Abandoned but Eerily Beautiful: Two new books by Greek American photographer Joanna Kalafatis
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
When you hear the words—ghost town—what do you think of? Most likely old, empty buildings and dusty streets. That’s exactly what Greek American photographer Joanna Kalafatis captures in image after image of two gorgeous photography books published late last year that focus on eerily beautiful abandoned buildings in California.
Both books —Abandoned Northern California and Abandoned Southern California—take readers on a photographic journey to remote places throughout the state, taking us into rugged mining settlements, and roadside stands and gas stations along the iconic highway Route 66.
There’s a romanticism to the photos, some of them evoking the street paintings of Edward Hopper that feature images of empty streets and buildings, and a sense of history, which is oddly preserved in these now unused and abandoned structures. In these images we can see and feel echoes of the Old West, the excitement of the gold rush, and later, the feel of Americans rushing along in open convertibles, their hair whipping in the wind, on a road trip along Route 66.
“Viewed through my lens, I want this collection to serve, not as an eerie reminder of lives and residences long gone, but as a peek into each successive wave of history that has given this grand state its distinctive character, and has influenced the nature of the towns and the mindset of the people of California to this day,” says Kalafatis.
A sense of what California is today, she notes, can be gleaned in these photos of the ruins of buildings that have been left behind. The most recent of the two books, Abandoned Northern California, covers, what Kalafatis refers to as “a land of contradictions”: miles from towering mountains you’ll find sweeping deserts and poor, rural towns are just past stately countryside manors.
“From gold prospectors and fishermen to brilliant inventors and writers, to the entrepreneurs who would become the titans of the wine industry, an unimaginable range of people and forces shaped Northern California,” she says. “This diversity of background, lifestyle, and mindset is still evident in the multitude of abandoned buildings, towns, and wrecks left behind. By exploring these captivating ruins, we can get a better sense of how Northern California became the puzzling collection of people from all walks of life that it is today.”
Both books ($23.99 each) are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as through the publisher.
Abandoned Southern California: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781634990684
Abandoned Northern California: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781634990912
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