Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The impermanence of things

I used to drive by this old house every time I went to work.  I found it quite photogenic and took pictures of it many times, hopping out of the car to catch it at a different time of day or different light.  I liked the picture I took one day of a farm worker riding his bicycle through the field.


Then one day as I went by . . . it was gone; it had finally collapsed.  And within a few days all the remains had been removed, so now it's as if it never existed.

Very few things are permanent -- rocks, maybe, but even those get worn away and turned into sand.  Certainly many of the things I love -- flowers, birds, a beautiful day, the seasons -- are here and then gone, and they leave behind a kind of nostalgia mixed with hope, that they will come again some time.
[Link to Texture Tuesdays]
Photography can at least make things semi-permanent, can fix them in time so that we can go back and enjoy the images of things past.  Somewhere, that farm worker is always riding past the ramshackle old house, and somewhere, the flowers always bloom.

14 comments:

Jessaca said...

What a neat old house!!! Good thing you captured this befor the house fell down.
Have a good one!!!

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks, Jessaca --

Tara said...

Great Bicycle Shot! Thanks for sharing it over at Trendy Treehouse.

Designbygutschi said...

I love this foto...
Jutta

Nancy said...

I feel the same way about life in general. Everything is constantly in a state of flux, including ourselves.

Great photographs to make that point. :)

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks for your comments --

Rebecca Lewis said...

I too feel the same, such beautiful images, thank you for sharing at Kim's for us to enjoy.

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks, Rebecca --

Evelyn S. said...

Just want to tell you how much I love visiting your blog! Beautiful images...and beautiful words.

Nicolasa @ {My}Perspective said...

What a beautiful place to ride a bike!

Traci said...

Fantastic image you caught.

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks so much for your comments --

Gale Wall said...

So true. Love the winter berries.

Elise Ann Wormuth said...

Thanks very much, Gale --