Image via Complex Original
Aaron Durand will go to any lengths for the perfect shot. His adventurous spirit takes him across the globe to often off-limits spaces whose locations he keeps a secret—the tops of freight trains, old railway tunnels, and the precarious side of an enormous dam.
"Photography for me is fun. I intend to keep it that way," Durand says. "I've realized that taking one's hobbies too seriously can result in competition, resentment, and the loss of fulfillment and any discernible amount of enjoyment. To that end, I keep my photos relatively limited to my travels and adventures. Exploring out-of-the-way places is both a means to see places most people won't ever experience and a way to keep testing the limits of my cameras, my composure, and my determination."
Many of the tunnels and bridges Durand photographs are abandoned, and in the wake of bustling travelers come fearless graffiti writers. Durand captures the signs of life left by street artists in forgotten areas across the country. His images show what happens when nature and artists take over hidden spaces. Check out his work in our Portfolio Review: Photographer Aaron Durand Shares Rare Images of Off-Limits Explorations.
Find more from Aaron Durand on Twitter and Instagram
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Aaron Durand
"My best adventure pal here in San Francisco Nick Fisher and I found this dam during a day trip to find a hiking trail. We've been back a few times to explore the surrounding area, coming home once with a deer buck skull and once with a stern warning from the police not to be doing just this."
Aaron Durand 1
"I've spent countless hours shooting nearby passenger and freight trains at night. Long exposures at night create these amazing streaks of light. This image is the result of shooting the tracks and tunnel just before the train emerged. The headlights of the train illuminated the inside of the tunnel and the tracks."
Aaron Durand 2
"A couple friends and I went camping over New Year's Eve weekend a couple weeks ago. The fourth night on the road we found ourselves in The Buttermilks, just outside Bishop, Calif., for some climbing. We spent the night next to a rock formation with the Eastern Sierras looming in the distance and the Milky Way above."
Aaron Durand 3
"In an old railway tunnel in the mountains, I asked my friend Ryan to take a breather during a two-mile hike through it. The holes in the side of the tunnel allowed for ventilation and light for the freights that passed through here years ago."
Aaron Durand 4
"This is the opening section of the same freight train tunnel. The ground is solid ice during the winter. Nick and I were fortunate to have brought traction devices for our hiking boots, so we could walk on this with ease. Trust that we'd learned our lesson last year and paid for it in bruises."
Aaron Durand 5
"This is nearly the same location as the previous image but during a rougher part of winter. This icicle formed in the dead center of the tunnel. It's being lit up by the light at the other end. This particular film gives the tunnel a blue hue due to the cold and dark."
Aaron Durand 6
"I love my friend Finch Linden's reflection on the rail in this image. She was walking barefoot, balancing on the metal, and all I saw was her reflection. This is one of my favorites."
Aaron Durand 7
"This is a special place for me, full of history. Architecturally it's beautiful and, at the right time, you can catch stunning rays of light coming in from above. It's an active tunnel and can be quite dangerous if you're not on your toes. Walking the whole thing is a feat I'm happy to have completed twice."
Aaron Durand 8
"Ever felt the desire to hop from one freight train to another? So did Nick and I. I caught this on the fly with a toy camera, and it turned out to be one of the best images I've ever shot. Enough said."
Aaron Durand 9
"For me this photo embodies the adventurous spirit I try to take with me everywhere. I never stop looking behind the scenes, climbing around in abandoned train cars, and going where I'm not supposed to be."
Aaron Durand 10
"This image is from one of my first solo exploring days, with my first medium format camera, when I first started shooting film. What can I say, I love the railroads."
Aaron Durand 11
"Still water, concrete tunnel, light cascading in from above ground, and no tripod means I had to use the ground. I like the rectangle made by the reflection in this one."
Aaron Durand 12
"I think this was both an attempt to hide the identity of the friend of mine who was painting the tunnel and a way to look at something a little differently. Focusing on him wouldn't have mattered in this instance. You get the idea, even if it's a little hazy."
Aaron Durand 13
"Lost in a forest with friends on a sunny Northern California Saturday afternoon is how I enjoy spending my time. We found this deserted amusement park amusing."
Aaron Durand 14
"Exploring above and below ground naturally leads to many of the tunnels I find myself in. This is one of the first tunnels I'd ever taken photos in, and it continues to be one of my favorites."
Aaron Durand 15
"For every 12 misses, there's one hit. I took this photo a number of times while a friend painted the side of a freight train, and most of those photos were garbage. This one worked. If you look close enough, you can see the spray from the can. It was a pleasant sunset among good people."
Aaron Durand 16
"This is a self-portrait in the middle of a freight train layup late at night in the middle of nowhere. There's virtually no ambient light in this place, so I had to leave my shutter open for nearly five minutes while I stood as still as possible. Then I returned to the camera to close the shutter. Trust that it was much darker than it looks!"
