Ethics & Posting Buiding Locations

Hi All,

I have been interested in rural American history for quite some time. Old maps showing the landscape of rural life are fascinating to me.

Anyway, I had the idea of photographing old, abandoned rural buildings; not as a specific expression of art, but rather to document their last days. Now... the concept is to have an internet gallery, more like a wiki where each location includes old map references, a collection of photographs and other information about the location.

Now, is it generally considered 'un-ethical' to publicly post the locations of these buildings? Anyone with access to the internet can locate these sites, however I do not want to be the cause of vandalism, theft, etc... I have seen a few photographers' galleries where they specifically state they wil NOT reveal where the photos were taken.

However, the main purpose here is documentation of a physical location.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

-Ken

There was an article in the local paper this week about a family farm where someone had gone in and stripped it of all the recyclable wood. Refinished barn wood is all the rage in high end homes these days. The farm owner was in a nursing home and the family was in the process of selling the farm. Some scumbags noticed no one was around and a whole crew went in and left only the barn skeleton.

Because that article is fresh in my mind, I can see why you'd be hesitant to post images and locations. If a structure is truly in its last days and about to collapse, it might not be an issue. But if it still has salvageable materials...

Then again, what are the chances that someone intent on stealing salvageable material would learn about a structure from your web gallery? Pretty slim, I'd say.

I'll be interested to see what others think about this.

I can see the potential for information being misused Ken, but honestly, that comes with most everything on the internet or elsewhere. Your project sounds pretty interesting. I would encourage you to proceed.

No it isn't unethical. My father-in-law is a photographer and architectural historian, responsible for a lot of restoration/preservati​on of old buildings in Australia and he does this sort of thing all the time.

The reality is that any such damage will be perpetrated by local ne'er-do-wells or travelling crims who are well able to find targets without your help. There may be one or two elite squads of internet thieves who have a Google Alert set up to scan for "abandoned building" but I think the likelihood of your blog being used is slim.

The alternative would be that they are never documented and are lost to use in time. I know that my father-in-law for one would be very sad if that were to happen.

My thought is that if anyone was going to strip or vandalize an abandoned building it would probably be someone who lives nearby and already knows it's there. So unless NatGeo, History or Discovery Channel start a new series about people who illegally strip and sell old building materials, I doubt you posting the location is going to do any harm.

But my question is how posting the location improves the work. Wouldn't describing the place as "The Jone's abandoned barn in Western Illinois, built sometime in the 1890's and abandoned in 1992" be sufficient?

Thanks a ton for the feedback everyone,


M_Six: I have heard of different types of theft in rural locations; last year someone harvested an entire field of corn near here that belonged to someone else. WOW. Many of my subjects are nothing more than foundations. Some still have salvageable materials, but for the most part, not.

Dan: Tis' a pity I am in the US and your father-in-law is in Australia. I would thoroughly enjoy chatting with him. Would also love to see some of his photos! IMHO, saving history that may otherwise be forgotten is an important thing to do. Good for him! My targets will likely never be restored. It saddens me every time I see an old building torn down; everyplace has history.

bumpintheroad: To answer your question simply; I want to be as specific as possible. In my old (Late 1800's - current) photo collection I have items labeled like "Bridge over Swan Lake"; At the time this location likely made sense. Now, the Swan Lake bridge and roads are forgotten. Over time, contexts like this become less and less specific.

So, for what I want to do, labeling this photo "Aledo Methodist/Presbyterian Church 2010" really doesn't do it for me. I want something like "Aledo, IL Methodist/Presbyterian Church 2010 - 41.202758, -90.747678"