Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Abandoned

At Digital Photo School, the assignment for this week is "Abandoned". I had visions of finding old buildings, cellar holes in the woods, unfinished projects in my studio.


Cellar hole in a field

In the winter, it's easy to see cellar holes and other structures in the woods, but now that leaves are out, it's very difficult to make them out.


Another view of that cellar hole

Glacial erratic

This is a small rock left behind when the glaciers receded after the last Ice Age. Within 3 miles of here, there are house-sized glacial erratics....abandoned by glaciers. It's a reach...but those would have been photogenic.

Heading inside for inspiration.....


Unused Fitness Gear

I haven't exactly abandoned my fitness goals.....but I have definitely abandoned a strength training routine that I did for over 2 years during my recovery from foot and knee difficulties. It worked....but it got boring, boring, boring!!

Bailey's Green Monkey - Abandoned



Stone Walls Criss-crossing the Woods of NH

These abandoned stone walls were built in the 1800's during the sheep boom in New Hampshire. Most of the area where I live was cleared of trees, and much of the land was used for pastures. Stone walls marked the boundaries of different pastures and properties. This stone wall is along the back boundary of our property.

I definitely had trouble with this assignment. What's funny is that next week the subject is "Plants, Not Flowers".....and while I was shooting pictures for the "Abandoned" series of photos, I shot many more pictures of interesting plants.

I guess we all know that I love nature.....so plants were an easier subject for me. At least I have a head start on next week's assignment!!

10 comments:

Delighted Hands said...

Do you have any weaving UFO's-that would fall in the abandoned category!

Sharon said...

One of my favorite childrens book is "Matthew Wheelock's Wall" by Francis Weller. It's illustrated by Ted Lewin, my absolute most favorite childrens book illustrator ever. It's about the very walls of which you speak and the native life that lives in their abandoned state. That was my favorite of your sequence.

charlotte said...

Very interresting, especially the photo of the sheep fences. This is actually happening here now: many farmers give up and the woods overgrow the pastures.

Life Looms Large said...

Even my oldest UFO, which is by now almost 30 years old, is still in the queue. I guess I'm afraid if I really say something is abandoned, it means I really will never finish.

Sharon, thanks for the book recommendation! I think my nieces and nephews (and I) will enjoy it!

There are so many trees here that it's amazing to me to think that this land was all cleared at one point. Now, when farmer's give up, often the land is conserved, but sometimes it turns into housing developments or shopping areas.

I always love hearing all of your perspectives!

Sue

Jennifer said...

I can understand the abandoned being a hard subject matter - it sounds sad with things being left behind like that - or at least seeing the things left behind. My first thought was what about someone who is with abandon - I imagined full of joy like a puppy!

bspinner said...

I have never heard of a cellar hole before. After looking it up on the internet I found this explaination, is it right? "A cellar hole is a site where a house once stood. Maybe it burned, or just fell down, but all that remains is the cellar."

Dorothy said...

The photo of the wall in the trees is especially lovely.

I'm also very intrigued by the idea of abandoned cellars. Where we live you have to watch out for abandoned shafts of small coal mines and small quarries, but abandoned dwelling sites are rare as there's generally a high demand for land and housing (Derbyshire, England, G.B.)

Life Looms Large said...

Jennifer - I definitely would have an easier time shooting pictures showing joyful abandon....but somehow the word "abandoned" made me think of the sad, abandoned use of the word. I was also influenced by a blog about Detroit's woes, including many abandoned houses.

B, you're right that cellar holes are abandoned cellars. I only became aware of them within the last few years, and now I notice them when we hike. The one I took a picture of is in our neighborhood though....and is even on a building lot.

I'm going to do more research and hopefully do a separate post with other cellar hole pictures. I can understand how some small communities in northern NH where population has declined have cellar holes. But in this more populated corner of NH where I live, I don't understand the history that lead to cellar holes being so prevalent.

Now I'm curious!!

Sue

Anonymous said...

Stone walls are definitely one of my favorite things about New England - when I see one, I always wonder about who built it, and what the land around it must have looked like when those folks were here!

Janet said...

That stone wall picture is so typically New Hampshire - I love it.

Janet, for whom N.H. is a 2nd home