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The Website

Vacant New Jersey serves as a public weblog, which through use of original narrative, text, and photographs, chronicles the various adventures and explorations I have embarked and continue to engage within. The ethos of this website is embedded within the often cheap thrills, wild experiences, and overall taboo nature associated with off-limit locations and simply just adventure as a hobby. It is certainly of no doubt that many of the locations I view as playgrounds may be shrouded deep within various historical significances, however I do not view myself as a preservation activist. It's always great to witness after the fact, a building saved from abandonment/destruction or a private property turned public. However, with that being said, the primary interests encompassing my passion for adventure stem from experiencing such places during which they are balancing about an unknown state of limbo, ruination, or secrecy; a sort of death row for inanimate objects I suppose.

I want to experience a ruin as its rotting away hidden from society, I want to sneak around infrastructure because it's off limits and because society dictates I can't. In that regard I'm not so much an advocate for preservation as I am just simply an explorer looking for my next adventure. I follow no set rules, my ethics are perhaps a bit skewed, but my morals, sound. I understand that progress often comes at the expense of destruction, thus it is not my goal to physically attempt save places from the wrecking ball. Rather, it is my hope that perhaps people can relate to the photographs I capture and narratives I chronicle from the places I wander; if I can spark a sense of curiosity into ones mind then I feel I have echoed my motto; Stay Curious. Inadvertently, I also recognize that the memories and images I capture though photographs and words will keep the spirit of many locations alive long after they've been demolished.

When I started Vacant New Jersey in 2006, I was an awkward, bored, and curious teenager. Fast forward to recent years and much hasn't changed, except the teenager aspect. My sense of curiosity has only grown stronger and has expanded my interests into various other mediums of adventure. Boredom is a disease of the mind and adventure is the placebo. I'm passionate about experiencing the cool shit society says I'm not allowed to see. I like to take risks and do seemingly stupid stuff for the payoff is always worthwhile. And such is Vacant New Jersey, an awful website name I chose at a young age to detail my adventures which at the time I thought would never take me out of the Garden State. Everything about Vacant New Jersey, from the hand coded outdated HTML framework to the pictures and stories, all of which represent my own personal works. I must acknowledge that along the way I have met many brilliant and stupid people, all of which have certainly made many of the adventures detailed within this website possible.


Exploration

My desire to avoid social situations is what I initially trace back to my attraction with exploration and off-limit locations. A self discovery during my childhood years that places exist in the world which are essentially left to rot or associated as off-limits blew my mind. As a result I've been going on adventures and exploring ever since. The thrill and danger which often highlights exploring is a huge draw, but so also is the chaos significant of decay and destruction. We live in such a wasteful society and rediscovering what we as human beings deem as no longer useful is fascinating. But so also is merely just being in a space I know I have no business in. The unique sights, perspectives, and experiences one acquires from taking risks is the ultimate draw. For capturing pictures of it all is fun, but is never my ultimate goal. I explore to open my mind and escape, and take pictures and write stories to let others through.


Equipment

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