Very dark, yet lovely.

I love old buildings. Abandoned houses fanstinate me. Dilapidated factories are beautiful. Empty and rundown mills make my heart beat faster.

I am not even kidding you here. I think little girls are supposed to dream of living in castles, but I have always wanted to live in a old mill or factory. Not like an apartment in a converted mill. Like a entire mill, renovated by me and lived in by me and my future-family. I am not really sure where this desire came from (normally I can trace my strange likings back to something. I guess in my childhood there were a couple adventures in old empty places that I can trace this too...), but I know that it has been there for a very long time.

Castles are great (saw some great ones while I was in Ireland in 2007, just sitting empty on the roadside!), but we don't really have anything like that in the US. So somehow, in my mind, mills and factories are the next best thing? I would settle for living in a stone/brick house but still I dream of big, empty mills. There is something so unique about them. They used to be bustling places, with hundreds and hundreds of people working in them, and now...they are abandoned. So much history forgotten. Empty and lifeless. Beautiful windows smashed in, brick walls marred by grafitti from careless youth, only faintly show what they used to be...

Maybe I am crazy? It is probably true. All I know is I am drawn to broken down buildings. "No trespassing" signs read more like guidelines than rules. I am very much so a law abiding citizen but...this temptation might be an exception. My parents have been informed that if ever they have to come get me at a police station it will ONLY be because I was in an old building and ignored the orange sign. Do I want to go in so I can graffiti and burn things, or do some drugs? Uh NO! I want to dream about how beautiful the building was. Could be. Still is, deep beneath the ugliness. I want to explore the history and mysteries inside. And I mostly want to take pictures! I'm just a good kid with an adventurous mind! *sigh

All that being said, I've decided my next photo project is going to involve abandoned buildings. Old places that were once something of great value. Once beautiful, now neglected. Very dark, yet lovely (quoting one of my favorite verses; "I am very dark, yet lovely" -Song of Solomon 1:5). When I see such a place I will stop and take pictures, adding to my collection, giving me more locations to dream about living in. Oh, maybe some day...

Anyhow. Back to my current reality...

This past weekend, on the way back from getting our Christmas tree, we drove past an abandoned paper mill. My mother willingly parked the car (she understands my craziness) and I got out and took pictures.  I stood on the side of the road, zooming the camera lens into its full strength, trying to look inside- wishing I WAS inside (were we not in a bit of a rush to get home due to company coming I probably could have gone closer. Or convinced my mom to go in with me). Marveling at the beauty that was once there.

These pictures resulted:

 I didn't hunt, fish, trap, or trespass. I just stood outside, smiling and snapping pictures at a distance.

 Somewhere under that mess is something beautiful. I just know it!

 I love windows like these. Apparently whoever threw those rocks into the windows didn't share the appreciate for the lovely glass work. (know what I really like about the castles in Europe? They are just sitting empty, right on the side of the road, and yet no one graffitis them. No one smashes them, or breaks anything. People have respect. Here? No such thing.)

 Aren't you just dying to know what all that rusted metal inside there is? Don't you want to just jump over the road's guard rail and go on an adventure? I DO!

Do you see that rusted, old red car in there? Don't you want a closer look. I so did!

 

 Look with your special eyes at all the history hiding inside! AHH! I just want to explore it! But I didn't. I behaved and kept my distance. At least this time.

(disclaimer: I, Isabella Kiss, have not entered any abandoned places of any kind -buildings, houses, cars, etc-on my own ever. Obviously that would just be a dumb idea. I have no fear of small animals, snakes or dead things and I am all set on my tetanus shot, but...there are crazy people in the world and shadowy places beckon to sketchiness. So I stay out. The thought of sneaking in often crosses my mind when I see an old building, but the smartness in me has won out so far)