Scouting the Abandon

Last Friday afternoon, my fiancé and I went on an adventure.  I had been wanting to discover abandon places for months now, but just haven't had the guts to go.  This past week I decided I was doing enough sitting around and wishing I was shooting at these dream locations and that I was just going to do some research and get out there!  So that's what I did.  

I googled like crazy and found what I felt were 4 solid locations.  I used www.forgottenoh.com as my main search site, but the information on this website hasn't really been updated since the early 2000's, so I did further google searches on the places I was interested in.  I had the entire Friday off and so did my fiancé so we just went exploring regardless of how little information we found on the locations.

Unfortunately, the 2 locations we decided to check out weren't very successful.  The first one, Fort Hayes, was fenced in and locked up.  If it was in the middle of nowhere, we would have likely tried to get in anyway, but it was in the middle of the city and some of the buildings there were even being used.  Fort Hayes was really something to see on the outside, but I'm sure the inside is incredible.

The second location, an old water plant covered in graffiti, would could not find for anything!  We looked all over, so much so that we actually found a couple other abandon locations we didn't even know about.  So we took advantage of what seemed to be an old lumberyard and scoped it out.  You can find the photos I took below.  I may visit this location in the future to shoot some portraits!

Later on, my fiancé found out that the water plant was demolished in 2010... shoot!  This was a lesson for us.  DO YOUR RESEARCH!  But if you have plenty of time, don't be afraid to explore.  It was fun and we saw a lot of the city that we didn't know existed.

Here are some tips I have when it comes to location scouting:

• Take a buddy
• Take a cell phone (with plenty of battery life!)
• Use google to search for places
• Then do a second search on the place, trying to find the most recent posted info on it
• If you have an exact address, use google maps to check it out ahead of time
• Head out in the early, early morning (you won't have as much trouble with people bothering you)
• When you arrive, take lots of photos to refer back to
• If the place doesn't have an exact address, try to remember crossroads and landmarks, so you can find it easier when going back

Abandon Lumberyard 

on Nelson Road by 670 in Columbus, Ohio

Well, I hope you found this post helpful!  I know that I found my first real location scouting adventure insightful... and from now on, I'll use my own tips! :D

P.S. Do you have any tips when it comes to location scouting?  Do you find these tips to be helpful for not just abandon locations, but any location?  Leave a comment below!  I'd love to hear from you :)

P.S.S. If you're waiting for the Photoshop tutorial, I'll be working on it this week.  I've never done one before so be a little patient with me as I'm still learning the ropes of the programs!  Thanks, lovelies and talk to you soon! <3