American Misadventures May 2016

[mookster]

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Over the course of my trip I seemed to visit a few sites in a row that I don't think warrant their own threads, weirdly almost all at the halfway point of my trip. So here they are...

First up, a massive church in the middle of a ghetto (again), sadly I only managed a few shots in here as my friend who was on look-out duty outside texted me to tell me that there was a police car circling the block the church was on so to get out ASAP. A real shame as it's a spectacular church just sitting there going to waste.

This was a farmhouse we were tipped off about on our way back from another location, now those who have known me a few years know about the incident I had in Belgium with a crazy farmer and his crazy wife back in 2013, which basically put me off doing farmhouses for life. In an attempt to rid myself of the horrible feeling I get whenever I step foot near an abandoned farm I went for this, but after fifteen minutes or so I simply had to leave. I got the shots I wanted, which was good, but I really don't like farmhouses.

Next up a revisit of a revisit, I've now been to this particular power plant three times - it's one place that like Tone Mills I never ever get tired of shooting as the decay is so beautiful. I was so sad to see it had been tagged up more especially considering it's very remote location a mile walk down an overgrown dead-end footpath.

Last up in this little mix of locations is a place I like to call 'Hotel Grand Disappointment'. It looked fantastic from the overhead and external views, a big old abandoned resort with buildings resembling a swimming pool, ballroom etc etc. So we turn up to this almost ghost town in the middle of nowhere that only seems to have a fuel station and lumber yard open and make our way up the hill to the hotel...and my god what a tip. It turned out to have been bought by Best Western not long before it closed down, they had ripped out everything that wasn't accomodation and turned every single building into carbon-copy hotel room after hotel room. Add into that mix a good deal of decay, trashing and stripping and it really wasn't the best place ever. We ran around it for half an hour grabbing a few handheld shots before leaving a little disheartened, but not for long as our day was about to turn into a spectacular success...

Thanks for looking, normal service will be resumed soon

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[DirtyJigsaw]

Great selection of photos mate, that opening shot is fantastic

 

[Lenston]

Some nice bits there mate

 

[AndyK!]

That's a really nice selection of locations, looking great!

 

[Perjury Saint]

Good stuff ere!

 

[The_Raw]

I'd say all of those would do for a report, the church especially. Looks like another good trip was had, gonna have a look through all your other reports this evening  

 

[mookster]

I'd say all of those would do for a report, the church especially. Looks like another good trip was had, gonna have a look through all your other reports this evening  

It would have done for one, but they were the sum total of the photos I got before being alerted to the police presence outside by my friend

 

[The_Raw]

It would have done for one, but they were the sum total of the photos I got before being alerted to the police presence outside by my friend

What are the potential consequences over there? Presumably depends on the location and access etc, but what about say getting caught in a derp that's a walk in with no fences or security etc?

 

[mookster]

What are the potential consequences over there? Presumably depends on the location and access etc, but what about say getting caught in a derp that's a walk in with no fences or security etc?

Trespassing on anyone's private property/land is a criminal offence pretty much country-wide. All across the country there are big yellow signs that say 'POSTED: No trespassing, hunting, fishing', which is basically their equivalent of 'trespassers will be prosecuted' signs here.

In some states entering through anything other than an open door - like an open window - is classified as breaking & entering, and in some states entering a building through any means at all - even if a door is smashed off it's hinges when you get there - is breaking & entering.

As for what happens if you get caught, it really depends on how the officer wants to handle it, what kind of site it was, what kind of area you are in, even what city you are in. The most common consequence is you get a ticket and have to appear in court to pay a fine, which can but doesn't always end up on a criminal record. But people can and do get arrested and thrown in jail for trespassing, friends of mine over there have seen both sides of law enforcement from those who don't care to the incident whereby my friend and his Canadian companions were stormed at gunpoint in an abandoned school, arrested, sent to court and served with a six month 'good behaviour' bond. I personally have been very close to being arrested only once, and American police officers are not people to mess around with. It was a sequence of sheer dumb luck that kept me out of spending at least a night in jail.

It's risky, and my friends over there are a lot more cautious than our gung-ho 'haha security/police can't do jack' attitudes in Europe, and having been on the receiving end of American law enforcement I can see why. But the risk/reward ratio is so worth it...

At it's root if it's got posted signs visible on the property you don't have an excuse for being there. If there aren't any, you may be able to talk your way out of it if the officer is nice.