A Secretive Society
108
inspadesmag.com
Although there is an Instagram community
of bando explorers, the word ‘community’
is slightly misleading. Bando photographers
have somewhat of a secret society. As a highly
competitive genre, trust within the group is one
of the most valued assets, an earned privilege
not to be given casually. In keeping the location
of bando sites under wraps, preservation of the
settings is more easily maintained, and anyone
who leaks site locations or breaks preservation
etiquette is not received kindly by the others.
However clandestine, there is a community
of elite bando photographers who have earned
one another’s confidence to create some of the
best bando images to be seen. As shooting in a
company is common, a community of urbexers
and rurexers does exist in close-knit circles,
though an element of competition remains as
each artist attempts to capture the best version
of a shared location.
For purist bando photographers, shooting an
area as it appears naturally is paramount; this
means not moving anything or arranging the
scene, but photographing the scene as it was found.
Oftentimes the bando itself provides all that is
necessary for a superb image: the faded patina of
peeling paint, the scattered light through antique
stained glass—all provide interesting elements
with which to capture the imagination.
Yet while purists of the genre remain, more
and more bando explorers are moving toward
the trend of styling their images, moving
objects advantageously, as well as bringing
added props to create special effects such as
smoke and light painting.
CANON.COREY - COREY SMITH