I Capture My Girlfriend In Thrilling Abandoned Locations Across Europe

We are Jade Stacy Maria & James Kerwin, an adventurous couple who met in early 2015.

Firstly, I am James, a keen photographer who for the last 9 years is known for the interior and abandoned architecture fine art photography work, however, I have occasionally dabbled in taking portraits of Jade and others to practice the art of lighting and to assist Jade in the up-keep of her portfolio as a fashion and beauty model.

Since 2014, Jade has taken modeling seriously, attempting to branch out and work with both amateur and professional photographers across the United Kingdom, starting from her base in the East of England.

I was always the adventurous type, so in January 2015, after shooting in abandoned places for just over 18 months, I decided to put an advert in an online forum called Purpleport, a place where photographers and models alike talk and discuss shoots either for TFP (Time for Prints) or for paid bookings. I was on a search for a few models to assist in a trial series of shoots, taking place in some of the best abandoned locations Great Britain had to offer.

Jade step forward and after some discussions, there we were ‒ standing inside Several’s Mental Asylum, a now demolished derelict hospital site near Jade’s hometown of Colchester, Essex.

It was only my second ever image taken inside these dark and poorly lit buildings. It was also a challenge as well as by 2015, Several’s was a place people were caught and turfed out very quickly by the security team.

Jade got ready in an upstairs room and we managed to take just three shots before also being caught by the security team. Nevertheless, we were happy because we had a great result.

The first image that we captured is the first in the list below, and although it’s not the most technical of images, Jade still loves it to this day. It was the start of a story and of a string of images that we were to shoot across Europe and beyond.

Each image tells a story of an adventure, travel and portrays my unique style. But it also provides us with memories as time flies by, year after year.

Since that day, Jade & I have traveled to no less than twelve countries together (occasionally with Jade’s wardrobe in tow).

I have explained a little about each image, where and when they were taken ‒ and we really hope that you enjoy looking through our creations.

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Shot at the end of winter 2015 inside the abandoned Several’s Asylum in Colchester, this was the first image that I took with Jade

LOST | Later that year we undertook a trip to Belgium, creating this “lost child” themed shoot inside a derelict school Chateau Miranda, which is now demolished

AERONAUTICS | During the same trip in June we also shot for a local designer inside the entrance of this former office block

JOYRIDE | In November of 2015, Jade and I went on a road trip with another model to France and Belgium to undertake a series of portrait shoots. Here is Jade modelling in a retro dress inside a disused train carriage

LE GRAND JOUR | Later on the same 2015 trip, we entered an abandoned mansion packed with music equipment. The dress was borrowed from Silk Rose Bespoke

DOLLS HOUSE | Work of Chotronette, a Romanian design duo who featured in a lot of our early shoots can also be seen in this photo inside the same mansion near Paris

A SILESIAN INFLUENCE | After a break from portraits in 2016, we returned with this shot of Jade on a residential stairway in Poland in March of 2017

LARA CROFT | In April of 2017, we captured this “Lara Croft” themed shoot overlooking the rooftops of the abandoned city of Pripyat in Ukraine

SPRINKLES OF ORANGE | By now we had traveled to many derelict sites, but we mixed it up with a short trip to Iceland in June 2017 where we captured this moment in front of Skógafoss

THE MIDNIGHT GLOW | This derelict French chateau was stunning and I had a vision that I wanted to create using speed lights and a dress, that Jade just so happened to have in the car boot since our trip to Iceland

PORCELAIN CENTRE | Cutscene to November of 2017, when I uncovered this amazing room inside an abandoned hotel in France, which matched Jade’s dress perfectly

Not strictly a portrait, more like a snap shot, but it’s an image that holds fond memories. Stray dogs are common in Georgia, even inside this former Sanatorium

HEART SHAPED | In June of 2018, we found this amazing heart-shaped tree in Valensole, France. It’s a must, right?

Later that week, we shot this image inside a disused French Chateau for a Belgium-based designer

Ever the thrill-seekers, Jade popped on a red dress to make herself “pop” from my scene whilst inside this huge former power plant in Hungary

STEAM | A soviet train graveyard in Hungary was the perfect setting for a red dress

Not a model portrait, but this is us over-looking a derelict mansion in Portugal. Thank you for looking through!

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