ruins

A Photographer Goes Inside the Ruins of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

For more than a dozen years, I have been documenting the aftermath of the disasters at the Chornobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants, the progress of the cleanup, and the decontamination and revitalization of the contaminated areas. During this time, I made many visits to the Chornobyl plant. Finally, it was time to visit the Fukushima plant.

Photographer Captures the Decline of the Church in Italy

Church buildings have been a mainstay feature throughout Europe for centuries. From quaint country chapels to luxurious and majestic cathedrals, the “Old World” is home or has been home to hundreds of churches. Some of them are maintained in pristine shape, highly regarded as national treasures, while others meet a rather different ending, being left in the hands of time and its relentless way of decaying things.

Photographing Paradise, California, After the Camp Fire

Paradise, California lies just 90 minutes north of Sacramento, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Home to 26,000 people, Paradise includes several mobile home parks and is known as a retirement haven.

Rare Photos Inside the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus

In September 2018, I was asked to travel to Cyprus and photograph the Buffer Zone (or Green Line) in Nicosia. It was an exclusive opportunity since this area is not accessible for civilians -- it's a demilitarised zone (DMZ), patrolled by the United Nations.

The Remains Of Stalin’s Dead Road

In Russia’s arctic wilderness, the remnants of one of the Soviet Union’s most tragic gulag projects now lies largely forgotten.

This Drone Video Flies Over the Ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii was the famous ancient Roman city that was buried under volcanic ash during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79, trapping many of the inhabitants before they could flee. Here's a new 53-second drone video that flies through and over the city as it stands today after centuries of excavations, offering a beautiful perspective of the area.

Photos Inside the Ruins of Luxurious Soviet Spas and Sanatoria

The Soviet Utopia: sending your hard-working state citizens on a health holiday to one of the empire's many sanatoria. Originally conceived in the 1920s, these USSR sanatoria offered a combination of health and medical benefits alongside thermal baths and spas. These institutions were once among the most innovative buildings of that era.

I Visited the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with an Infrared Camera

A few years ago, I visited the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with an infrared camera. We always hear praises of the might of Mother Nature, how it renders useless mans’ creations and bears life above the ruins. Well, it’s something that is always felt, but never on such a huge scale. This place IS the place for these contrasts.

I Shot Aerial Photos of Puerto Rico in Ruins After Hurricane Maria

On September 20th, the Category 4 storm Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, making it the most powerful hurricane to hit the island in almost 90 years. With catastrophic winds of 155 mph, Maria devastated the Island causing severe damages to homes, buildings, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Photos Take Us Inside Nara Dreamland, An Abandoned Theme Park in Japan

Nara Dreamland was a theme park in Japan that was built back in 1961 and inspired by Disneyland. After the number of visitors dropped, the theme park was permanently closed in 2006 and has been abandoned ever since. French photographer Victor Habchy took his camera into the run-down park to capture what it looks like after 10 years of neglect.

It Wasn’t Abandoned: How One Urbex Photographer Found a Friend

Exploring and photographing abandoned houses always comes with its share of surprises. It also often confronts you with some moral questions and scenarios -- there are many “what if’s” that can be associated with this hobby.

Eerily Beautiful Photos of Utopian Housing Projects in Paris

Between the 1950s and 1980s, large-scale residential districts were built in and around Paris, France, to provide affordable housing for a booming population. Known as "grands ensembles," these sprawling complexes were sometimes poorly planned and constructed, causing some to have many empty units as residents found other places to live. Others, however, remain populated and are bustling with life.

In both cases, there are senior citizens who call the housing projects home. For his project Souvenir d'un Futur, photographer Laurent Kronental documented these strangely beautiful buildings and the seniors who live in them.

Photos of Abandoned Places Found in New York City

For the past few years, photographer Will Ellis has been locating, exploring, and documenting obscure abandoned places in New York City. His images show everything from the ruins of old hospitals to abandoned subway terminals -- and sometimes the photos are one last glimpse of those spaces before they're reclaimed or reduced to rubble by developers or the government.