Henk van Rensbergen takes us on an interesting journey to empty buildings, factories, polluted and abandoned places full of traps and secrets around the world. This is not without risk: some places are incredibly dangerous to visit. But the things he discovers are fascinating: a world where man has disappeared since the moment the door was closed many years ago.
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About the Author
Henk van Rensbergen is a pilot. Everywhere he goes, he looks for abandoned hospitals, buildings in decay and modern ruins. His images capture the transiency of the modern world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm surprised to see no user reviews yet for this book, so I'm going to write a brief one.
I've been aware of Henk van Rensbergen's website [...] for probably about 2 years or so, and have always been greatly interested in the photos he puts up there. Being Belgian, he's from what I personally consider the best UE country in the world, as it's jam packed full of wonderfully preserved yet abandoned buildings.
I somehow only became aware he'd written books (2, that I'm aware of) this past Sunday, and after seeing the preview of it on his website (...), I decided to buy it.
After being very disappointed by another UE book from another author I bought recently, I was somewhat skeptical about buying another, but I knew the photographer was good so I went for it. The book arrived today, and I read it through from beginning to end in one sitting, and I'm absolutely amazed by how good it is. I had quite high expectations for the book because I'd seen plenty of van Rensbergen's work before, but every single of one of the photos in this book is leagues ahead of the quality shown on his site. He's obviously saved the best for this collection.
Along with each building's photos, there's a brief description of his experiences when visiting them. Whether it's being escorted by an armed bodyguard through an abandoned prison that isn't quite so abandoned, or just soaking in the atmosphere of grand stately homes, it's all well worth a read and compliments the pictures perfectly. It's also quite thick, and rather than having lots of little photos per page, each side of A4 is filled with a single, large, crystal-clear photograph - which is handy because you'll be looking at them for a long time.... Read more ›
I've been aware of Henk van Rensbergen's website [...] for probably about 2 years or so, and have always been greatly interested in the photos he puts up there. Being Belgian, he's from what I personally consider the best UE country in the world, as it's jam packed full of wonderfully preserved yet abandoned buildings.
I somehow only became aware he'd written books (2, that I'm aware of) this past Sunday, and after seeing the preview of it on his website (...), I decided to buy it.
After being very disappointed by another UE book from another author I bought recently, I was somewhat skeptical about buying another, but I knew the photographer was good so I went for it. The book arrived today, and I read it through from beginning to end in one sitting, and I'm absolutely amazed by how good it is. I had quite high expectations for the book because I'd seen plenty of van Rensbergen's work before, but every single of one of the photos in this book is leagues ahead of the quality shown on his site. He's obviously saved the best for this collection.
Along with each building's photos, there's a brief description of his experiences when visiting them. Whether it's being escorted by an armed bodyguard through an abandoned prison that isn't quite so abandoned, or just soaking in the atmosphere of grand stately homes, it's all well worth a read and compliments the pictures perfectly. It's also quite thick, and rather than having lots of little photos per page, each side of A4 is filled with a single, large, crystal-clear photograph - which is handy because you'll be looking at them for a long time.... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Jeff Cotton
Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the second book from the man and the website that was in at the beginning of the whole Urban Exploration thing and showed the way as far as how good it could all look. It contains photos taken 2007-2010. His photographic style is straight, but he sure takes a mean snap - the balance between authenticity and artfulness is perfect. The places are well-chosen and varied and include some unusual choices, including a country road full of cars abandoned by the families of US servicemen in 1947. They were snowed up, taken away by train, and the road fell into disuse and the cars remained to rust and return to nature. There's also the pretty home of a tragic murderess, with family photos still on the wall and plastic flowers still in their vase. The text provides some pointlessly 'poetic' flights but also info and some insights into the tactics of the author, with the surprising thing being that he often now seems to get official assistance in his explorations, which is also a bit disappointing. A brief venture out of his Belgium-centric comfort zone takes him to Detroit, of course, and into some now-very-familiar places.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Sarahh
Amazon Verified Purchase
Being a Photographer, and studying in University, I needed this book to help me complete an essay on Henk Van Rensbergen. I've become very interested in his work recently, but didn't want to have to fork out for something I thought I didn't need.
See the operative word there, thought?
This book arrived today, and oh my word... its amazing. I had to get up straight away and look through the entire book, stopping and going back to it wasn't an option. The places he has managed to explore, truly show how people seem to forget about these places, or they're just... there! One of the places he managed to visit, some Catacombs, are amazing, you can feel the crispness of the images, and how still the place would feel. Henk portrays this fantasticly! One of my favorite photographers! The quality of the images on the paper is amazing, you can see every tone and the depth of the images is fantastic. Henk introduces you to each place with a short passage, both in English and Flemmish. Giving you a brief history surrounding the place. There are no words to accompany each image, which I find better, it allows you to let your mind wander and find your own opinions.
Henks work is fantastic, theres no other word for it. A man that takes "suffer for your art" to a new level, its utterly fantastic!
I was going to sell this book on after i'd used it, but now i've changed my mind and i'm going to keep it. Its so inspiring for someone who finds that type of photography interesting. It gives me something to base my ideas around!
Even my boyfriend and friends who I have shown it to, those who don't even have an interest in Photography found the images interesting and breath taking.... Read more ›
See the operative word there, thought?
This book arrived today, and oh my word... its amazing. I had to get up straight away and look through the entire book, stopping and going back to it wasn't an option. The places he has managed to explore, truly show how people seem to forget about these places, or they're just... there! One of the places he managed to visit, some Catacombs, are amazing, you can feel the crispness of the images, and how still the place would feel. Henk portrays this fantasticly! One of my favorite photographers! The quality of the images on the paper is amazing, you can see every tone and the depth of the images is fantastic. Henk introduces you to each place with a short passage, both in English and Flemmish. Giving you a brief history surrounding the place. There are no words to accompany each image, which I find better, it allows you to let your mind wander and find your own opinions.
Henks work is fantastic, theres no other word for it. A man that takes "suffer for your art" to a new level, its utterly fantastic!
I was going to sell this book on after i'd used it, but now i've changed my mind and i'm going to keep it. Its so inspiring for someone who finds that type of photography interesting. It gives me something to base my ideas around!
Even my boyfriend and friends who I have shown it to, those who don't even have an interest in Photography found the images interesting and breath taking.... Read more ›
Amazon Verified Purchase
This was a present for my son, just graduated in Architecture from Bath University. He is also a gifted artist, and wanted to have an insight into obsolete or defunct design. He asked for this book as a birthday gift and is delighted with it.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
I was looking forward to getting this book. But after first flip through I was not happy.
There are mainly two things that I'm unhappy with..
I think there are to many black and white pictures. They look artistic and all, but what says decay like the color of rust, old paint, earth and plants? Unfortunately the author chose to show many of the buildings without color. Well sometimes there were whole pages of B&W pictures, 'spiced' with color inserts from the place. That just confirmed my opinion because I thought the inserts just looked so much better than the rest.
The second thing that bothered me, was the format of some page spreads. Often the author showed two different pictures on each page but both were rotated 90degr. So when you got to them you had to turn the book to get a good look. Which disrupted the 'flow' of viewing.
I imagine others might not be bothered by this. But had I known I would probably not have bought the book.
There are mainly two things that I'm unhappy with..
I think there are to many black and white pictures. They look artistic and all, but what says decay like the color of rust, old paint, earth and plants? Unfortunately the author chose to show many of the buildings without color. Well sometimes there were whole pages of B&W pictures, 'spiced' with color inserts from the place. That just confirmed my opinion because I thought the inserts just looked so much better than the rest.
The second thing that bothered me, was the format of some page spreads. Often the author showed two different pictures on each page but both were rotated 90degr. So when you got to them you had to turn the book to get a good look. Which disrupted the 'flow' of viewing.
I imagine others might not be bothered by this. But had I known I would probably not have bought the book.
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