Discovering new places and photographing them is one of the reasons I like to travel. On a recent trip to Kansas City I spent a couple of days exploring the West Bottoms blocks of old downtown Kansas City and the area out around Kaw Point Park.

West Bottoms is an old industrial area down by the Missouri River filled with tall, worn brick factories and warehouses, some abandoned, some still in use. Anytime I enter an unfamiliar area, especially an old urban industrialized area, I get a little uncomfortable, but I have to admit it is, at the same time, exhilarating. It puts my senses on edge.

What I found strange there was the absence of people and cars. It’s not an area that has been totally abandoned but it felt a little like a ghost town. It is not in the “creepy“ part of town. In fact I read that West Bottoms has the lowest crime rate in Kansas City. So why did I have these places all to myself? I have no idea but I’m delighted to have had experience.

Taken with the XPro-1 by Fujifilm.