UNINHABITED 2019 - 2024

“Uninhabited” is an ongoing project which will take around four years to complete, due to the slowing down of the world with the global pandemic.

In this series, I take you to some of our planet’s best ghost towns, villages, and cities – the making of this series and the work is also shown via a behind-the-scenes video on my youtube channel. It is also a larger-than-usual series, due to the fact I visited a large number of locations.

– Exclusive Limited Editions of just 10 per format/size for this series only – priced slightly higher with prices starting from £239 for an 84cm sized piece. This is due to limited exclusivity.

SPERRGEBIET, NAMIBIA

Once home to diamond miners

From Left to Right | Kolmanskop

A beautiful house with a broken open door, which has since been filled with sand in Kolmanskop, a Germany built diamond mining town in the desert.

Bang The Drum | Kolmanskop

Brightly colored wallpaper peeling off the walls, dilapidated houses now inundated in rolling banks of sand and outhouses left to decay.

A Blanket Of Sand | Kolmanskop

One evening in 1908, a Namibian railway worker named Zacherias Lewala was shovelling the railroad tracks clear of the creeping sand dunes when he saw something shining in the low light. Lewala’s German employer identified them for what they were: diamonds. Lewala was not paid or rewarded for his find.

Part Submerged | Kolmanskop

Soon, hordes of prospectors descended on the area. By 1912, a town had sprung up, producing a million carats a year, or 11.7 percent of the world’s total diamond production. This is one of the former workers houses that is now hidden at the back of the town, with some homes nearby inaccessible.

Aztec | Kolmanskop

Wealthy Kolmanskop became a well of luxury in the barren desert. There was a butcher, a baker, a post office, and an ice factory; fresh water was brought by rail to the area from a nearby underground well.

Teal Tones | kolmanskop

People were becoming rich overnight simply picking diamonds off the desert floor, but German authorities wanted greater control over the incredible riches. They cracked down, declaring a vast area of Namibia a Sperrgebiet, or restricted zone.

blue and yellow house filled with sand

Ever Shifting | kolmanskop

This series was shot ready for release as a one off set. The official release is due to take place in Holland with an exhibition in late 2020.

Orange & Lime | Kolmanskop

Another portrait orientation image, this time in a side building which is difficult to access.

yellow and orange room filled with sand

Open Door Policy | Kolmanskop

Today, as many as 35,000 tourists visit the site every year, bringing money to the nearby coastal town of Lüderitz. There are three possible permits you can buy which allow access to the town.

red hallway in a home in kolmanskop 2019

Softly Lit | Kolmanskop

By 1956, Kolmanskop was completely abandoned. The dunes that once rolled over the railway tracks now burst through the ghost town’s doors and in through the windows of houses, filling its rooms with banks of sand.

Ajar | Kolmanskop

Same room as the shot "The Magician", however a unique angle and with the morning glow of the sunrise back-lighting the scene.

Three's A Crowd | Kolmanskop

We visited over the course of four mornings with the last simple done do record a youtube video - which can be seen on my channel.

Diamond In The Sand | Kolmanskop

This set was shot ready for release as a one off release. Officially due to take place in Holland with an exhibition in late 2020.

House ruins by the coast in namibia

The Watchman | Elizabeth Bay

Elizabeth Bay is another mining town in southern coast of Namibia, 25 km south of Lüderitz. It was formerly another site for diamonds and is now a ruin.

EUROPE

Home to many ghost towns

Shapes & Patterns | Kayaköy

A few independent tourists make their way to Kayakoy, a ghost town just 5km ish west of the tattoo parlours, British pubs and dance clubs of Hisaronu, a raucous tourist resort on Turkey’s southwest coast. More can be seen in my blog post and youtube video on the subject.

Lost All Hope | Pripyat in Ukraine

Hospital 126 in the lost city of Pripyat. Made famous recently during the HBO series, Chernobyl. It was on the 26th of april 1986 the biggest nuclear disaster in human history took place. After an experimental shutdown, reactor #4. of The Chernobyl nuclear power station went into a meltdown.

The Fallout | Pripyat in Ukraine

An area of 30 square km was evacuated after several days as the then Soviet Government tried to conceal the worst of what had happen. But reality was due to kick in, and days later the residents of Pripyat were evacuated. These people would never return.

Soviet Views | Pripyat in Ukraine

Both 29 & 31 years after these events I had the chance to visit the Chernobyl region, the military area called Duga and the abandoned town of Pripyat. Things are due to change in the zone in the coming years that is for sure - as the town was declared an official tourist attraction in 2019.

Popping Out | Pripyat in Ukraine

Inside the Palace of Culture are a few of the best shot examples left in the city. Receiving less footfall over the years due to the ban of one day tours from entering the building the state of disrepair is not as bad as other buildings of importance.

The Gymnasium | Pripyat in Ukraine

About 10 kilometers south of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant there was a top-secret area, Chernobyl-2, also called Duga. It was one of the three Soviet Union's ‘over the horizon’ early detection systems to detect threats against attacks.

THE MIDDLE EAST

Forgotten gems

Sand Filled | Al Madam (UAE)

The stunning little ghost town, is made of 2 rows of houses and it has a mosque at the far end of the village, which looks cool buried in the very orange sand. All of the houses here have now succumbed to the ever shifting sands. The decade long abandoned village, is situated in the middle of the Sharjah desert.

The Mosque | Al Madam (UAE)

Built as late as the 1970’s or 1980’s, people left very quickly. After it was discovered that the climate is harsh. The sand here is really inhospitable. The main residents of the former town were part of the Al Kutbi tribe. I took a few hours to explore the town, photograph it and then produce a video for my youtube channel.

Orange Glow | Al Madam (UAE)

The highlight for me here was the drone shot that I took of the mosque, such a unique photograph. I can see why so many people have taken this shot, I first remember seeing it sometime around 2015. But, there is other images to be had town-wide.

Green Flakes | Al Jazirah Al Hamra

Situated in Ras Al Khaimah in the North of the UAE in the Middle East, Jazirat Al Hamra literally means “The Red Island”. The once flourishing town, was known for pearl diving. These days the ghost town consists of ruins and muddy narrow roads as it has been abandoned since the 1930’s.

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