Old stuff

New and shiny is all very well, but old stuff often makes for more interesting photos. There's texture and imperfections that add interest to the object.

Weathered wood in particular just gets better and better looking. I could go back and photograph much more of this wharf. At the same time, I was thinking of when it was much newer, and in constant use. People put a lot of work into all sorts of projects here, and for some of them, they suddenly became uneconomic after decades of use, and that's the kiss of death.

I wonder how much of the stuff that we as a society are working on, will still be here a century from now? Things like a wharf, a railway, or stone buildings, endure past a day or a season. Software comes and goes. I'm used to the idea that I might start on a project, the team and management all filled with enthusiasm, then reality sets in.

I'm fine with the idea that sometimes I get told to go away and they don't use the software or mothball it. I know several of the projects I worked on are no more, the ones and zeros that were organized with so much love and effort are now scattered to randomness. It was a bit of a twist to have the software go away, while I stayed. It was an effort to bite my tongue when they talked about an issue, and I knew the unappreciated answer was, "project x was doing that."

Anyway, enjoy the weathered wood and steel. I'm working on photos taken from a train. Somehow, today, looking at the raw photos, they don't live up to what I saw with my eyes, at least not yet.

By comparison, these are quite new, done only a few years ago.