American photographer
Leland Kent is an American photographer known for photographing abandoned and forgotten places across the Southeast. He has published six photography books: "Abandoned Birmingham", "Abandoned Georgia: Exploring the Peach State", "Abandoned Georgia: Traveling the Backroads", "Abandoned New Orleans", "Abandoned North Florida" and "Abandoned Alabama: Exploring the Heart of Dixie".
Biography.
Leland Ross Kent was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 30, 1984. He was raised in Birmingham, Alabama and received his bachelor's degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; however, he discovered his passion was in photography and taught himself the art on his own. He currently resides in Florida with his wife and their son.
Career.
Since 2014, Kent has photographed dozens of historic and forgotten places from across the Southeast. He posts his findings to his blog www.abandonedsoutheast.com. Searching through deserted sites come with many different risks. Kent tries to acquire permission from each location he photographs; however, there are some considered off limits, in which case he's had to trespass. Some places come with other risks, such as falling through rotting floors, coming in contact with debris, bio-hazardous waste, discarded body parts, and encountering homeless people, drug addicts, and animals. During an exploration at an abandoned factory in Florida, Kent came across a huge black snake that chased him out of the building.
During an interview with Inside Edition, Kent was asked about his favorite place to photograph. He stated, "I would probably say my most favorite is the Masonic Temple in Birmingham – that's where I grew up. It's one of the first places I've explored and it was almost kind of like a museum. It was closed up and kind of forgotten about for years and it's really unique to see. That kind of history is something so unique and ornate." He goes on to say, "I feel like I'm kind of doing a favor by saving the place, saving the history of it."
Bibliography.
Leland Kent's books are part of the "Abandoned" series published by Arcadia Publishing. This series includes 45 books from photographers who capture photos of various abandoned buildings across the U.S.
Reception.
Kent's works have appeared on a number of television programs and worldwide publications including CNBC's American Greed, CNN Travel, MSN, Yahoo News, CBS Inside Edition, Daily Mail, The Sun, AL.com, BHAMNOW, NOLA.com, Insight TV, and SATI (a German-based television network) 