2076
In 2147 - nearly a century after the droughts, wars, and famines - a group of scientists working south of (what used to be) Dallas discovered an abandoned bunker half covered in mud and radioactive ash. After blowing open a rusted-out trap door, they ventured inside, moving aside age-old skeletons and quickly looking over empty food packets that were littered all over the floor. Their radiation meters beeping wildly, the researchers conducted a thorough scan of the layout, finding scratch marks on the walls, multiple cases of cannibalism, and one old, corroding computer that had the year 2076 marked as the last date of use.
Checking the bunker off as a bust, the scientists prepared to file out. As they began cleaning up and packing bones for DNA testing, one scientist tripped over a concealed hinge in the floor, crashing through a trap door. The dust gradually settling, he discovered a small, neat stack of black papers in the hole he had just uncovered. The scientists quickly brought the papers to their portable lab and began probing the stack. After meticulously filing through the evidence they found, the scientists were able to pull ten documents out of the entire stack - the rest were charred black, unrecognizable in their condition. As they carefully looked over the pictures and files in front of them, they slowly put together a rough story of the apocalypse they were living through.
Unlike most of my portfolios, this group of photographs faces a real challenge to society right now: the idea of an apocalypse. Through researching natural phenomena and disasters, I gained a better idea of how devastating an apocalypse would be. Whether created through climate change, nuclear destruction, or population imbalances, the situations we are putting society and the world through have the capability not only to wipe out this generation, but to ensure that life forms on earth will never return.
Multiple cross-examination studies and intensive research sessions have linked this infected hand to a condition formerly known as "ezcema". This inflammation of the skin used to be relegated to areas with poor climate conditions before massive heat waves caused breakouts of dry and arid weather all around the world.
Through DNA testing from fingerprints left on the inside of this manila folder, this document has been traced to a paramilitary testing facility in Georgia that began working on new forms of insecticides and pesticides before ultimately being shut down due to mass outbreaks of leukemia among the facility workers.
While the origins of this photograph are still unknown, based on the make of boxes and insignia pasted on them, these medical containers can easily be traced back to the widespread outbreaks and infections following the decline of the CDC. In attempts to stabilize the health of US citizens, a military organization that formed on the base of the crumbling government gained access to multiple factories and started pumping out clean shots to major afflicted areas. Unfortunately, this attempt failed, as most hospitals around the country had already been looted and raided by outlaws or angry citizens.
This photograph appears to be a closeup on a crop suffering from insect infestation. As the major population centers were trying to rebuild themselves, they relied solely on the remaining midwestern crop fields for food. After the man-made nightmare society had put upon itself, however, it faced another horror in this apocalypse: insects. Every spring, as the dry-cold temperatures turned to dry-heat, bugs would come out by the millions, devouring any crop field in sight, devastating the rebuilding efforts and ensuring that society would never reflourish.
This advertisement is one of many that were produced by civilian-led pseudo governments that sprang up after the collapse of the official government of the United States. While these organizations offered food and supplies to people who needed them, they also kept people in a life-long agreement, forcing them to give up everything they had until they were all equally starved.
This photograph gives an insight into how the first survivors who ventured out of their bunkers and holes adapted to the new, desolate surroundings. While a gas mask to avoid toxic and acidic fumes and a sturdy hat to block the uncensored sun rays were necessary, a gun or some form of weapon was most likely the most important accessory for these people. In the new wasteland, raiders and outlaws were never above looting and cannibalism.
After worldwide famine, disease, and bankruptcy put the world in disorder, multiple warring countries decided to fight against their enemies - the countries they imagined were responsible for the destruction. The world lit up as hundreds of thousands of nuclear bombs and missiles landed hits in major countries, turning major population areas into deserted wastelands of radioactivity. Governments around the world hastily tried to warn their citizens about the dangers of radiation and nuclear war, printing up millions of leaflets that were posted or dropped by plane onto cities and towns. Unfortunately, the warning rarely reached its target on time before the bombs were dropped.
While the pile-up of bodies from the famines and diseases had been rampant, the deaths due to nuclear war - whether from the actual blast or the fallout that was left behind - blew everything else away. Garages, pickup trucks, sewer systems, and rivers were filled to the brim with bodies that had been quickly thrown away and left behind. Back alleys and subway tunnels quickly became horrid and deadly as the smell and radiation gradually seeped out of the dead bodies.
This photograph was traced back to the fall of a building in Chicago. While multiple organizations attempted to put the world back together, other organizations - usually groups with major business interests that were funded by the apocalypse - attempted to stir up trouble wherever they could. In this photo, an organization dedicated to producing gas masks set up camp in a building next to a new testing facility attempting to produce a substance to neutralize toxins in the air.
The final photograph in the stack, the scene depicted here shows the final state humanity left their cities in before abandoning society and attaching themselves to roving gangs and small factions. This picture shows the aftermath of the apocalypse on the city of Pittsburgh, the water already drying out of the river while the buildings continued rotting away.