More adventures









Despite exploring our home city for a few years now, this was a new addition to our repertoire. We had all known of this drain since we first began going in them. But for various reasons, had never put the effort in to explore it. This has in fact been true for many drains in our city. Full of interesting features and photographic opportunities, they lie in wait for us. Read more

Once in a blue moon, I stumble across something almost too good to be true. Read more
A week in Paris is not nearly enough time to explore all of its wonders. The Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur, Arc de Triomphe. All these "must-do" tourist attractions take up precious time. Read more
It's not often you come across a drain this expansive. This maze goes in so many directions and takes on so many guises that of the five hours I trekked through it, I am told I only covered about half of what it had to offer. Read more

Underground... on the ground... above the ground.

They're all places I keenly explore, each bringing their own sets of qualities. And each with their own feel. Read more

I haven't photographed this place in years. It was one of the first places I took a camera and one of the few from which the photos didn't turn out so bad back then. This may have led to me getting complacent in going back as I 'already had my photos from there.' Read more
Most drains will have their own unique characteristics and features that make them attractive to explorers. If a drain has no features, it will usually subside away from any fame or glory and be rarely visited. Read more
The ultimate of all locations. At least that's what it looks like. Whilst the visuals are spectacular, the experience is not always ideal. Read more
Glamorous sophistication masks a vulgar and malevolent creature. Living larger than life will kill you eventually. Read more
Our location today brings with it an illustrious history spanning back well over a century. In its infancy, finely attired gentlemen and their ladies would frequent it for business meetings, dinners, drinks and often for a luxuriously-appointed room to stay for the night whilst in town. Many of these visitors were wealthy pastoralists on travels to the city. Read more
Photonerding is hard work. Over the past few years I have figured things out slowly. Shot by shot. I remain stuck, though, on what to do with drain lighting. Successfully turning a pitch black tube into a good 2D image is not something I've improved greatly in since I began shooting. Read more
The allure of going in underground places typically attracts a strange bunch of people. By no means do I mean a bad bunch of people; I refer to a colourful, vibrant and talented bunch. Read more
It has been three years today since my first ever foray into the world of urban exploration. That day marked the beginning of a very special chapter of my life and I feel a few words to share that experience, and the resulting chapter, are due. Read more
Deep in the innards of this facility lay a curious and picturesque scene. Run on a skeleton staff and scheduled for redevelopment, only essential maintenance is performed. A few blown lightbulbs or damaged handrails here and there are of little concern. Read more

The history of architecture is not my forté. I have a layman's appreciation for it. But I do notice it and I like to learn bits and pieces here and there. Today, a group of us travelled through suburbia to finally explore this fascinating abandoned college and its ugly architecture. Read more
One of the very attractive aspects of this hobby is the sundry social activities and new people. People travel the world to see new countries, new drains, new abandonments and such. Hard to believe, but true. It's not all Eiffel Tower and Big Ben for everyone, you know. Read more
It has been way too long since my last road trip. Life has caught up with me and I find myself caught in the city always. So when the call comes in rounding up the troops for a long-distance adventure, I find myself jumping at the opportunity. Read more
I like taking photos of the underground. I also like taking photos of pretty girls. I suppose I've known all along it would end up inevitable that I would take pictures of pretty girls under ground. It's all cause-and-effect. Read more
Dark eerie places are my favourite sort of places. A heightened sense of apprehension about the surroundings is something I realise I now crave more each day. An addiction, of sorts. Read more
It felt like it had been years since I last visited Aquacave. And it had been too long since my last MAN NIGHT! with Spoz. So the logical way to fill these two voids was to drink beer and eat Indian with Spoz in Aquacave. It also, coincidentally, happened to be Aquacave's 101st birthday. Read more
Most explorers are city types. It is, after all, the allure of a city's secrets that draws us in to this recreational activity. Read more
It's part of the human condition, for most, to desire something. We desire well-paid or comfortable jobs. We desire the caress of a loved one or the warmth of a family. We desire more play time or more material possessions. Read more
In American colleges, it's known as 'vadding': the exploration of steam tunnels used to heat buildings that are hidden behind walls and in basements. But I'm not in an American college. I'm in one of the world's best-known opera theatres. Don't ya just love a bit of culture? Read more
A lot of unhappy cows lived (died) here. Cutting up animals for research is an important part of the food chain. Yay for food technology! Read more
Ah, shopping malls... epic shitholes and destroyers of local business and economy. Read more
The air was crisp and fresh and the ride was free. In the best of company, we watched the night go by and fully appreciated how good life was. Read more
I'm the sorta guy that sticks to promises. If I tell you I'm gonna give you a Part Two, you're gonna get a Part Two. And so, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back... to Scrotal Annihilation! Read more
Good ideas. We're full of 'em. And so it was, ladies and gentlemen, that I attended my first 'Bring Your Pet' expo. Pets, it seems, go in drains as well. Read more
I've been roadtripping about the place lately and exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life forms and new civilizations, boldly going where no man has gone before. Read more
Solo exploring. This is a new town for me, my new home. Far away from camaraderie of close friends that I'm used to. I'm already missing the social side of exploring. Hundreds of miles from the nearest city, I am now a lone wolf. And I will be for many months. Read more

I have a habit of putting things off. I convince myself that certain locations probably aren't worth exploring. This was one of them. I'd seen the outflow to the river a few dozen times and knew that eventually, I would have to actually do the deed. Read more
There are some who believe that the end of the world may come at any point. Complete infrastructural collapse. Hyperinflation. Deadly pandemics. Major natural disasters. Nuclear annihilation. These people call themselves survivalists. They plan and prepare themselves and their families for the day WTSHTF (when the shit hits the fan, as they term it). Read more
One lonely evening, I was walking someone else's dogs. Read more
Are you serious? Fire truck on a stick? Oh fate, why do you make me do such terrible, terrible things? I know there's a psychiatrist out there who can tell me why I'm attracted to conquering tall objects... Read more
Sometimes it's just the simple things that make us happy.

An evening drive with a friend. Learning something new. Seeing something you've not seen before. A photo that turned out really well despite the odds. Read more

Rooftops. The only reason I get any exercise these days. Although this ten storeys is nothing in comparison to (say) a ball-breaking, leg-aching 74 storey ascent. Read more
You spend nine hours a day, five days a week here. You eat, drink, socialise, earn your living within these confines. Yet you've never seen much beyond your cubicle. Read more
A few hundred people sit on their lounges watching a rubbish current affairs programme eating a hurriedly-prepared dinner. Their nineteen eighty-something townhouse dwellings are beginning to show their age and are no longer de riguer in this suburb that has in fact become stately all around them, leaving them behind. Read more
I make no apologies here for only taking three lousy shots. After all, there will be a Part Two. But this post serves more as a story and warning than as a photo adventure. To put it succinctly, I did not have a pleasant time; photographs were the last thing on my mind. Read more
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. Read more
The city's surface may be clean-shaven from where you stand. But look just a little deeper into the dermal layers and it doesn't take long to find the microbial contamination that you like to think doesn't exist. Read more
The Finns would have enjoyed this place more than I did.

Health benefits, optional nudity in segregated rooms (depending on where you're from, of course), jumping into icy lakes... I don't think we did this properly. Read more

Throw together ordinary household items one would find in the pantry, cook (stirring regularly) et voila! You have smoke you can take and release anywhere you like for visual/theatrical/photographical effect. Read more
Sometimes in life, change can happen to our very souls. We irreversibly become something new. Sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. The Vortex knows neither good nor bad. It just is. It just happens. Indiscriminate to your desires or wishes, your consciousness will be transformed at the will of The Vortex. Read more
Some places I come across are just so surreal that others have trouble believing in their existence. Believe what you will, this is a real place I came across in my travels. And it smells real bad. Of rubbish. Read more
Beyond the realms of the city and out somewhere in the countryside, I was told, lie the wrecks of two bomber aircraft from Double-yer Double-yer Two. How could I resist? (I was told wrong, turns out these flew in 'Nam.) Read more
Dressed as sewer rats, we marched off to the glitz and glam of one of the city's most exclusive residential suburbs. Among million dollar apartments and beautiful street sculptures, we jumped off the riverwalk and landed in the mud. I love this city. Read more
HDR photography. So this is what's become of me. Read more
The three of us walked down the cement ramp into the gut of the city. Ducking beneath a security boom and camera, we went to the nearest wall and slid aside the enormous grille vent. Access granted. Read more
Danny Boyle fans, eat ya heart out. Or, if you're an actual zombie, eat our brains out instead. Because we landed ourselves right in the middle of a real-world zombie horror adventure. Read more
Many months after the first time I photographed here, I decided it was time to go back and try again. Read more
Drains were invented in 1972 for photographic purposes. Torches, beanies and rucksacks came shortly after and were used as optional accessories for the well-to-do. Read more
Every now and then, we learn something or discover something that changes our perspective in a big way. I love this feeling. It's akin to a light being turned on and suddenly being able to see again. Read more

Trains are okay. Read more
This was built by native Americans in the 17th century. It's original use was as a rocket ship in order to get out of what had become a pretty shitty country at the time. Read more
Aquaba, Spoz, Grasshopper and I wanted to get to the highest point of this local area and lose our 'heights virginity'. We had done 3 other sites before this, it was nearly 3 o'clock in the morning and bloody cold. We'd make it short and sweet. Read more
For a week I had been driving past this location, monitoring activity of security. I was desperate to get back inside these surreal rooms. Read more
This is a giant inedible polenta cake. Read more
Ring ring...
"eylo..?"
    "Wanna come to city?"
    "Umm yeh sure, do what?"
    "Just see what we find I guess." Read more
Light paint, that is. Read more
At last! A hand to hold and someone to guide me through the inner workings of my new cameratoy. I smell a chance to get serious with settings. Read more
The morning birds were beginning their sweet songs on the brisk night air. We were all weary, those of us that remained out this late. Aches and pains had already claimed a few of us earlier in the night and so our solemn little group had slowly wound down to a paltry few. "Just one last thing before we head off home," yawned Aquaba, "I want to show you Shinybox. I found it the other day." We reluctantly agreed to view his latest discovery. Read more