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Desolate Places bio picture

Desolate Places: Michael Bowman

A great photograph shows the world as it is, not how it should be.

An artist’s expression is a culmination of all the experiences of their lives.  The good. The bad. The ugly.  The beautiful.  It all gets absorbed into the brain and mashed together.  The experiences are broken down to their basic levels, sometimes to such fundamental things as light and dark, and are reconstituted and reformulated.  Later, these basic principles and formative experiences are found reflected in the real world and presented as they are in testament to those experiences, or the real world is manipulated to reflect the artist’s vision.  Either way, that vision is a product of all the experiences of that artist’s life.  For better or worse.


I will not go into the details of the experiences that have produced my vision.  Suffice to say they have been good and bad, light and dark.  They have produced a view of the world that is mine alone.  It appeals to some.  Repulses others.


I find beauty in things that others overlook or ignore.  Places and people that have been abandoned, neglected or forgotten.

Stoop Study – Newburgh NY

Smeal Fire Apparatus Factory.  Snyder, Nebraska.

Smeal Fire Apparatus Factory. Snyder, Nebraska.

Diner / Bowling Alley / Reception Hall, Dodge, Nebraska.

Diner / Bowling Alley / Reception Hall, Dodge, Nebraska.

Smeal Fire Apparatus Factory.  Snyder, Nebraska.

Smeal Fire Apparatus Factory. Snyder, Nebraska.

Feed the Tree

Vine growing along the wall of Eastern State Pennitentary, Philadelphia Pa.

Vine growing along the wall of Eastern State Pennitentary, Philadelphia Pa.

First Snow

First snow of the season, Fahnestock State Park.

First snow of the season, Fahnestock State Park.

Ozzy Springs

Toilet, abandoned hotel.

Toilet, abandoned hotel.

Guest bed and shadow, abandoned hotel room.

Guest bed and shadow, abandoned hotel room.

Ornate lamp, dressor and discarded clothing.

Ornate lamp, dressor and discarded clothing.

Discarded box spring, guest room.

Discarded box spring, guest room.

Chair and artwork, abandoned hotel guest room.

Chair and artwork, abandoned hotel guest room.

Artwork and frame, broken on floor.

Artwork and frame, broken on floor.

Power Station

Power Station detail

Bethelhelm Steel _ Richmond 117

A strange juxtaposition of native American dwelling and abandoned Borscht hotel.

A strange juxtaposition of native American dwelling and abandoned Borscht hotel.

Light fixture detail, main ballroom.  Abandoned Hotel.

Light fixture detail, main ballroom. Abandoned Hotel.

Wall treatment detail, main ballroom.  Abandoned Hotel.

Wall treatment detail, main ballroom. Abandoned Hotel.

Out exploring in the Catskills.

Just when you think there is nothing more to see, that all of the old classics have been torn down or burned to the ground.

cats kills

The remnants of a housecat, abandoned hotel.

The remnants of a housecat, abandoned hotel.

The things you find wandering through the halls of forgotten places.

Sometimes it’s family photos left behind.

Sometimes it’s a chair, or a pair of shoes or clothes.

Sometimes it’s the family pet.

After the Goldrush

Damaged gothic door, bathroom.

Damaged gothic door, bathroom.

This location is by far one of my favorites.  I have been going there for over a year, and each and every time the light is different.  I keep finding little nuances that make each visit a new adventure for myself and those I bring there.

Reflections

Trees and water.