The week I stopped taking photos at Forest Hills Mall and just sat there instead

I used to be all about documenting every cracked tile and faded sign (you know, for the gram). But last Tuesday I drove out to the old Forest Hills Mall in Ohio and my camera battery died after like 10 minutes. I was annoyed at first, but then I just sat on this broken bench near the old food court fountain. Listened to the water drip for an hour. Some birds were nesting in a collapsed ceiling panel. It was weirdly peaceful. Made me realize I've been missing the actual feeling of being in these places while I'm busy framing shots. Has anyone else had a moment like that where you just stopped and soaked it in?

2 comments

2 Comments

terrybennett1mo ago

...and that's exactly what happened to me about six months ago at a dying mall in New Jersey. I had this whole plan to get these moody shots of the empty hallways, but my memory card got corrupted halfway through. I was so frustrated at first, sitting on a bench trying to figure out a backup plan. But eventually I just gave up and watched a janitor slowly mopping the same stretch of floor for like 20 minutes. idk, it changed how I approach those places now. Sometimes I'll still bring my camera but I'll leave it in the car for the first 15 minutes and just walk around with no expectations. You end up noticing way more, honestly.

jordan_anderson901mo ago

Had a buddy who did something similar at an abandoned Kmart a few years back. He went in all gung ho to get these creepy photos but his phone died like five minutes in. Ended up just sitting on a overturned shopping cart watching dust float in the sunlight coming through the broken skylight. Said it was way more memorable than any picture could have been.