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Utterly interesting

Capturing Urban Spaces With Exploration Photographer David de Rueda

Daniel Holland
Aug 13, 2018
1 min read

Updated: Aug 8, 2025

Embark on a journey into unfamiliar territory with urban photographer David de Rueda. David explores and photographs eerie abandoned places around the world, including ghost towns and deserted buildings that may be closer to home than you realize.

David de Rueda, Instagram

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Explosive rat model on display with diagrams and documents, showcasing Britain's WW2 sabotage tactics. Text: The Explosive Rat and Britain's Most Ingenious WW2 Sabotage Devices.

Explosive rat model on display with diagrams and documents, showcasing Britain's WW2 sabotage tactics. Text: The Explosive Rat and Britain's Most Ingenious WW2 Sabotage Devices.

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Hans Eijkelboom’s 1977 project With My Family saw him replace absent fathers in real family portraits. The images look ordinary, which is exactly the point. A quiet but unsettling study of trust, politeness, and social conformity in everyday life.

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Vintage eye portraits in ornate frames; pearls, rubies, gold designs. Text: Lovers' Eyes: The Secret Miniature Portraits of Georgian Romance.

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Collage of two men in various settings, text reads "J Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson: The partnership Washington accepted." Colorful background.

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Collage of 1981 Brixton Riots: protestors, police with shields, burning street scene. Text: "The Brixton Riots of 1981...National Reckoning."

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Collage showing Auschwitz liberation. Main image: people leaving camp under "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign. Text: "The Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau By The Red Army." Mood: somber.

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Richard ‘Two Gun’ Hart: The Capone Who Lived the Law While His Brother Broke It

Richard ‘Two Gun’ Hart: The Capone Who Lived the Law While His Brother Broke It

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Vintage cocktail book covers in various styles and colors, with bold titles and illustrations, framed by the text: "The Cocktail Books That Looked as Good as the Drinks Inside."

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Collage of Otto Rahn, a dark-clad man by a tree, and comic figures with glowing Grail. Text: "Otto Rahn and the Third Reich’s Hunt for the Holy Grail".

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Smiling woman in red swimsuit, black gloves. Vintage black-and-white background with bondage theme. Text: "Bettie Page - The Long Life of an American Idol."

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Collage of Sophia Duleep Singh, a suffragette in traditional attire, jewelry, black-and-white photos; text highlights her activism.

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Collage of men in various settings, black-and-white and color. Text reads "The Life and Death of Mal Evans." Vintage feel.

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Young man juggling near vintage car. Two men sit on car bumper with a puppy. Vintage photos in background. Text: "The Summer John F Kennedy..."

Young man juggling near vintage car. Two men sit on car bumper with a puppy. Vintage photos in background. Text: "The Summer John F Kennedy..."

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Collage of "Return of the Jedi" behind-the-scenes photos. Features actors in costume, including a helmeted figure and one lounging. Title text included.

Collage of "Return of the Jedi" behind-the-scenes photos. Features actors in costume, including a helmeted figure and one lounging. Title text included.

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Convict laborers in striped uniforms work in a field, chained together. Text: "Convict Leasing: How Forced Prison Labour Replaced Slavery in America."

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Aerial view of Philadelphia rowhouses, showing destruction and rubble. Bright roofs surround the area. Text: The MOVE Bombing of 1985.

Aerial view of Philadelphia rowhouses, showing destruction and rubble. Bright roofs surround the area. Text: The MOVE Bombing of 1985.

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Women in vintage attire with a Prohibition sign. A woman fills a bottle, others pose in workwear. Bold colors and historic text create intrigue.

Women in vintage attire with a Prohibition sign. A woman fills a bottle, others pose in workwear. Bold colors and historic text create intrigue.

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Mockingbird Hill: Ronald Gene Simmons and the Arkansas Christmas Killings

Mockingbird Hill: Ronald Gene Simmons and the Arkansas Christmas Killings

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Collage of Puerto Rican Nationalists from the 1954 US Capitol attack, newspaper headlines, and Capitol building in grayscale and blue highlights.

Collage of Puerto Rican Nationalists from the 1954 US Capitol attack, newspaper headlines, and Capitol building in grayscale and blue highlights.

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Man with binoculars and woman in 19th-century attire in smoky volcanic setting. Text: Tempest Anderson: the Yorkshire Doctor Who Chased Volcanoes.

Man with binoculars and woman in 19th-century attire in smoky volcanic setting. Text: Tempest Anderson: the Yorkshire Doctor Who Chased Volcanoes.

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Collage of Polaroids from "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" set. Includes desert scenes, characters in costume, and behind-the-scenes moments.

Collage of Polaroids from "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" set. Includes desert scenes, characters in costume, and behind-the-scenes moments.

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Collage of Paul McCartney in police custody. "FREE PAUL" button, Japanese text, headline: "The Nine Days Paul McCartney Spent in a Tokyo Jail.

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Black and white portraits of two women overlay a brick building. Text reads "Virginia Tonelli and the Weight of Refusal at the Risiera di San Sabba."

Black and white portraits of two women overlay a brick building. Text reads "Virginia Tonelli and the Weight of Refusal at the Risiera di San Sabba."

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Man in uniform, vintage photos, and two men carrying a stretcher. Text: Bob Crane, Hogan’s Heroes, and a Murder That Never Went Away.

Man in uniform, vintage photos, and two men carrying a stretcher. Text: Bob Crane, Hogan’s Heroes, and a Murder That Never Went Away.

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Two people pose with cars in a vintage 1980s urban setting. Text reads "CREEM Magazine: Stars Cars in the 1980s."

Two people pose with cars in a vintage 1980s urban setting. Text reads "CREEM Magazine: Stars Cars in the 1980s."

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People in vintage fairy tale costumes pose in an old photo. Text reads "When Munich Dressed as Fairy Tales - 1862".

People in vintage fairy tale costumes pose in an old photo. Text reads "When Munich Dressed as Fairy Tales - 1862".

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Sepia-toned man with pipe and hat; white-clad figure with KKK robe, paper on "White Community." Text: "How Stetson Kennedy Took on the Ku Klux Klan."

Sepia-toned man with pipe and hat; white-clad figure with KKK robe, paper on "White Community." Text: "How Stetson Kennedy Took on the Ku Klux Klan."

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