Tuesday 11 June 2013

Niki Feijen ... A Very Special Photographer ...

“ I was born in 1977 in Eindhoven, located in the south of The Netherlands. Although it’s not my profession, I’ve been experimenting with photography ever since I was a kid. After a diversity of photography directions (Landscapes, Sports, Concerts), I discovered Urbex photography.
Urbex, short for Urban Exploring is according to Wikipedia: The examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities. So basically visiting and photographing abandoned buildings, tunnels, industry, castles etc. Most of my shots are HDR shots, short for High Dynamic Range. HDR is perfect for low light locations but it has to be subtle. Besides Urbex, I have this crazy stairs addiction. I can spend hours underneath a staircase just to take that one awesome shot. A stairwell or an atmospheric urbex shot can turn into something very special, almost a piece of art. That’s the exactly what I want to show people; the beauty of decay, the Art of Urbex. “ ~ Niki Feijen


Family life frozen in time: Eerie images of the abandoned farm houses where even the beds are still made
Photographer Niki Feijen specialises in urban exploration; capturing boarded-up buildings and decaying farm houses
Images reveal furniture and clothes that remain in decaying homes where owners have long since departed
By KERRY MCDERMOTT
PUBLISHED: 09:07 GMT, 30 April 2013 | UPDATED: 06:57 GMT, 1 May 2013


From the pile of books in the bedside cabinet to the neatly folded duvet, this bedroom looks almost ready for its owner to turn in for the night.
Aside, that is, from the peeling walls, patches of damp, and the thick layer of filth shrouding everything in the room.
The eerie photograph is part of a series by Dutch photographer Niki Feijen, who has captured furniture, ornaments and clothes frozen in time in homes where the owners have long since departed.

The photographer specialises in urban exploration; going beyond 'do not enter' signs to document boarded-up houses and dilapidated buildings across western Europe.

His Disciple of Decay series features abandoned family homes that must once have been filled with conversation and laughter, but now house only the crumbling belongings of their former occupants.
One picture shows a bedroom that remains almost exactly as it was left, from the paintings hanging on the walls, to a television on a chest of drawers and a lace covering on the dressing table.
Another reveals a darkened living room with ornaments lining a sideboard, and a pair of shoes resting on the floor in front of an empty armchair.

Other images capture buildings in far worse states of repair, from the crumbling ceiling in a once-grand piano room, to a rotting table and chairs in an abandoned farmhouse.

Empty: The bed is still covered by a neatly folded duvet in this abandoned farm house - but it's unlikely anybody would want to sleep in it


Frozen in time: The occupants of this abandoned farm house are long gone, but their belongings remain; from the paintings hanging on the walls to the neatly made bed

Remains of a life: An old-fashioned baby carriage stands before a smeared window in an empty building that once housed a young family

Forlorn: A pair of shoes sit in front of an empty armchair and ornaments remain above the fireplace in this abandoned home

Religious: Layers of blankets remain on the bed in the empty farmhouse, which is still surrounded by crosses and statues of Jesus belonging to its former owner

Faded grandeur: Dutch photographer Niki Feijen specialises in urban exploration; capturing the abandoned and decaying buildings that lie behind 'do not enter' signs

Remnants of family life: A table and chairs discovered inside what was once the dining room of this now dilapidated farmhouse in western Europe
Grand: The photographer captured the soaring glass ceiling and detailed brickwork of this vast abandoned building


Ghostly: This eerie photograph captures the dusty pews and peeling walls inside a boarded up church

Disused: Ignore the dust, dirt and peeling walls, and this room is almost ready for a family to sit down to a cup of tea

Old-fashioned: Many of the buildings captured in the series are dotted with items left behind by their former owners

Mould: Beds feature heavily in the Disciple of Decay series, as do religious pictures and crosses

Ready to move in: Aside from the slightly peeling walls, this still-grand room is in almost perfect condition

Crumbling: Mr Feijen, 35, who has been experimenting with photography since he was a child, said he also has an obsession with taking pictures of staircases

Well-loved: A dusty toy doll sits in a decaying leather armchair in front of a stained glass window

Former splendour: Sunlight beaming through holes in the roof highlights the faded grandeur of this dilapidated building

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