This was the first abandoned building I've explored. It was winter/spring 2004 and I had just gotten into photography. I was on a photo-op shooting random things downtown, and while walking past I noticed that the gate to the lot was open. Without hesitance I walked in. I spend some time looking for an entrance to the building, I even tried to lift the garage doors open; but to my surprise there was a massive opening right around the corner. I'll never forget the feeling when I first looked into Holmes Foundry. I was so terrified to go in there (rapists, hobos, etc) so I only looked around the first room, which is still pretty big. I thought it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. The way the sun shone through the cracks and the green-tinted windows was pretty amazing. For the past year upon entering HF I've looked at countless UE pictures, so this was my first time seeing a de-funked building in real life. And as I walked away, I knew urban exploration was going to be a hobby that would stick with me.