Mark and I visited a new location yesterday, a bit of a drive from London but well worth the effort. This abandoned manor house is in the heart of the countryside, although quite close to an inhabited house, and there was a caravan in the back garden that looked inhabited to me (the net curtains were too clean for it not to be), and when we saw (but luckily weren’t seen by) a man close by with his car, I thought we might get shifted before we even found a way in. Fortunately, after scouring the perimeter for a way in, Mark spotted steps down to a basement, and that was how we gained access.
It quickly became very evident that the building was in an extremely poor state, with many spongy floors, fallen ceilings and gaping voids – the main staircase had all but fallen away and we had to use a ladder to get up to the second floor. It was definitely a “wit’s about oneself” explore, and there was one upstairs corridor which I refused to walk along after feeling how soft the floor was beneath my feet, and not being altogether certain where the beams were to walk upon I decided it was simply more sensible to give it a miss altogether.
I spotted this gem downstairs, the quality of light in this room was beautifully soft, yet the sunlight looked as if it would burst in through the closed shutters at any moment. The table was scattered with very old documents relating to the East Indian Railway Company, dating back to 1873. I love details like that, but photographed most of them with my LX3 which I also had with me, and these ‘snaps’ can be seen on my other blog. These days I am tending to take less photos with my Nikon, but spend far more time composing them, to ensure that I get the Fine Art image that I am striving to achieve – this new way of working seems to be just right ….
This is a great shot and I must say I really love your blogs layout. 🙂
Glad to hear you two made it through this safe and sound, Viveca. What an amazing find! Perfect composition here, the perfect delivery of a piece of fine art, to be sure!