If the internet was to ban photographs of abandoned places or funny dog videos, I really don’t know which one I would be more upset about. Both get my clicks every time. But of course the internet would never do that; it just keeps on giving. Take this photo project for example, by Dutch photographer Alice van Kempen, who went road-tripping around Europe exploring abandoned places with Claire, a 3-year-old bull terrier as her companion.
Together, they crawled under fences, climbed walls, jumped through windows and sometimes just walked through the front door.
“Finding a new location is great fun but getting inside is where the real fun starts,” Alice tells Caters News. “Once we’re inside we check the building from top to bottom and I always start photographing the best spot in the house first.”
“From day one I had a connection with Claire. She loves modelling and she’s brilliant too. She sometimes has to sit absolutely still for seconds at a time without blinking or making the slightest movement.” Of course it probably helps that Alice has been photographing dogs for magazines and dog food companies for nearly two decades now.
Claire had her first introduction to urban exploration just a little over two years ago in the Belgian ghost town of Doel. I remember exploring that incredibly eerie town myself and and sure could have used a canine companion to ease my nerves.
“I always feel safe with Claire at my side because I know she can protect me if it comes to that,” says Alice, who has since taken her dog to explore old prisons, military bases, coal mines, hospitals, trains and even inside an airplane.
Yet another convincing reason to add to my list for my partner of “why we need a dog”.
