Vote Now!

Edit:

Apparently I found out about the contest too late, because the viewers choice polls are now closed. However, those of you subscribed to the blog were lucky enough to get a sneak peek at several photos I have not yet shown. Thanks to everyone who did vote for me in the short amount of time the polls were open.

So, I just entered several photos into a photo competition and I need your votes. If you click the photo above, it will take you to my portfolio for the contest. Here, you will find four photos which I have not made public until now.

When viewing the photos, please be sure to place your vote and share the link with your friends and family :) The more votes I receive, the better my chances are for getting the viewers choice award!

Several people have asked me why I haven't been displaying more photos from the book -- the truth is, posting photos from the unfinished book could allegedly disqualify me from certain future exhibitions and photography contests. This being said, you can still expect to see a range of photos and videos relating to the book. However, I will be taking a more 'behind the scenes' approach to the content being published in future posts.

Until next time, don't forget to vote and subscribe for future updates!

-Blake

Aftershave

To follow up on my last post, here's an "aftershave" photo (title thanks to Esther via the comment section ;) ).

A big thanks goes out to Liz Wanucha for a generous donation to the blog. All donations go towards the many costs associated with this large undertaking of mine.

Still waiting for some last minute things to arrive in the mail before I head out. It shouldn't be much longer now (fingers crossed). I was really hoping I'd have someone to come along with me when I left but it's not looking too good at the moment.

During my time away from posting, I have been restoring a number of aged/damaged photos for people. I will post a few examples of this work in the very near future.

Stay tuned.


-Blake

An overdue post and Locks of Love

It's been quite a while since my last post to say the very least.
Over the past few months I have done some much needed restructuring of the book and how I am approaching it in terms of completion. Now that winter is over, I am ready to head out with a clear mindset and fresh new game plan.

You may be wondering what this photo is all about and how it relates to this post. It's actually a self portrait; homage to my hair before shaving it all off. I decided to donate my hair to a non-profit organization called Locks of Love.

Locks of love is an organization that takes donations from people all over the world in order to provide hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. If you would like to learn more about this feel free to visit their website here.

As for me, I am now in St.John's and am patiently awaiting the arrival of a few pieces of equipment in the mail. I am hoping to be on the road again around the 31st of this month. You can expect to see posts a lot more frequently in the following weeks.

Stay tuned for some exciting new features I will be adding to the blog ; )
Most importantly, thanks to all of the loyal subscribers who have patiently awaited new updates.

-Blake

Father and Son

My father arrived this week to visit the family. He works up north and he doesn't get much time to come home. In-fact he only gets to come home 3 times a year.

His plan was to drive out to St.John's and see me. However,I figured I would surprise him by driving out to see him instead.
Seeing as it's such a long drive, and the fact he doesn't have much time back, it just made sense to me.

I'm also quite happy to announce that I have received another very generous donation from a close friend of mine Nicole White. Thank you very much Nicole :) This will go a long way with all the expenses that are popping up with this project.

Speaking of expenses, my laptop fan decided to say "I quit" this week. So some money from the donation's have paid for the cost in replacing the fan. Without my laptop I wouldn't be able to edit the photos I take or make posts to the blog. So again, a big thanks to the donors.


More to come.


-Blake

**The picture above is of my Dad and I. It was taken about 15 years ago in the office my dad worked in at the time. We made silly faces in the photo copy machine. Although i still think the face he's making is a little on the scary side.**

Supplies

Finally I picked up my hiking boots, along with a respirator capable of filtering out asbestos, mold, and various other things that would eventually cripple me or worse in the long run.


I tracked down a real estate agent today to see if I could possibly get access into an abandoned theater. The theater was or is (I can't recall) sold to a developer that is turning the building into condos. I have to meet with him tomorrow, he said there isn't much left inside that resembles the original theater, as it was used by CBC for storage/office space in the past.

I have at least 10 other places in the area to visit before I head out of the city, so I'll be trying to cover that for the next week.

stay tuned.

-Blake

Before I get into how late it's been since the last post I made and what's taken me so long to make one...

I'd like to thank a good friend of mine, Corey Bursey, for making a donation, via donation link on the top of the page. As it was the first donation I've received, and it will certainly help with the vast amount of traveling expenses in the forthcoming months.

So, my plans were changed from going to the Northern Peninsula, to heading east bound to the capital, St.Johns. I figured getting most of this area covered before the winter hits would be a pretty big bonus. As traveling on the highway during the winter isn't the most comforting thing to think about, especially when I'm going to be doing this on my own, and especially considering the harsh winters Newfoundland is subject to. There are also close to 20 communities I have on the list to visit and they're all fairly spread apart, a lot of which are islands.

The hold up was with the vehicle I was driving, and the never ending complexities of extended warranties. It was finally straightened out on friday (21st) and I scrambled to get all my things together in order to leave. It was then that i remembered that my feet had been wet 90% of the time that I spent in the community of Petites. So off I went in search for waterproof hiking boots, only to discover that I couldn't get the size I needed anywhere on the West coast. This made the change in travel plans an even greater necessity.

In addition to car trouble and lack of suitable footwear, I really wanted to have a new business card to take with me to St.Johns. I decided that the project I am working on needed a card of it's own - something to represent the project itself. Sacrificing sleep, I stayed up till almost 4am designing and printing the cards you see in the picture above.

Each card has a different design on the front in terms of the gritty black ink pattern, while the back contains my contact info. Having only enough time to do 11 unique versions I plan on expanding the variations of the front design a little more once I return. As for when I will return-- I am not 100% sure.


P.S.

I'd also like to thank the people at Corner Brook Autopro for fixing the vehicle, and fitting me in on such short notice.


-Blake

West Bay Newfoundland

Promo Video 001

This is the first promotional video I've put together for the book. It's pretty shaky as it was shot with a point and shoot digital camera. The next one will be better.

If you would like to keep up with the blog you can follow it by signing up with a aim, yahoo, or gmail account. You can do this by clicking the link on the right of the page.

Don't have one of these three accounts?
You can join the group on facebook, and you will be notified of any new posts to the blog. Just search for Abandoned and you should see it on the first page.

Also, for those of you who have been with me since the first post, you may have noticed a donate button on the top right. It's pretty self explanatory, things aren't cheap. So, you can either donate... or not.

Bottom line: Thank you for reading and continuing to follow up with the progress.

P.S.
Feel free to leave any comments in this post or the last by clicking the comment button below.

-Blake

The first of many

My name is Blake Gosse and for those of you that don't know, I have been working on a photo book of re-settled/abandoned communities in Newfoundland. To accomplish this I will be traveling all over the island to document the remains of each place.

Upon my return I will post some select photos from the places I've been, showcasing what it is that I'm doing, giving you a sneak peek at the making of my book.

Having just returned from the community of Petites, where i spent three days and learned much more than expected, I am now sifting through the hundreds of photos that I captured while there.

When I first arrived at Petites, I was shocked to find over 40 standing structures, all scattered over a rocky granite landscape. Several of the structures were still in very good condition, among them, a still standing, two story church that had been built back in the 1800's.

Aside from two or three homes which had been very well managed for use of summer homes and cabins, all of the other buildings were starting to show their age due to the harsh environment in which they are subjected.

When entering the homes that weren't locked or boarded up, it was truly saddening to see them in such a damaged state. As I could tell that these were once beautiful homes where loving families once lived, in a community that had been on the rise with a population of close to 300 people at one point.

Feel free to comment or email me any questions or concerns you may have regarding this Book, or anything related to it. I will try to make at least one post every week or two. I can't promise anything because I don't know how long I will be away for during times of travel.

Keep checking back or subscribe to the RSS feed, or become a member (right side of the page) and you will be automatically notified of a new post by email, as this is the first post of many.



-Blake