These impressive modernist structures are a photographer’s dream. Atlas Obscura traveler William Wyckoff shares photography from Past Future Monuments of the Balkans.

I first saw a picture of these monuments online. The starkness of the massive, strange-looking constructions struck me. Most interesting was that, in spite of their size and impressive, almost-alien nature, most seemed all but abandoned. I began to research the monuments—located on prominent hilltops or isolated fields—and found they were pretty much all like this. And, with that, I started hoping to visit them one day!

This trip to the Balkans was undoubtedly one of the coolest experiences I've had. I photographed these monuments on my Yashica-A, a camera from the late 1950s to 1960s. It takes a medium format film, which you can still buy today. I used Fuji Pro400H and Fuji Velvia 100, which gives these photographs their dreamy, old-school quality.