Nature Versus the Built World: An Exploration of the Amazing Competition Between Nature and Our Built World

The subject of my book is "Abandonment" photography, and it explores my photographs of abandoned castles and mansions, residences, commercial and farming buildings, industrial and military facilities, machines, and infrastructure.

In each chapter and with each subject, you will enjoy artistry in what we built while we discuss architecture, engineering, constructability, history, economics, and the human side too, as well as Nature’s efforts to take back what was hers when we abandon them. Nature uses forces like physics, botany, wind, heat and cold, water intrusion, gravity, oxidation, decay, the efforts of insects and other animals, and so on that compete to reclaim the order and control that we had sought.

Part of what inspired the book is that she is heartless…almost “mechanical” and has no intention. She has been at work for 4.5 billion years, whereas our Built World has only existed for maybe 40,000 years and engineering has only existed for around 5,000 years. We abandon for many reasons, and that abandonment is easy competition for Nature.

Wayne began taking photographs as part of pre-construction, progress photos, and the finished "voila!" pictures, as well as incident investigation and forensic photography as a construction safety professional and an expert witness. Today, his photographs are more creative and have far better quality. Training and better camera gear matter! But that original love of architecture, originally begun as a teen, remains as passionate as ever.