Seth introduced me to the industrial and (mostly abandoned) city of Gary, Indiana. When I came down to Gary to check it out, Seth showed me around the city and welcomed me to come back whenever I was heading to Chicago. Aside from being a dedicated urban explorer, he was an amazing photographer. His pictures speak for themselves.
Over time, Seth became one of my close friends. We spoke on a daily basis even though we should have been working. He just got a new job in Chicago, was looking to buy a new car and finish up his degree in Mechanical Engineering.
This past weekend, Saturday, September 23rd, and one day shy of his 24th birthday, Seth passed away in a tragic accident doing what he loved to do - taking photos. Seth was an extraordinary and brilliant young man whose life was taken too soon.
I'm sad to lose such a great friend but at the same time I'm thankful that I was able to spend a few hours with him before he left us. He was nothing but kind, generous and caring to me, qualities you don't find in a lot of people. He truly loved exploration and photography and he died doing what he loved to do. He will be missed.
In honor of his life and legacy he left behind, I am sending out a limited photo of the City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana where Seth and I first met almost a year ago. After I heard about his passing I figured the least I could do for him was honor him in one of his favorite places of all time. All donations will go to his family to help cover the funds. All of the printing, shipping and PayPal fees will be covered by me.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the picture above, please use the donation link below. Photo sizes will be a 5x7.5" full frame to fit an 8x10 frame. There is no set price for this photo, donate however much your heart desires. I will be placing orders every Friday until October 27th that way I can mail out a check to Seth's family by Monday, October 30th. You will receive your photo within 1-2 weeks depending on when you placed your order. All photos will be shipped flat.
What a moving story and tribute. I didn't realize there was name for the photography that I love the most, "urban exploring." I'm touched because I too am trained as a mechanical engineer and I love photography. Thank you for sharing this.
Or standing in front of an oncoming train... I am wondering how that could have happen unless his foot got caught in the tracks in one of those re-routing manuevers.
Sad story. In my line of work I see this lack of good judgment all the time. Usually by age 23 males begin to realize that they are mortal and use a little more common sense.. I am suprised an obviously intelligent individual such as this young man would put himself in a position of such danger. A PJ in a war zone yes. But to photograph a train....
John Power wrote:
Sad story. In my line of work I see this lack of good judgment all the time. Usually by age 23 males begin to realize that they are mortal and use a little more common sense.. I am suprised an obviously intelligent individual such as this young man would put himself in a position of such danger. A PJ in a war zone yes. But to photograph a train....
Lack of good judgement on his part - maybe.. who knows we werent there
Lack of tact on your part for mentioning it in this tribute thread - most definitely!
Maybe you are a robot after all.
Maybe if something accidental/tragic ever happens to one of your loved ones, you will want people to remind you that it was simply a cause of their lack of good judgement
There is probably no liability either if he was trespassing.
