ABANDONED ASYLUMS of NEW ENGLAND

A pictorial table top book with sporadic essays. Images shown were taken by John Gray and are property of John Gray Photography.  They cannot be copied or reproduced without express permission of John Gray.

First a disclaimer:  John Gray is married to my cousin and I consider him a friend.  Now having said that I would simply choose to not write anything in my blog if I didn’t care for his work.  However, that’s NOT the case.  When I opened up his book my jaw dropped and I was mesmerized by the story telling images that just bellowed out distant voices of the past throughout my imagination. I didn’t set the book down until I finished reading it (for the first time because this book will not collect dust).

John has devoted many years of his life to documenting the silent, untold stories of those that lived and worked in the once popular insane asylums and tuberculosis hospitals throughout New England and surrounding area’s.  Thanks to the recent publishing of ABANDONED ASYLUMS of NEW ENGLAND we can all appreciate this portion of our history that has now faded into the past.

Through Johns unique ability to speak to us through his photo’s he’ll put you right there.  You’ll hear the sounds, feel the floor under your feet, the coldness of the equipment, and the isolation.  In addition his use of both ambient and supplemental lighting is spot on.  It creates mood and stark reality.  Unlike me I compliment John for resisting the urge to “doctor” his images in photoshop.  I agree with him, in that, bringing these photo’s to life requires the need for implicit reality which cannot be provided through enhanced or altered images.

If you go through previous pages of my blog you’ll see that I share an affinity for urban exploration and abandoned buildings. Although I do not take interior shots I have captured hundreds of photo’s documenting the decline of manufacturing and the industrial revolution in Connecticut and surrounding area’s (I have yet to post the vast majority of these on my website).

As a burnt out past part time professional photographer I didn’t care to take photographs anymore nor had a direction (2-3 years ago). I wouldn’t even take a picture at a family gathering.  During a conversation with John he directed me to his website: http://www.grayphotography.net/

BAM!  That was it game over.  John’s work which graces the pages of his website inspired me to pick up my camera that very next day and always have it with me as I traveled on my sales job.  I slowly started taking photo’s of abandoned buildings and factories to chronicle the industrial decline in this area.  My interest has expanded to virtually anything I find interesting. When I’m working in an area I spend my lunch exploring and looking for shots. Many times I’ll stay behind at the end of the day and look for images in an area.

John gave me the impetus I needed to renew my acquaintance with an old friend – photography.  To John I owe a debt of gratitude.  I thank him for his work and wish him all the success he deserves.