The Road to Buffalo

Posted by Dan Marbaix in The Great US Urbex Adventure | 0 comments

So after Pittsburgh it was onto Buffalo to meet Dan from Buffalo and Jay and Alex from Canada. It’s a long drive so along the way we checked out some abandoned hotels to break up the journey. Having spent too long nosing round the large complex of rooms we now have some time to make up to get to Buffalo before sunset.  Thanks to flagrant disregard of the American speed limits we were still able to make Niagara falls for sunset. Score.

Once we had the shots we needed it was time for some mediocre Mexican food and to get some sleep at our hotel. In the morning, after trying to book another night and being told it was double the price, we decide to move on and sort the hotel later as we’d dragged our hosts round a selection of crap hotels to get a good price only to fail dismally.

First abandoned stop was a former factory that had long since closed its doors, inside we found a large boat and old machines peppered with paint balls. Nice light and a lack of security meant we were able to take our time and relax.

Once this was done it was time to move onto a location I’ve wanted to see for a long time, Buffalo central terminal a large abandoned train terminal with its overgrown platforms,huge empty halls and destroyed offices filled with old paper work. Walking around with your camera gear for a few hours is hungry work so it was time to sample the local cuisine. After mocking Barter for ordering salad because “he couldn’t take anymore meat” he redeemed himself by stealing the restaurants wifi and booking us a hotel for the night.

Following a hearty lunch it was on to some grain silos for an explore. The second of which had a pretty good view of downtown buffalo so we headed there last after picking up a few beers. Once the stairs had been concurred it was just a case of enjoying the beers and the company till the sun started to set. Having taken all our shots it was then that we realised there was no photographic evidence of urbex Dan trifector cue a quick crew shot and it was time to say our goodbyes.

Now it’s on to New York tomorrow and it’s no sleep till Brooklyn. Shame we’ve got to drive from Canada as Barter has booked the hotel in the wrong country.

You can follow Dan Marbaix’s work here http://www.flickr.com/photos/odins_raven/ Or like it on Facebook if that’s your bag www.facebook.com/odinsravenphotography

Hi my name is Daniel Barter and I am a 28 year old photographer. Two of my greatest passions in life are photography and exploration. The images I capture represent not only moments of this passion but also a philosophy by which I live my life. I strive to chronicle the spectrum of human experience through the unique eye of a camera lens. Specifically, I endeavour to reveal the nature of society through the artifices they build, the relics they leave behind, and the small stories contained within.

This quest, has taken me as far as the desolate exclusion zone around Chernobyl, as a deep as the secret vaults of London, on top of towering steel monoliths, and into the vast industrial wastelands that have found themselves surplus to requirements in the 21st century. These almost invisible frontiers surround us but relatively few seek to engage with their hidden depths.

If you are interested in Chernobyl my first book is out this October. Here is a little sneak preview: http://danielbarter.co.uk/chernobyl-book/

My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/subversivephotos/

My Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/DanielBarterPhotography