Not U.E.

http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=30137

Well I don't consider paying admission to a National Park and walking around a path on a tour exploring, but maybe that's just me. I guess you can hang out at the food court at your local mall and call it U.E. if you want to.

Posted by 2Xplorations Not U.E. http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=30137 Well I don't consider paying admission to a National Park and walking around a path on a tour exploring, but maybe that's just me. I guess you can hang out at the food court at your local mall and call it U.E. if you want to.

....yeah I'm going to agree with you on public parks not being UE.

Also not UE although it is cool.
http://www.uer.ca/...ow.asp?locid=26705

My exploring is primarily focused on old abandoned mines. Almost universally NOT urban in any sense so I was cautious when I first started posting here. I wanted to be sensitive to the focus of the forum since my explores are all in quite remote areas. After posting pictures of a couple of my outings the response was quite positive.

It seems that a bit of common sense in subject matter, some decent pictures, and a story line about the explore go a long way towards acceptance.

Just my .02 worth...

Abby

Posted by mahal Looks like I'll have to remember to come back when I can view full member stuff to check these links. For now.. I wait.

I have been waiting for over 3 years. Let's play Connect 4 and wait together.

Posted by Abby Normal My exploring is primarily focused on old abandoned mines. Almost universally NOT urban in any sense so I was cautious when I first started posting here. I wanted to be sensitive to the focus of the forum since my explores are all in quite remote areas. After posting pictures of a couple of my outings the response was quite positive. It seems that a bit of common sense in subject matter, some decent pictures, and a story line about the explore go a long way towards acceptance. Just my .02 worth... Abby

Abandoned mines seem to be accepted as UE, but not natural caves. Is that something you also do and keep more at arm's length here, or does it interest you less?

Posted by Steed Abandoned mines seem to be accepted as UE, but not natural caves. Is that something you also do and keep more at arm's length here, or does it interest you less?

I haven't been caving in many, many years. Not so much because I'm not interested, but I've rarely had the opportunity. Caves are more rare in our area while mines are everywhere. I'm also attracted by the historical aspect of miners and the men who dug them. For me, industrial decay is neat above or below ground.

Abby

Posted by Abby Normal I haven't been caving in many, many years. Not so much because I'm not interested, but I've rarely had the opportunity. Caves are more rare in our area while mines are everywhere. I'm also attracted by the historical aspect of miners and the men who dug them. For me, industrial decay is neat above or below ground. Abby

Personnally i think mines have their place for sure.

It's someting humans dig and created, and it have a HUGE history.

I'm inclined to join the "go where you want and don't worry if it's UE or not" camp, but I also like thinking about categories, so here goes.

Caves are a tricky one. On one hand, Caving is its own thing and has its own communities.

But on the other hand, in some places where caves are directly attached to the other location types (buildings, tunnels, drains, etc.), it doesn't make sense to exclude them. If I hop from a sewer to a cave back into the sewer, is only the sewer UE?

Maybe the "urban" in "urban exploration" is less about the rural vs. urban distinction and more about the man-made vs. naturally occurring distinction. Caves distinguish themselves from all the other location types mentioned in this thread by being the only naturally occurring type. But to complicate things, you then have to consider man-made caves. Obviously it doesn't make sense to consider man-made caves "UE" while considering natural caves "caving".

I explored an underground creek recently, which of course consists of both a natural and a man-made component. The creek ran underground for a mile or two, after which it surfaced and ran above ground. Traversing the underground portion of the creek felt like UE. Walking the above-ground portion didn't.

I don't buy that UE has to involve trespassing per se, because there's so many other aspects of the hobby that make it enjoyable, such as the appreciation of architecture, understanding history, enjoying strange acoustics or the aesthetic of decay, free climbing, rope-work, photography, and so forth.... rather than just the thrill of being somewhere you're not supposed to be. Legal explores are sometimes the best explores.

So, it seems to me as if it's not very useful to say that UE involves either man-made or natural locations, surface or subterranean, legal or illegal, urban or rural or aquatic. It just involves enjoying yourself and not taking it too seriously.

Categories are fun to think about, but fuck, it's almost 5am.

Posted by Darendor I have been waiting for over 3 years. Let's play Connect 4 and wait together.

Down. If you're comfortable with losing repeatedly.

Posted by Amos I don't buy that UE has to involve trespassing per se, because there's so many other aspects of the hobby that make it enjoyable, such as the appreciation of architecture, understanding history, enjoying strange acoustics or the aesthetic of decay, free climbing, rope-work, photography, and so forth.... rather than just the thrill of being somewhere you're not supposed to be. Legal explores are sometimes the best explores.

.........but laws were made to be broken?
Just kidding (maybe). But no I think "where you're not suppose to be" / "where people do not normally go" fits in illegal and legal exploring. I just know, personally, I enjoy the additional thrill of "I'm not suppose to be here". That's just me.

Posted by Amos I'm inclined to join the "go where you want and don't worry if it's UE or not" camp

Nobody should ever be saying "that looks cool but its not UE so I wont do it." But there should be an understanding of "this cool thing I did that isnt UE doesnt belong on UER" (unless theres a subforum I guess).

Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier, someone just submitted this photo to the Korean UE Flickr group (which is now titled "Korea Urban Exploration - No Travel/Street Photography"):

https://www.flickr...omrho/27726457776/

Posted by Steed Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier, someone just submitted this photo to the Korean UE Flickr group (which is now titled "Korea Urban Exploration - No Travel/Street Photography"): https://www.flickr...omrho/27726457776/

Holy crap, what is that? A statue? It's actually really difficult to tell..

Posted by YotaMan20 Holy crap, what is that? A statue? It's actually really difficult to tell..

Yeah, though I can't quite tell where.

Occasionally if someone submits crap like this regularly, I'll leave a comment telling them to stop. There was one guy who'd always submit whatever random European tourist shots he got to the Korean Rooftopping group, and after he didn't respond to my frequent comments I changed the group name to be telling him to fuck off.

Posted by Steed Occasionally if someone submits crap like this regularly, I'll leave a comment telling them to stop. There was one guy who'd always submit whatever random European tourist shots he got to the Korean Rooftopping group, and after he didn't respond to my frequent comments I changed the group name to be telling him to fuck off.

Couldn't have handled the situation better myself.

UE to me is an abandoned something. If it's active, in-use or under construction, it's just advantageous photography/adventure. I guess what I do could be considered a subgenre, but if it's not an abandoned building or manmade structure, I really don't consider it part of my main hobby. I do it enough, taking photos of old train bridges or quarries or whatever, but it's not UE IMHO. It's too broad a spectrum to pigeonhole with one phrase, kind of like the phrase "Heavy Metal". I take a lot of non-abandonment photos, but I keep that facet of myself away from the business of wandering around abandoned shitholes.

Posted by Steed Best to ignore names and just do whats cool and feasible. There is so much more UE to be done out there that isnt just abandoned places or drains or roofs or active infiltration or whatever.

this.

Many explorers will argue that to be considered UE, an activity must take place in or around a building, mine, drain, etc that is either abandoned, disused, or under construction. Some will argue that it requires a camera as well. That's all well and good.

I personally see UE in a broader light. To me, urban exploration isn't so much about the location as it is about how you look at the world. Walking along some old train tracks or poking around under bridges can be UE to me just as much as sneaking into an abandoned factory is.

For me, urban exploration is about seeing the world around you in a way that focuses on what most people's eyes skim past, and finding a way to portray that artistically- even if you're the only one who will ever see it. Entering abandoned buildings is only one facet of the hobby to me.

But that's just my opinion, and this hobby is built around acting independently, defying classification, and working on the fringes of society. By its nature, it's doubtful any two people share an exact definition of what urban exploration is, and that's one of the most interesting parts of it.

Posted by Steed Abandoned mines seem to be accepted as UE, but not natural caves. Is that something you also do and keep more at arm's length here, or does it interest you less?

Natural caves have been used by man since the dawn of mankind.
Any cave the hosted humans in the past should be seen in a different light.
Cave drawings and old graffiti.

The desire to explore for the sake of exploration is one of the hallmarks of humans. To pigeon hole yourself to only "UE" is a self imposed limitation to achieve ones full potential as an explorer.

Posted by Aran Many explorers will argue that to be considered UE, an activity must take place in or around a building, mine, drain, etc that is either abandoned, disused, or under construction. Some will argue that it requires a camera as well. That's all well and good. I personally see UE in a broader light. To me, urban exploration isn't so much about the location as it is about how you look at the world. Walking along some old train tracks or poking around under bridges can be UE to me just as much as sneaking into an abandoned factory is. For me, urban exploration is about seeing the world around you in a way that focuses on what most people's eyes skim past, and finding a way to portray that artistically- even if you're the only one who will ever see it. Entering abandoned buildings is only one facet of the hobby to me. But that's just my opinion, and this hobby is built around acting independently, defying classification, and working on the fringes of society. By its nature, it's doubtful any two people share an exact definition of what urban exploration is, and that's one of the most interesting parts of it.

I agree with you, and in a way when I go out exploring, I consider everything I do from stepping outside to coming home to be part of urban exploring. Yesterday, I jumped on my scooter and rode across town to run down a possible tip on an abandoned area. I checked the status of some old buildings on the way, drove over top of a subway line under construction looking for possible open doors, found a completely unrelated abandoned neighbourhood on a mountainside, then I climbed the mountain, and finally got to the target area, which I found completely unabandoned, with a nice traditional market street running right through the middle that I took a walk through to get candid pictures. Not all the components are strictly UE, but taken together it was.