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Patterns of Decay

Photography Abstract posted on Aug 18, 2011
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Description


I remember the words of a friend from a long time ago. She said: “Ask a man what the stars are made of, and he’ll tell you what’s inside of his heart.” I don’t know if she was quoting anyone or not, and I suppose it doesn’t matter. The words in-and-of themselves are important—at least in symbolic ways. Her words have been a part of my thoughts since I first heard them…long, long ago…in another century. I know what the stars are made of, and in a sense, I suppose the content of stars does match the content of my heart. Humans (and everything else) are made from “star stuff” as Carl Sagan once said. The elements that comprise matter were forged in the hearts of stars and released through supernova explosions. Some elements were formed during supernova explosions, and so—in a very real and symbolic sense, we are star stuff. I wasn’t thinking about stars on the day that I made this picture. I was thinking of rust and sunlight and what our views of such things may say of our inner environments. I made this picture, yesterday. My days as a mover are numbered; there is other work, more appropriate work, perhaps in another city. There’s no reason why I should spend my days at a truck yard or riding about in one potentially lethal truck or another. There’s no real reason why I should be required to remove dental equipment from an office, before moving its replacement equipment in. There are times when I’m required to come close to hazardous material: dental juice as the stuff is called. It’s the gunk that collects in suction receptacles. It’s biologically active. Some of it is green. I wasn’t thinking about dental juice and fragments of teeth when I took this picture. I was occupied with moving old boxes from the truck yard and packing them into one of the larger members of my father’s ramshackle fleet. When we move equipment into a dental office, or the basement of one, we keep the boxes, the packing foam, the sheets of bubble wrap, and other effluvia. It collects in the truck yard, before we amass sufficient quantities to haul to a dump. There are other things in the truck yard as well…oil drums, filled with rainwater and dubious contaminants. Strange bits of metal: truck guts and remnants of x-ray machines, vacuum pumps, and compressors: they rust and crumble into cryptic breeds of decay. An oil drum drew my attention. It had seen better days. There’s less of it now than before, and what remains is flagrant with rust. I noticed patterns, shapes, implications of geology. Just above a gray and murky level of scummy, slimy water, I saw what appeared to be topographic maps, or the motions of magma, frozen in time. It was the best thing I saw, yesterday, in the truck yard, at least, and so I captured it. This is what I saw. There will come a time when the truck yard exists in the past…behind me. I look forward to those days, and I wonder if I’ll ever think back. I doubt it. There will be other wonders to see: other topographic maps, but until then, I can—at least—enjoy small wonders in a corroded oil drum. As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting. I’ve had a hectic week and so I have to catch up on viewing and commenting myself. Hopefully, I can achieve a bit of this later tonight and over the weekend.

Comments (24)


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PREECHER

6:01PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

this is beautiful...i love the colour...such beauty from corrosion??? nature... awesome work!!! chills and thrills

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flavia49

7:03PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

fabulous image!!

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RodS

7:06PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

Very cool photo, Chip! Love the patterns - almost looks like a fractal..

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mgtcs

7:46PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

Spectacular image Chip, the colors are excellent, gorgeous looking image and writing! Congratulations!

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jocko500

9:32PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

the earth was here before the stars. even the plants was here before the sun. look at the first book of the Bible and read it. God did this to show the foolish of man and his thinking of how all is made. hahaha I believe it. very good photo here

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bmac62

10:31PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

"Meditations Upon an Oil Drum"...catchy title if looking for another:) Well written. Forward looking. Love the patterns you've seen, captured and postworked so well Chip!

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jcrjuan

11:12PM | Thu, 18 August 2011

Excelente trabajo...!!!!

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ia-du-lin

12:07AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

cool foto, great structure and colors

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auntietk

12:24AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

This is just fascinating! It's beautiful, engaging, mesmerizing, and swirly. Definitely swirly. I LOVE swirly! It's way more gorgeous than it has a right to be. You'll find other things to shoot, but I'll bet that truck yard has been more of a photo op than you ever imagined it would be. (We're still looking at the same dates I mentioned, btw. When you get caught up, drop me a note and we'll make a plan.)

whaleman

1:09AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Wherever you are, you will always see things around you, which is a blessing. Many people are unable to see much at all. I like the reference to Carl. Three important words he wrote were "Pale Blue Dot." Within it he basically saw everything we know.

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Lashia

1:57AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Wow I love this! The texture and colours are amazing, and the pattern is almost painted. Such a beautiful contrast against the decay that it is. Awesome DOF with our focus, too. Great shot- thanks for sharing! :)

Selina Photography™
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durleybeachbum

2:25AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Gorgeous!! It is rust, but it could just as easily be fungi, or woodburr. Really lovely and well seen, beauty in an unlikely environment.

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fallen21

2:50AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Awesome texture!

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blinkings

5:25AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Lovely mate. It could almost be a view through a microscope of some dreaded disease!

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MrsRatbag

9:08AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

It does look like a microscopic view of some slice of odd biological tissue; well seen, and as always I'm fascinated by your ruminations!!

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kgb224

10:48AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Great find and capture my friend. God Bless.

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dreampaint

11:54AM | Fri, 19 August 2011

good shot, like a lot texture and colors.

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helanker

1:36PM | Fri, 19 August 2011

OH MY! What a beauty you can find in the truck yard, Chip. I am so glad you can find these little treasures in a normally boring place. And I am glad you will share them with us.

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sandra46

5:35PM | Fri, 19 August 2011

SUPERB COMPOSITION

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Orinoor

5:36PM | Fri, 19 August 2011

Wonderful and thoughtful!

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jac204

1:34PM | Sun, 21 August 2011

I never would have thought this was a steel drum. Great capture. Good luck in finding something more suitable. Who knows, you might even end up in New Hampshire!

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GiMi53

8:52AM | Tue, 23 August 2011

Wonderful tecture and abstract pattern ! Congratulations for your selection in LWitG #34 (Last Week in the Gallery #34) ! :~)

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bentchick

5:15PM | Tue, 23 August 2011

Congratulations on this being chosen for LWITG!

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myrrhluz

12:41AM | Fri, 26 August 2011

Very cool image! I love the squiggles, textures, and wonderful wealth of colors all squooshed together. Beautiful capture and great narrative.


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Photograph Details
F Numberf/8.0
MakeCanon
ModelCanon PowerShot A1000 IS
Shutter Speed1/160
ISO Speed80
Focal Length6

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