Tales From Shangri La

Good Morning, er.. afternoon, lovelies. Day one of trying to get a morning routine together was less than spectacular, but to be fair, it's rainy and chilly and my bed was oh so comfy! I did get up at a human hour, eat breakfast, feed the kitties, clean the kitchen and update my shop, so it wasn't a total bust.

Now, I'd like to point you all to an interesting and new blog by a good friend of mine, Tales From Shangri La. I've known Rusty (in person no less!) for 7 or so years. We met in a college art class and he re-introduced me to the fun and beauty of photography, which I had abandoned after high school. In fact, he gave me my first SLR and took me on my very first photography expeditions to abandoned places. We've both always been fascinated by history and the beauty found in decay, but he has easily 3 times the amount of locations under his belt and the boy can do his research.

Some examples of Rusty's work...

He recently began a blog to document the places he visits, to share their beauty and history with others and create a sort of cyber memorial to them. His abandoned photos and histories have been published in quite a few issues of Weird NJ Magazine. The photos he shares are large, to highlight the minute details of the shot and he highlights each place by only showing one entry per page. Navigation can be found at the bottom. I highly recommend looking at his entry regarding the Overbrook Asylum in Essex, NJ. This location is fairly well known and has been visited by the show Ghost Hunters. There's a sort of eerie solitude present in the photos.

If you enjoy quirk, strange history, interesting places or great looking photos, stop by and say hello.