Although I am not actively making new photos of abandoned houses in Detroit, I still have a number of images that have not been added to the website. Here’s the latest:

Ruin Porn: what’s behind our fascination with decay? on Blueprint for Living

I was interviewed for a program on Australian Broadcasting Corporation several weeks ago. The result is an interesting look into why folks (like me) are interested photography of decaying buildings, and what it may mean.

 

 

I’ve recently sold out of another image. As is usually the case, it is still available in larger sizes.

I am often contacted regarding the purchase of abandoned houses. Unfortunately, I am not involved with the sale of any houses in Detroit, nor any programs to give away abandoned properties. I can only assume the misunderstanding is related to some of the articles online in which my photos appear.

Fortunately, there are programs, groups, and people who are involved with the sale of abandoned properties. One such group is the Detroit Land Bank Authority, and houses up for auction are available at: www.buildingdetroit.org.

I have recently sold out of another print. Like the others however, there are larger sizes available.

I’ve recently sold out of another print. Though it is sold out in the 5×5 inch size, there are other sizes of this, and several of the other sold out images, still available.

Two Three more prints are close to being sold out. The two three prints below each have just one print left each.

A few weeks back, I was contacted by a photo editor from ABC News regarding putting together a slideshow of houses from my project. And a week, or so, ago, it went up on abcnews.go.com

It’s always fun to see the project somewhere new. I don’t know for sure, but it did seem to lead to a few more print sales. A portion of which I will be donating to a Detroit charity. As we come up on the holidays and winter, I think it will be donated to food and housing related charities.

While I was in the web site editing mode, I decided to add a few more abandoned house photos. They are not new photos…they are actually from 2008, but they are new to this site.

I realize this is old news, and my opinion is one of way too many, so I won’t spend any time on it at this point. I generally find there are two types of people, those who think “good riddance”, with hopes for Detroit’s complete demise, and those who think the only direction is up, and that, in fact, despite the bankruptcy Detroit is in the beginning stages of an exciting rebirth.

As usual, I tend to find myself trying to occupy some kind of middle ground. Detroit is really as bad as the pessimists say, and it’s probably as exciting as the boosters say. How can it be both? Well, it depends on who you are, where you come from, how you make your living, what you expect from the city, and your past experiences in Detroit. Some people have experienced terrible violence, poverty, and despair in the city, while some young newcomers have only experienced the exciting opportunities that might await the young, educated, creative, and often somewhat privileged background. Both experiences are real, and are happening everyday in Detroit. What I saw over the years was that a few areas were experiencing the gentrification of young, hip, educated creative types, while the majority of the city was suffering from the former, namely poverty and violence.

I read this article in the Free Press a few weeks ago, and one paragraph in particular highlighted the divide I experienced over the years:

The projects underscore what appears to be a dichotomy in Detroit’s real-estate market, where a few trendy areas in and around the city’s core continue to attract young professionals and empty nesters as most other city neighborhoods cope with a decaying housing stock, abandoned structures and rock-bottom land prices.

There were a few other interesting parts as well:

Like all recent downtown and Midtown developments, this east riverfront project would depend on a hodgepodge of various government subsidies and foundation support, as Detroit rents are not yet high enough to support all-private ventures.

Unfortunately, this problem won’t change until enough people are making enough money to support the needed rental prices.