Left in Place

Motts I found this site three days ago and I have been glued to it ever since. I simply cannot state how impressed I am. I’ve studied the pictures and read the comments. I have not been able to pull myself away long enough to check out the forum so this may have already been covered but I have to say you say that this is not your career… well it should be! I would pay to be a member of this site. I would pay to go with you on a site visit. I would buy your books. I’ve read in the comments that you are drummer. You sir are already a rock star in my mind. This is my first comment so I just want to express how amazed I am with every aspect of this site…the layout, the comments, and not to mention the pictures!!! Thank you for the new gallery and thank for the amazing overall experience!!!

Welcome, The Non! :) Motts is one talented photographer!

Another wonderful gallery, Motts! I need to go check out the first one now (how I haven't before now is beyond me...)! Thank you!

Thanks Motts for another Wonderful Gallery to see everyday.

Great album Motts, I check almost every day to see if you have anything new up. Ever since I found this site, you've been in my favorites, very talented! Thanks for sharing! :0)

Pony rides, 5c.

Awesome gallery Motts.

Poor old horsey, Thanks Motts for another over the top gallery

Welcome The Non! We all feel that way about Motts. Most of us are here every day waiting for a new gallery! You will spend countless hours on this site!

Thank you Mr. Motts for another fabulous gallery!

Welcome to the family The Non! There's so much to see & do on Opacity. We are indeed Motts Minions. Be sure to check out the forum for more great photography from Opacity followers.

Mr. Motts, thank you again for another spectacular gallery. This set was particularly thought provoking & heart wrenching given the ages of the patients in this facility. But we must look and not turn away. We must think and not close our minds. We must remember and never forget what went on in these facilities so they are never repeated. The hundreds who visit this site daily will learn of the history of Fuller State.

Hide and go seek, and the pony was never seen again

Thank Motts, another hour out of my day well spent

my favorite pic from the whole gallery, motts, i am speachless

Terrific gallery, Mr. Motts! Another fantastic tour of the past.
Thank you!

Once again Mr Motts i am very impressed and i am very appreciative of the time and effort you put in to your site. There are a handful of sites out there but yours is the best.

I would also like to say i enjoy reading all the posts and i find all the people in the site to be very likable, funny and enjoyable as well. Last to (Larry D) very very good point about this set very well put.

The tree ghost guards it's horsey ride.

Oh and Thanks many times over Motts!

Great shot.

Welcome, The Non. Well said, TootUncommon. We are fans of Mr. Motts and can't get enough of his photos. I check every day to see if there is anything new, and to read comments from the regulars. Thanks again for a great gallery. Do you ever come to Canada? Perhaps you could find some sites to photograph here?

I will agree with what everyone has said here. I discovered this site a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since. I come back daily hoping for new stuff. I think that's part of Mr. Motts plan, he gets you hooked and then begging for more!! I've seen many websites that cover this topic, but none are as well done as this one. Motts writings and site history, the amazing photographs, plus everyones comments and feedback make this more than a website, it's an experience!

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse.

The tree is trying to eat the horsey?

This makes me sad how a remnant of childhood is left behind to rot. :(

Grateful for every thought provoking photo in this gallery! Looking at your work has been one of my favorite things for several yrs. now. Thank you so much, and keep up the GREAT work....your efforts in getting to these places, along with the history and documentation are very much appreciated! :)

Really appreciate it, Motts. We don't want you selling out for another another .. god forbid .. "ghost hunting" show :P

Like The Non, this is my first post on your site Motts. Unlike The Non, I have been enjoying this site for nearly 3 years now. Your photos are incredible, and they make the long neglected structures that many would call "ugly" look absolutely beautiful. I think its outstanding that you have immortilized so many of these "forgotten" places. The architecture and design of many of these places will never be seen again, for obvious reasons regarding many of the institutions. Society has slowly realized that people with a mental illness or developmental disability are still people, and don't deserve to be packed into these institutions because it's convenient. It's appauling to hear the accounts of neglect and abuse that have come to light over the years. Whats more upsetting are the countless incidents that no one ever knew of. Imagine the atrocities these buildings could tell us if they could speak..... Great pictures Motts, I'd like to think some of them would tell good stories too.

"This use to be my playground" Amazing as usual Mr. Motts...thank you for sharing your vision

Welcome to the site Non!, I found this site about a year ago, I thought I was exploring some awesome places and doing my UE stuff, and I got on the kick of wanting to go to NYC and explore the Subways, so I was googling and stumbled upon this site. I have to say, I'm stuck in Florida and have a family now and never get to explore anymore, I live Mott's adventures through his gallerys and is one of the few things online that makes me excited as seeing a new gallery.
I would pay to see this site as well, but am very thankful its free, in a way the idea of making people pay to seet his just seems wrong. I do think a TV show would be awesome, except it would turn into another ghost hunting show (I do paranormal research and Im sick of these shows). Plus the legal restrictions of a studio and tv situation would limit places explored. I would however, as I said beofre, DEF buy a book or 12. Mott's you should make a coffetable type picture book, with personal anactotes and such. Maybe give us Opacity addicts a discounted price? *AHEM*

Thanx again Motts, and Hello to everyone!

*Waves at Draven* H I THERE!

Hey Motts...please don't EVER sell out to one of those FAKE-ARSE "Ghost Hunting" shows--they are SOOOO FAKE!!

You are SO much better than that. Those idiots of Ghost Hunters and GHI are not even CLOSE to your level of skill, respectability, and honor.

*thumps chest twice with fist*
Respect.

I dont really like this place but great gallery motts!

I have been a fan for years, and this gallery is amazing, the pictures are outstanding. I can't quite articulate what makes these photographs so different from all the rest, but they have a striking surreal aspect that I have not seen in your prior work. Thank so much for sharing your gift, and I hope one day to be able to see your photographs published.

Ha GHI spent some time here in Aus recently,
they were on tv speaking to a morning show host, I don't think they even believe themselves, seems like a case of 'in it for the money'.

Thankyou once again Motts.

LOL Matt...yeah they are a bunch of arseholes (sorry--I don't usually cuss) and I watch them just so I can bash on them.

I wanted to add about this picture that the horsie actually looks like it was trying to get away, but gave up and ended up just where it is...defeated and depressed.

Oh dear...that is depressing now isn't it?

As always another brilliant gallery. Keep up the good work Motts! Thank you again for always amszing us!

Great album Motts keep em coming. I really do enjoy your pictures. So creative, and at times so creepy. Your a brave guy Motts keep em up. Try and go inside a abandoned high school somewhere up north. I would really love to see photos of a abandoned high school from you.

Someday, Mr. Motts, your photographs will be all that's left of these places. Eventually they will all be gone. Even if you don't make much of a profit off them, you should be proud that you're recording an important piece of history, and having a lot of fun in the meantime. No one else cares about these places enough to capture their beauty while they're still standing. They tell the story of the people who lived with mental illness at a time when there was little that could be done to treat them. It's a story that needs to be told.

One of the things that make this site so amazing is that Motts is not a sellout. I understand that trying to make a ton of money off the opacity experience would cheapen and ruin it. I can’t stand ghost hunting shows and pimping the urbex thrill would just be wrong. Every time I visit this site I keep thinking I want more. As much as the pictures make me feel like I’m right there they leave me wanting to go deeper. I guess that’s part of the genius of this site “leave em wanting more” is the philosophy entertainers live by. I’m just brain storming here but I think some kind of virtual tour of these places would be amazing. I hate 3D but if I could see these places on an IMAX screen in 3D I would happily suffer through all the headaches and sore neck muscles that crap technology causes. I’m picturing Motts and James Cameron doing a series of documentaries that win every award possible but I’m afraid that also falls into the selling out, cheapening & ruining trap. I’m guessing here but Motts would probably say if you like it so much go do it yourself. I have been scoping out a few local spots and I have no fear of personal injury or any of the physical dangers and I certainly have no fear of ghosts. My fear is of jail, having spent time there I know it’s scarier than all the broken legs and ghosts put together. Felony trespass is no joke and a certain judge told me he would lock me up for as long as possible if he ever saw me again. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I am completely hooked and I don’t really know what to do about it. Any suggestions?

I understand what u guys are saying about the ghost shows , but it would b dope if they had a show that didt have ghosts in it but simply had motts showing these places and walking through them showing these sites would b incredible, i think u could make a fortune of it and millions would watch the exploration of these old abandoned places on tv in HD from home . dont lie guys it would b on ur dvr everyweek lol

Tiny Likes

;)

Very good, well done Motts
x

Hi! JackieB I miss you so so much. When are you going to come down to florida so i can show you some Abandoned places. I can't wait to meet you one day.

Another beautifully shot gallery !
Can't wait for the next one ! ;)

Lol I'm completely hooked and grateful as well. I've done this sort of photography here in my home city for years, at first as personal archival work, refusing to let history crumble around me simply because " Washington didn't sleep wherever". Turns out my work is some of the only surviving imagery of many buildings and sites around here, and is slowly gaining interest. I adore your eye, Mr. Motts. Again, thankyou for what you do, and nice to meet y'all.

I want the horsey!!!! Poor horsey!!!!!!

Charlie's second trip to candy mountain wasn't so successful.....

Makes me wonder if this is what the world would look like if it were to end...a classic beauty. these pictures light me up...im completely intrigued right now.