Goodbye 2024 – Photo Highlights From This Years Adventures

My third urbex trip to Portugal

I kicked off the 2024 adventures with a five-day springtime road trip around Portugal

• Explored beautiful abandoned houses, tucked away in the rural regions of northern Portugal.
• I revisited the President’s Palace, still abandoned and further deteriorating since my 2017 visit
• Explored a trio of hydroelectric powerplants, one in ruins and filled with a verdant carpet of plant life.

Exploring Romanian ruins

It has been a long time since I visited Romania, my first visit was way back in 2017! Here is a rundown of the some of the places I visited in my 2024 Romania Road Trip;

• Several Communist-era (1947-1989) locations, including an auditorium and two prisons.
• Romania has many abandoned synogogues, left without congregations in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
• Biserică, old churches from the German-speaking Transylvanian Saxon community that flourished before emigrating in the wake of World War 2 (and the rise of the communist regime in Romania)
• An exceptionally beautiful powerplant, with pristine Art Deco style control room and turbine hall.

Going underground in Hungary

I drove overnight from Romania to Hungary, making two trips into one extended adventure!

• Three adrenaline-filled visits to abandoned powerplants.
• I went underground into five awesome bunkers, spread across the length and breadth of the country.
• Explored two Soviet-era army barracks.
• Visited a lakeside hotel with 1970s decor.

An arctic expedition to Svalbard

I was lucky enough to visit Svalbard for four days over the summer, exploring the Soviet ghost town of Pyramiden. I have long dreamed of visiting this northern coal mining town, so this trip was a highlight for me!

Seemingly, I was so engrossed in taking photos that I neglected to make time for any behind-the-scenes blog content! My focus was on covering as much ground as possible in the short time I had and documenting the town both as digital cameras and also across several rolls of Fujifilm 200. My plan is to release a photobook and/or zine to showcase my extensive photo collection!

Wild camping and urbex in Ireland

I was excited to have another amazing Ireland trip this year

• Explore fascinating abandoned residences, from simple rural homesteads to grand decaying manor houses.
• Stepping into an old corner shop, seemingly abandoned for 20 years.
• Old petrol pumps, ruined churches, a cute yellow-walled school.

A few sneaky locations in Cyprus

Thanks to my understanding family, for letting me hijack part of the Christmas holiday to Cyprus!

• Revisted Varosha (Famagusta).
• Made several stop-offs and detours to photograph abandoned village buses in the mountains.
• Enjoyed a colourful sunset shoot at a dramatic shipwreck.
• Shot a church ruin at the edge of a reservoir.

Expanding my film camera collection

This year I picked up a few new (old) film cameras, to add to my growing collection!

• Minolta 16 MG-S, a 1970s 16mm sub-minature camera from Japan
• Lubitel 166B. Medium Format (6×6, 4.5×6) twin-lens reflex (TLR), 1980s USSR
• Lomo 135BC. 35mm USSR-made camera from the 1980s
• Kodak Vest Pocket Series III. A folding bellow 127 camera, from the 1930s