2:55 am
Collection looks good, except a few useless (really scrap) photos :-D
- 83January 21st, 2009 5:00 am
That picture of Timothy Neesams is amazing, saw it in a digital photography mag the other day.
Check out my UE site: http://derelictionaddiction.fotopic.net
- 84January 21st, 2009 10:30 am
YOU MISSED SOMEONE – Nick Haas Digital Collage Photography!
- 85January 21st, 2009 1:06 pm
I liked it so much,keep it up guys
- 86January 21st, 2009 1:22 pm
“The Decay of human society”
http://www.massimomarolda.com/index.php?/fotografia/the-decay-of-human-society/ - 87January 23rd, 2009 4:51 am
These pictures are orgasmic!
- 88January 23rd, 2009 7:40 pm
Those places look so lonly and sad, and they stirred something within. They have left a great impression in my heart.
- 89January 24th, 2009 10:37 pm
Excellent depiction of time lapse. Need to be made public for future presevation
- 90January 26th, 2009 4:18 pm
You should have included the lost photograph on the list. So far it’s the web urban decay I ever saw and it’s here: http://lostphotograph.com/index.php?showimage=148losh
- 91January 26th, 2009 9:10 pm
Wow! Really great photos! This single webpage has completely changed my view on religion forever. You should check out my website sometime, in which I make lists of things I’ve bought/rented/listened to. It’s completely unrelated!
- 92January 27th, 2009 1:25 am
I do’nt have a slow computer, ‘ts just that your website is fucking unclear. Put something like scroll down on it. Instead of the click here button. But eh yeh, great pictures…
- 93February 1st, 2009 1:39 am
These images are amazing – my favourites being the old hotels and theatres. We struggle to find urban decay here in my city, IF you can find something it’s locked up tight. The struggle is to find it!
- 94March 28th, 2009 10:37 am
Wow, what a sit up and take notice collection. Were some of these taken outside the US? They have a South American feel to the architecture. They’re great thanks for sharing.
- 95April 6th, 2009 3:33 pm
this was so real n inchantin really beutiful n awesome
- 96
- 97May 27th, 2009 11:49 am
shopped.
- 98May 27th, 2009 7:15 pm
Very nice images, wish I could visit a lot of the places with the work I do.
- 99June 27th, 2009 6:21 am
Excellent photos, there’s a load of awesome shots to be seen over on Flickr, I have my desktop rotating with different urbex photo every 15 minutes – if you want to do that try DeskLickr (Mac) or John’s Background Switcher (Windows).
Also, please check out my blog Sick Britain: http://www.sickbritain.co.uk/
- 100August 15th, 2009 11:07 am
Looking at all these photographs I am beginning to think photoshop has some kinda new widget or brush or button called “decayify.” Come on folks, there is plenty of “awesome” decay around without the need to hit that widget.
- 00
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Those are GREAT pics… very thought provoking. They “shock” a guy like me who lives out in the country and concentrates on family and kids photography. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed them.
Brent Riggs
http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com
http://www.brentriggs.com