Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steven Bley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Steven, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Due to the subject matter of my work, I do wish I started a lot earlier. By the time I got serious about photography and abandoned buildings, many notable ones had been knocked down already. Since I started 15 years ago, close to half of the hundreds of buildings I’ve explored have been lost to fire, rot, demolition or renovation.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I fell into this hobby-turned-side-business on a whim. A friend of mine explained to me that there were hotels in the Catskills that were closed down, but you could sneak around inside them.

This sounded like music to my ears and we started going to local spots and ventured further from our homes as time went on. I am extremely satisfied when I can come away from a location with a story told in photos, showing the state of these buildings and what was left behind. Most times these buildings are severely rotted away, but I try to find some beauty in them, to prove that discarded things and places can still be appreciated for their context, their architecture or their history.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Sharing my work with others. Being able to sell my work to people one on one in various market scenarios, I am able to share the stories of my adventures and give more backstory to my work, so the viewer can fully understand what, where and why I took the photos.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My social media presence isn’t very large, but I’ve organically grown my following through face o face interaction and people just appreciating my work. I’m not the only person photographing this medium, so any attention I can get on my work is appreciated. I prefer to let the work speak for itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stevenbley.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevenbley