Urban explorer badge movie#

This image of depreciating cars in a forest is one with an extra level of interest. The images provide a look into a world that not many eyes have seen and stimulates the curiosity we all have for the things we are forbidden to see. We are used to seeing small things, shops or even boarded up houses.īut the scale of the decay in Thissen’s photos draws the eyes in, looking around the image as if exploring the location for themselves.īuildings such as these are often not open for access to the public, they are genuinely boarded up or they are just difficult to reach. Large spaces in decay are more thought provoking to a viewer. The colossal spaces he shoots adds to the air of decay, the often ambiguity of the space providing immeasurable intrigue. Thissen prefers to shoot large open spaces, “I don’t often shoot details,” he specifies. Now shrouded in snow, desolate atop a mountain like the ideology that left the place long ago. Each holds an interesting story.Ī Soviet monument at Buzludzha, left to the snow, has been there since the iron curtain fell in 1989 and Bulgaria moved into a time of democracy. How has the building evaded the usual passage of being disposed of or being preserved? How can such edifices be simply overlooked by many people.

The fragility of human consumption is implied clearly by the degradation of such grandiose buildings.Įach photograph raises the questions: Why was it left? Who occupied it? Places that have hours of work poured into them, places that were previously filled with people, now stand forgotten and decrepit. Thissen’s photos emanate with the tragedy of the locations.

This project was also really long and frustrating, but it was really fun travelling and shooting inside various abandoned buildings. It’s raw action, beauty shots and animation techniques combined. “I explore the most beautiful abandoned buildings worldwide and bring them back alive with stop motion. So I thought: why not combine my two biggest passions, urban exploring and stop motion. “In my final year I had carte blanche to make an animation movie. I learned that you can animate literally everything. “During my holidays I helped my teacher with a few stop motion projects. As I already knew how photography worked I started experimenting with filming and photographing techniques combined with animation.

Not the tiny stop motion made in studios, but real size. “Toon Loenders inspired me with his stop motion lessons.

Urban explorer badge movie#

Graduating with a high distinction in a Master course of Animation with his stop-motion short movie Nothing Beside Remains. Focusing on motion design, special effects and 3D and building his portfolio of stop motion films. In 2013 Thissen attended the MAD Faculty in Genk, Belgium. Last week, I found myself lost in the African desert searching for abandoned places and in a few days, I will be visiting abandoned theme parks in Taiwan’s jungle. It’s an addiction.” Two weeks ago, I was hiking to a building on the top of a mountain in the snow and freezing cold. I take a lot of risks to take the perfect picture. Every weekend is another memorable adventure in another country. I try abandoned places nobody dares to go or go to countries no other urban explorers visit. The more difficult it is to get or get inside, the more memorable the trip will be. “I like the unknown, not knowing what you can expect or what adventure will come. Thissen has been researching and photographing abandoned buildings for ten years, his dedication to capturing the ‘beauty of decay’ is unparalleled. Almost every major British national newspaper has featured them, from the Daily Mail to the Express. His images of stark decay in immense and often former luxurious and influential places have been used around the internet for years. Often you can find great history, beautiful architecture and antiques inside those buildings.”īob Thissen is a 31-year-old photographer, animator and nomad, hailing from Hererlen, the Netherlands. I think abandoned buildings look way more fascinating than modern ones. “Decay is a kind of art which is created by time and nature.