Austin Hodges is one of those artists who creates excellent work yet works a 9-to-5 job to support himself, so I have a lot of respect for him. Hodges said to Messy Nessy, “I don’t think I could ever make photography my career.” “I would stop enjoying the fun of taking pictures. I work at my dream job right now. employed as a maintenance worker at Whole Foods [in West Philadelphia].
Hodges, whose Instagram bio states, “I will die with a smile on my face,” captures abandoned buildings in dilapidated areas of Chester, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as the neighboring city of Camden, New Jersey. These isolated buildings, which were formerly a part of larger residences with half of them gone or entire blocks, are his favorites:
