A Little Vintage, Perhaps?

Since beginning my photography adventure, I’ve noticed that good photographers can take the most ordinary objects and make them look great. Or at least eye-catching. I suppose it’s their ability to offer up a new perspective on the unremarkable that makes them good photographers. Their images evoke stories, memories and feelings.

I want to be able to do that.

Several weeks ago we spent a lot of time mulching. As in hauling mulch from our driveway and spreading it all over our flower beds. We started with fifteen yards of mulch and ran out. Three more yards was barely enough. That’s a lot of mulch.

And our trusty wheelbarrow got a lot of use.

The poor thing is so old that the tire rotted out, making an already laborious job even harder. It started out blue but has aged to a beautiful shade of rust. And the wood handles are so dry, I’m surprised they are strong enough to bear the weight of a load of fresh mulch. They don’t make ’em like they used to, I’ve heard.

Most of the time it sits outside, leaning up against an unused garage door on the least visited side of our house. It bears the brunt of our Michigan weather all year long: rain, snow, ice and sun. Handed down to my husband, it has seen more years that I. My mother-in-law calculated that it’s over fifty years old.

It hardly ever gets so much as a glance from us.

But once or twice a year, it meets a need that no other tool can. And at those times, the unnoticed becomes invaluable.

So when the eighteen yards of mulch were laid down and the old wheelbarrow was returned to its place, I paused a moment to really notice and give thanks for this trusty tool. I saw it with new eyes through my new lens.

I did my best with the composition and then processed the colors and added texture to give it a makeover worthy of its years.

To refer to our wheelbarrow as old seems dishonoring for all it’s endured.

I’d say it’s vintage.

In hope,
Shelli

Among a number of  ”wannabe” wishes, I would love to be a photographer. Not a pro. Just a decent amateur. This yearI’m am being more intentional about making that a reality. Linking up Darcy is one way to share my photomaking journey.