Hunslet Mill [Urban Exploration]

So I got up to a little michief again recently doing a bit of Urban Exploration with my pal James Lester. He know’s some ace spots of hidden Leeds.

We started around a new flyover in industrial Hunslet, and saw this funky old factory.  Here’s my ‘processed’ take on it, all done in Adobe Lightroom.

For those interested in a nosey behind the scenes, this one is how it looked straight out of the camera. Quite different eh?

I shoot in RAW so I can pull back highlight details, such as the sky, and have created my own LR presets for different purposes.

Mr L brought along his new baby, a Rolleiflex medium format.  The viewfinder on this thing was a joy to look through.

Some UrbEx textures on some skips around the site.

I wonder what’s down here…

An old mill! They don’t mess about naming the streets in Hunslet. This was an UrbEx playground for sure, especially once we found a way in.

These stairwells were amazing. I love the way paintwork does it’s own thing given enough time.

After seeing that viewfinder I had the idea to shoot some pix through it, but it was harder than it looked.  Perhaps I need my macro lens.

Inside one of the many mill floors.  When a crate or something is on the floor, it’s been put there by UrbEx-ers cos there’s a hole in the floor underneath.

Louise or Celia?

A funky button on the wall. Sadly it didn’t fire anything up.

A view from the other side of the building.

On it’s maiden voyage under his ownership, this beauty fell off it’s tripod & onto a concrete floor!  Oooooof.

The light meter died and, to say the least, JL wasn’t impressed. I felt his pain.

A couple of textures from the walls.

The top floor had a leeking roof, and looked wicked.

Rain rain go away, come back another day… perhaps in November or Spring.

Just before we left we had a nosey in the cool basement.

Lots of fun.

• 06 August 2009