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Behind-the-scenes video: Keith Dotson Photographs an Abandoned Old House in the Woods
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Abandoned Places Behind the Scenes Video

Behind-the-scenes video: Keith Dotson Photographs an Abandoned Old House in the Woods

Keith Dotson
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Join fine art photographer Keith Dotson as he explores and photographs an abandoned house in the woods, with clothes and furniture still inside!

This video and associated photographs were made recently at an abandoned house in the piney woods of north Georgia, between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The house was an unexpected discovery and still had clothes and furniture inside, although I suspect the clothes and shoes had been placed by previous explorers rather than the home owners. The leafy ground around the exterior of the collapsing house was littered with old shoes, household items, and broken glass.

Behind-the-scenes bonus photographs from the location

Below are a few more bonus phone images shot on location.

A look at my camera on a tripod inside the old house. The floor was extremely sketchy for walking but it supported the tripod with no problem.
A look at my camera on a tripod inside the old house. The floor was extremely sketchy for walking but it supported the tripod with no problem.
The old chair has women's shoes in front of it, which were probably placed by a previous visitor. The stove pipe remains even though the stove is long gone. All that remains of the window shade are tatters blowing in the breeze.
The old chair has women’s shoes in front of it, which were probably placed by a previous visitor. The stove pipe remains even though the stove is long gone. All that remains of the window shade are tatters blowing in the breeze.
Once stylish women's shoes were scattered around the site, indoors and outdoors. When were these popular? 1970s? 1980s?
Once stylish women’s shoes were scattered around the site, indoors and outdoors. When were these popular? 70s? 80s?
This exterior view shows the old asphalt siding that was designed to resemble brick patterns.
This exterior view shows the old tar-paper siding that was designed to resemble brick patterns.

The photograph above shows the asphalt siding that was designed to look like bricks. I’ve seen this material on old houses around the US, and particularly in the south.

Below is a passage about this siding from inspectapedia.com:

“Asphalt building siding became a popular building renovation alternative to painting weathered or rotted wood clapboard or wood shingle siding as early as the 1930’s, becoming popular in the 1940’s and the 1950’s in North America where it was used both for low-cost housing and for covering the deteriorated exterior walls of older homes.”

Yours truly caught in the act on the exterior of this old house in the woods. I was making a series of exposures focused on various spots to allow for a focus stacked final image (see below). Portrait by B.T.
Hey, that’s me on the exterior of the old house in the woods. I was making a series of exposures focused on various spots to allow for a focus stacked final image (see below). Portrait by B.T.
This is the image that I was working on while the portrait above was taken. It’s a composite of 5 focus-stacked exposures. It’s difficult to tell in the low-resolution web image seen here, but this is tack sharp from foreground to background.
A rusty wash bucket in the yard near the partially collapsed roof.
A rusty wash bucket in the yard near the partially collapsed roof.

Thanks for reading.

Be sure to visit me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, or on my website at keithdotson.com.

~ Keith

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1 comment

  1. Jeni says:

    What a treasure find!! Fantastic and full of art worthy photo ops! I enjoyed guessing what you would shoot. You forgot the vine on the wall, lol. Always a treat, Keith, thanks for sharing your journeys.

    Reply

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