One of the more daring yet exciting things I love to do is urban exploration . Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment.
For me I do not usually plan on going to any particular location , most of the places I find are while driving around, shooting other projects. Depending on my time frame, I may do an on the spot shoot of the exterior. If I don't have the time I will snap shot with my cell phone and return at a later time. Some of the things to keep in mind while exploring is safety. Some of these place have been left unattended for awhile so the structure themselves may not be sound and there is the risk of running into transient people. Also keep in mind the surrounding area itself, so if at all possible do not go alone especially into a building.
The photographs you see below used to be a Best Western hotel that I happened to stumble across while heading to shoot a wedding in Jacksonville, Florida.
Abandon hotel found In Jacksonville Fl.
Abandon hotel Jacksonville Fl
Provide below is a list of equipment that you might consider having on hand
1) Long pants/ long sleeve shirt
2) Some type work boot steel toe is preferred
3) Flash light even though a lot of cell phones have a flashlight app they have very little lght strength. Something Like a hand held spot light or a mag light works the best.
4) Cell phone fully charged
5) Safety Glasses
6) Gloves
7) Backpack with a couple bottles of bottled water
8) Dusk mask
9) Camera with tripod assorted lens, flash
10) Some type of personal protection
These are just are just a few things that can be of use , but you should customizes your kit to what ever fits your needs.
Always keep in mind safety, ask yourself is the shot really worth it.