Beautiful Abandoned Places

Beautiful abandoned places are all around us. Authenticity is about imperfection. And authenticity is a very human quality. To be authentic is to be at peace with your imperfections. The great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses.

The same rules applies when it comes to the most abandoned cities and towns across the world. These hauntingly beautiful places are filled with history, memories and for some of us even hope.

Like this abandoned church in Gary, Indiana. The place is massive and absolutely beautiful to witness in person. I’ve been here several times over the years since 2001.

A few months ago I took NBC’s Today Show television crews inside an abandoned mall. Reporter Ronan Farrow had been a long time fan of my work and personally reached out to me to appear on the show and we wanted to do something special for the viewers. For the first time we filmed inside an abandoned mall, which led to the news segment being one of the most watched stories of 2015.

Here’s two boys I met playing in the lower ninth ward in New Orleans. Both 10 years old and were born just days after Hurricane Katrina Disaster. The area is still ravaged a decade later and these two boys grew up in the remnants of what was left of their home.

This old abandoned theater had a series of fascinating and beautiful things still inside it.

Like this film roll tag pinned on a door. Seemingly out of place but made for such a beautiful shot.

Parts and lightbulbs used for the iconic abandoned theater sprawled out over the projection room.

The abandoned pet cemetery was discovered my me and went viral in 2015 and trended heavily across social media. It was voted the most interested story of 2015 by several news outlets across America.