Why I Risksed My Camera Gear in This Creepy Abandoned Asylum

I have chased light all over the world. I have stood on the edges of towering cliffs and flown drones through heavy mountain winds. But sometimes, the most intense adrenaline rushes do not happen in the great outdoors. They happen inside the decaying, concrete walls of places society decided to forget.

The goal? A perfect shot.

I wanted to capture the contrast between the harsh structural decay and the bright, chaotic graffiti left behind by trespassers.

The Weight of the Past

Walking through an abandoned asylum is a heavy experience. You can feel the history in the air, and the quietness of the halls is almost deafening. Every step echoes against the crumbling tile. The floors were covered in loose debris, dust, and shattered glass.

I had to tread carefully. One wrong step could mean a nasty fall or a ruined lens.

• The Setup: I kept my camera tight to my chest while navigating the tight doorways and low-hanging ceiling wires.

• The Challenge: The lighting inside was incredibly erratic. I had to quickly adjust my exposure as I moved from dark, windowless hallways into rooms flooded with harsh, direct sunlight.

The contrast was intense. I wanted to make sure my sensor captured both the deep shadows of the corridors and the bright, spray-painted colors on the brickwork.

Tuning the Aesthetic for Decay

To get the look right, I did not want things to look too clean. I shot this hand-held to keep the movement raw and immersive, letting the viewer feel like they were walking right beside me.

When it came to the color grade, I used a custom LUT designed to lift the shadows slightly while keeping the mid-tones cool and gritty. This helped emphasize the rusty orange of the brick and the cold, concrete grays of the structure.

Keep Exploring the Unknown

As creators, we have to look for stories in unexpected places. If you want to grab the exact color profiles and LUTs I use to bring out these rich, cinematic tones in your own footage, head over to McGee Media .

Get out there and find your next shot.