Latimer, Kansas – It’s been a struggle getting the ‘feel’ right on this image. It wants to be black and white, and it says it needs to be a little rough, but not to the point of looking phony. Dunno why some images are so overly concerned with themselves. On the other hand, the one below is pretty much saying “whatever…”.
In any case there’s an emotional dance in photographing scenes like these. It’s easy to lapse into a muggy nostalgia, or sentimentality. But there’s more going on below the skin in these areas, and in the weed-covered grounds of our collective memories. This little patch is so… chatty about things that just get lost in the telling. Oh, and at times I miss the simple beauty of snapshots from an old Hawkeye Brownie.
Nikon D300 w/ Nikkor 12-24mm
The school school yard photo may be nostalgic, but it also has a starkly poignant effect on me that makes me want to just sit and look at it and wonder about its history.
There is something so restful about an abandoned rural schoolground–especially in late summer when the grass is tall and the “hot-bugs” are clicking in the weeds. I miss the good old merry-go-rounds. Some years ago I sold an article to “Good Old Days” magazine called “Slipper Slides and Giant Strides”–about the neat, but dangerous, playground equipment we used to have.
Nice photos!
I think we've all been there…this photo just speaks for itself.