OK, maybe he had a point
What's the deal with my obsession for old stuff?
If you have been following me for a while, you should have seen them lying around in my posts. Old doors, broken windows, cracked walls are some of my favourite subjects for photography. As well as damaged, worn, rusty stuff that would normally belong in a junk yard. I seem to be drawn, almost compulsively, into pictures of decay and abandonment. Again and again.
Why might that be?
Am I an old-fashioned guy, overwhelmed by nostalgic feelings or do I appreciate the quality of craftsmanship and materials used in older times?
Maybe all those weathered items, knocked-up by long use and time itself, feel more real, more authentic, than the new shining ones that seem to be more of a substitute rather than a real object.
At least in my eyes.
Maybe I am just too sentimental, attached to an older era, to objects and materials that have already completed their task. Or too nostalgic, trying to find something stable and everlasting in a world that changes too much and too fast around me.
There was a guy, some time ago, that kept asking me why I insist on taking pictures of old decaying villages instead of new, modern and into his eyes, more beautiful constructions. His was from Asia and despite the numerous messages that we exchanged, I never managed to give him a convincing answer, neither to make him understand that I saw beauty in those wrecks. Maybe our English were not good enough for abstract ideas or the cultural difference was too big, the thing is that we never managed to understand each other.
But I remembered him today, as I was editing those pictures. Maybe he had a point after all :)
I took those pictures four years ago, at the village in Crete that I was living. The funny thing is that after living there for four years, I have taken hundreds of pictures the abandoned, wrecked houses but very few, if any, the renovated and new ones! Which brings me to the reasoning of this post altogether!
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
I find your attraction to old objects and structures very understandable. I think it can mean a deep respect for the stories and lives these objects may have known. There's a certain beauty and uniqueness in things that have stood the test of time, telling stories without saying a word. For my part, I'm always fascinated by big old trees, for example.
From what I can see in your photos, these old villages and buildings have a soul that modern new constructions simply can't match. They are living testimony to a rich and often forgotten past.
Yes, I think that the word soul is the most insightful about my feeling towards all those old-timers!
Thank you for stopping by :)
I really love those rustic Mediterranean blue doors and windows that I see almost everywhere in Greece :)
I live now far away from the sea but this spring I plan to paint our doors in that color.
Lovely photos, as usually!
Thank you very much!
Yes, that's a very nice colour, it makes my happy to look at it :)
So that is Crete! :D
Um... I also prefer vintage stuff. I guess it's the history and some nostalgia for simpler times, really. Some beautiful compositions in this one...
Well that's one face of Crete, it has many more :)
Thank you!
Beautiful images!
No precise answer...
Maybe, because a new modern door is just a door, a function, but an old cracked door tells a story. We don't need to hear this story or imagine it, we feel this story-telling-ness without knowing the story, and that creates that special charm. A mysterious presence.
Cracks and scratches also create a feeling of individuality. New doors are the same, an army of clones. But old doors are all unique. That makes them "persons".
Also don't forget that people have a strong association between a dwelling, apartment, house and person, mind, consciousness.
I like that word (that probably doesn't exist), it is exactly on the point of my thoughts!
Thanks a lot for stopping by and sharing your thoughts :)