Photographer captures the beauty of Europe’s abandoned buildings

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Spaces, a digital publication exploring new ways to live and work.

Gina Soden has spent the last six years seeking out Europe’s grand and abandoned buildings, from hospital asylums and palaces to boarded up schools and disused power stations.

“I like the fact they’re hidden spaces that not many people know about,” says the London-based photographer.

“For me, it’s about the historical importance of the buildings, and capturing the grandeur and decadence of these places – before they waste away. We see so much imagery day to day and I want my work to evoke a sense of nostalgia.”

Character in abandonment

Rather than take a documentary approach to shooting these forgotten landmarks, Soden captures the softness and the character of the places she discovers.

“I use exposure blending methods and refine the images digitally in Photoshop to bring out the detail. That gives it the painterly quality I’m looking for in the image,” she says. “I also like to shoot 35mm and 6×6 film.”

Eric Holubow —

Chicago-based urban exploration photographer Eric Holubow has traveled across America photographing abandoned and forgotten sites.

The Uptown Theater in Chicago, Illinois

Eric Holubow —

His 2014 book, Abandoned: America's Vanishing Landscape, features 100 forgotten sites, from churches to prisons.

Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eric Holubow —

Though most of Holubow's photos are of America's Rust Belt (the former industry states around the north-east), he has photographed towns and cities around the country.

Brew house at the Schlitz Industrial Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Eric Holubow —

Many of Holubow's photos come with detailed descriptions about the history and current status of the sites depicted. (This hospital, for example, may be demolished by its current owner, the University of Chicago, to make way for hotels.)

Doctors Hospital in Chicago, Illinois

Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre —

Photography duo Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre are best known for their award-winning series The Ruins of Detroit documenting the decay of the city's once-proud structures.

Waiting Hall, Michigan Central Station, 2008 (Detroit, Michigan)

Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre —

The photos, taken between 2005 and 2010, speak to a larger story about the death of industry and the impact of changing economies.

Michigan Central Station, 2007 (Detroit, Michigan)

Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre —

"[Detroit's] splendid decaying monuments are, no less than the Pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum [sic] of Rome, or the Acropolis in Athens, remnants of the passing of a great Empire," the photographers write on their website.

Ballroom, Lee Plaza Hotel, 2006 (Detroit, Michigan)

Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre —

Their next exhibition, a series of abandoned American cinemas called Theatres, will run from October 10, 2015 to January 3, 2016 at the Cultuurcentrum Caermersklooster in Gent, Belgium.

United Artists Theater, 2005 (Detroit, Michigan)

Niki Feijen —

Dutch photographer Niki Feijen has been photographing desolate places -- from abandoned European castles to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine -- since 2007.

Dining room in an abandoned luxury hotel

Niki Feijen —

Since then, Feijen has published two books of his work: 2013's Disciple of Decay and 2014's Frozen, the first of which sold out within months.

Golden Theater - Abandoned Art Deco theater

Niki Feijen —

Feijen is typically reticent to disclose the location of the buildings he shoots out of fear that they'll attract graffiti artists, vandals and thieves.

Chambre du Commerce

Niki Feijen —

In November, Feijin will present at Hamburg's Affordable Art Fair.

Speculum - An abandoned school

Johnny Joo —

Ohio photojournalist Johnny Joo may only be 25, but he's already well known for his ruins photography.

St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Johnny Joo —

Joo says he's been involved with urban exploration (visiting abandoned sites in cities) since he was 16.

Warner & Swasey Observatory in Cleveland, Ohio

Johnny Joo —

He now blogs extensively about his experiences and photography projects on his website, Architectural Afterlife.

East Central Station in Buffalo, New York

Johnny Joo —

Last year, Joo released Empty Spaces: Photojournalism through the Rust Belt, a collection of some of his greatest photos.

J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital for Tuberculosis in Perrysburg, New York

Rebecca Bathory —

Londoner Rebecca Bathory worked as a fashion photographer before turning her lens to abandoned buildings in 2012.

Symphony of Silence

Rebecca Bathory —

She rose to prominence in 2014 with Soviet Ghosts, a book of buildings abandoned after the collapse of the USSR.

Blue Christ Church in Belgium

Rebecca Bathory —

Unlike other photographers featured here, Bathory also stages photo shoots with models in abandoned buildings.

Abandoned Victorian Manor

Rebecca Bathory —

Bathory, who has an MA in fashion photography, is currently completing a PhD in visual anthropology at Roehampton University in London.

The Ark - An abandoned synagogue in the UK

Matt Emmett —

British photographer and Pentax ambassador Matt Emmett, who runs a site called Forgotten Heritage, has been shooting abandoned spaces for the last four years.

Back Stage Pass - A Belgian power plant that shuttered in 2007

Matt Emmett —

He also highlights historic sites that at risk of being forgotten.

Patient Records - An asylum in Northern Italy

Matt Emmett —

For Emmett, there's a strange beauty in the derelict.

"The textures and colors present in different forms of decay make for beautiful imagery," says Emmett of this photo.

Extreme Decay: A townhouse in Belgium

Matt Emmett —

His first book, Forgotten Heritage Vol. 1, is set to be published next year.

Italian Villa - Abandoned villa in northern Italy

6 ruins photographers finding beauty in decay

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Read: Mesmerizing photos of abandoned structures

She adds: “I take my time to soak up the building’s history, to research its key parts and details before I shoot and put a series together. A big part of my process is to enjoy the building and atmosphere.”

Pinpointing “a moment in time”

But the buildings are in a precarious state, and face an even more uncertain future.

“My photographs very much pinpoint a moment in time. I went to an abandoned hotel in 2012, and returned a few years later to find the ceiling had fallen in – it looked completely different.”

Read: Exploring Italy’s deserted building sites

Her latest series, “Kaleidoscope,” takes her obsession with abandoned architecture into new territory as she turns ceilings and interior planes into dizzying abstract artworks.

These new images are included in an exhibition of Soden’s work on show at London’s Blacks Club, titled “Art in Ruins,” viewed by appointment. You can also see more of Gina Soden’s work on The Spaces.