Four bottles of the Apocalypse

For some strange inexplicable reason, I've always been fascinated by the grungy, chaotic scenery of urban decay, and this town provides plenty of it, as long as you know where to look. The problem, however, is that you're usually likely to find more than just good photo opportunities in such places, and the expensive camera and dorky look don't do much for one's safety.

Which is why I was beyond delighted earlier this evening to find something along those lines, hiding in plain sight. If anyone has any doubts as to the integrity of the scene, I assure you the empty bottles were there to begin with. I found the entire decor simply too priceless to meddle with it.

So without further ado, I give you Urban Decay... with a twist.



As a side note, I have now officially vandalized the first public place with one of my infamous stickers. I kept it decent enough, though, no harm done.

From the top, with feeling

And hello again.

I thought I'd start with - what else - the beginning.
And in the beginning there was... the camera. In my case, and my humble uneducated opinion - a darling little toysie with smarts, named the Olympus SP-560UZ, perfect for the semi-beginner with high aspirations. Or as I have affectionately dubbed it - Wallie. Needless to say, the debate around the name was beautifully surreal.

That having been said, I now give you my first attempt at urban photography...


A little crowded, a little amateur, a little clumsy in postwork. And I hereby dub it "the starting point". The original photo was taken this summer, somewhere in Rethymno, Crete.

I happen to be quite fond of this genre and I suspect there's going to be some hefty amount of further experimentation for me in this area. Then again, I'm in that stage where I feel the need to experiment with pretty much anything, so Lord knows what will catch my eye next.

As a side-note on the postwork, I should say I've worked with Photoshop for some time now, but never with more advanced photo retouching, so I was in for quite a revelation upon discovering its versatility. I know it's immensely tempting at first and I expect to rely heavily on postediting for quite some time, but I am doing my best to move on to a stage where my photos won't need that much tinkering with to just be decent.

So there you have it. I'll be back with more, but sadly, right now I have homework to do. Cheers!