About me
I'm Moddy. I'm an Urban Explorer, Technology Enthusiast, Amatuer Photographer (Film and Digital!) and all round Geek from South East London!
My hobbies have taken me into abandoned asylums and hospitals, old factories, a power station, paper mills, rooftops and more! I guess you could say I like urban adventure! I'm hoping that this website explains who I am enough for me to forego dragging this page out!
I also do freelance coding and web design work. Currently iPhone Development Projects - both Web Apps (AJAX based JQTouch projects) and native Objective-C iPhone SDK based applications.
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Questions with Moddy!
What made you get into Urbex?
Erm.. I guess it was a combination of things really. I have always admired photography, be it from behind the camera or in front of the canvas! So I think it was a natural progression to go from the canvas to the camera. The locations that I have visited really do have character in them, and they lend themselves to such a variety of different interpretations - all of which is perfect for an avid photographer! I can't deny that the sheer thrill of seeing some of these places does outweigh the photographs at times though, and I have been known to not take photographs at certain sights.
Where has been your best exploration site?
Would have to have been BNG Littlebrook. A lot of people would probably answer "Cane Hill" or "Mecca Bingo" because of the condition of Mecca Bingo - and well, Cane Hill just has an amazing reputation. On the contrary though, BNG Littlebrook for me was immense. The conditions around it were far from ideal and the fallout from it was even worse - but overall, it was an awesome explore!
I want to get into computing, what programming language should I go for?
This all depends on what you want to. I personally started with C, then got involved in Assembley Language - and have since done things with Java and Python. This isn't including the web languages I have dabbled in on various projects - PHP, Javascript, (X)HTML + CSS.
I remember reading one interesting quote about engineering and software development. The meaning was that a true engineer will not blindly use a language out of prejudice or past experiance, but will take into account the problem - and choose his implementation and language around the solution; not his solution around the language. I guess thats one idea that has stuck with me ever since!
How did you get into electronics?
It started when I was about 12, I had just built my first PC and it had a custom case with a window in the side. The computer worked fine and I had LED fans keeping it cool. Yet I really wanted to do something more with it, so it really began with a practical lesson on Ohms law when I wired a few LEDs in series and had them going around the window! From there I went on to soldering small electronics kits, and tinkering with them - looking at various readings with my trusty multimeter.. and it just went from there really. Now a days I really use my knowledge of electronics for taking things to bits and trying to figure out whats wrong with them! Or sometimes just taking things apart for the rather large "parts bin" I seem to be making...
Lastly, What advice would you have to someone taking up Urbex, Parkour or Computing?
Don't leap before you can walk - but similarly, why take small steps when you can achieve average paces? Everyone has their own pace and rate of learning - and just go along at your own natural rhythm. You're not going to be good overnight! There will be times you think "No, I can't do this" and in Urbex there will probably be times you'll get caught - both are parts of learning! At the end of the day - Try your best and you'll never be disappointed.
I got into Computing and remember being amazed when I did my first "Hello World" application; similarly I remember the thrill of getting into my first abandoned factory to take photos - or landing my first proper vault when I was training in Parkour. If you keep sight of that thrill, and remember it.. it should give you enough determination to lead to many more!
