Abandoned Buildings - Twillingate

The buildings in today's photographs have definitely been abandoned because the windows and doors have been boarded up. I have mentioned many times that I photograph abandoned buildings, not as art but as a documentary record. The one thing missing when I take these type photos is information about the individual buildings: Who owns/owned them? When were they abandoned? Stories about them? I am presently scanning old slides and may come across images of these buildings that were taken back in the 1970s.

Twillingate 3 - Houses and Outbuildings

As I dive through communities looking for photographs, I don't usually have anything particular in mind. I have common themes such as fishing stages, boats, houses (new and old), outbuildings, churches, seascapes, people, doors, windows, clotheslines, fences and yard art. There are times that I concentrate on one or more of these, but Twillingate had it all.

Sometimes, photographic subjects can depend on the weather. For example, on overcast, dreary days I seem to photograph subjects that have much less sky: houses, windows doors, etc. On beautiful, sunny days I take more scenic and wide angle views which emphasize the colours. When I arrived in Twillingate it was overcast, but it began to clear up as the day passed.

Today, I share images of houses and outbuildings that caught my attention. The first shows a couple of sheds at the end of a grassy path. The blue-grey shed looks like it is still being used as does the smaller, weather-beaten one next to it. However, the smaller one has pieces of siding that have fallen off and no one has painted it for quite a while.

The yellow house looked like it had been abandoned: not painted, high grass growing everywhere, no steps to the doors, roof in disrepair. The next house may also have no one living in it, but someone mows the lawn and keeps the place tidy. I suspect these houses will not look the same the next time I visit. The last two photos show older houses that are lived in and well-maintained. I liked the fences, doors and windows, as well as the hint of ocean in the background of both. I also liked the clothes on the line in the last photo.

Twillingate Fishing Stages 2

In yesterday's post I mentioned that I am amazed that wooden fishing stages don't fall into the ocean because of rough seas, wind and ice. If you look closely at today's images you will see that parts of the structures are indeed in need of repairs.

One person replied that the sea looked calm in my photos and I responded that I don't usually do many photo shoots in rough weather - and it does get quite rough here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The early settlers of our province were fishermen from Europe who looked for sheltered harbours in which to build their tiny communities. As a result, even when the sea is very rough, it may not be quite as bad in some harbours and inlets. Twillingate is an island community that was joined to the mainland by a causeway and there are several protected harbours there.

I have made a note to send some seascape photos showing rougher seas, however, I don't have many "storm" photos. When it is really stormy, I tend to stay at home.

Fishing Stages

In 2004, I photographed Twillingate and surrounding towns. Over the next few days I plan to share a few photos from that trip. As most of you know, I have been photographing fishing stages in communities around Newfoundland and Labrador for nearly 40 years.

The dictionary of Newfoundland defines fishing stage as: An elevated platform on the shore with working tables, sheds, etc, where fish are landed and processed for salting and drying, and fishing gear and supplies are stored;

In some communities stages have been neglected and are falling into the sea, while others are well-maintained. I photograph them regardless of condition and am sure while I am scanning my old slides that I will see changes in communities that I have visited more than once over the years. What always amazes me is that these structures are not easily destroyed by wind, waves, tides and ice.

Thanksgiving

I would like to thank everyone who sent me positive thoughts and prayers regarding my surgery. I am at home and feeling well. Actually, I am feeling better than I thought I would just 3 days after my surgery. I was up and walking on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday I walked the corridors (250 feet) 120 times, which is between 5 or 6 miles. I guess all that hiking through the woods got me in decent shape. Last night they removed all tubes and released me this morning. I do have follow-up appointments, but at this point the prognosis is good! For that, I am thankful!!

Since it is Thanksgiving in the United States, I decided to send a few photos that are appropriate for the day. These photos were made in 2004, when I was producing a slide show about Thanksgiving in Canada. I don't know about you, but the photos are making me hungry after 3 days of hospital food!!

Boreal Chickadee

Based upon the responses I received yesterday, it seems that the photos of the sparrow evoked interesting memories and thoughts. As a result, I am sharing images of another small bird, a boreal chickadee, that were taken in August 2007.

I may have misled you yesterday when I said I don't see many birds in the forest. I see and hear lots, but they don't come close enough for me to photograph them. On the other hand, numerous species hang out around my bird feeder during the winter. I didn't think we had boreal chickadees around this area until I photographed the ones you see in today's images. Now I see them fairly often.

For the next few days, I will not be sending out my Photo of the Day. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning and will be in hospital for 3 - 7 days.

White-Throated Sparrow

Two summers ago I photographed a white-throated sparrow during one of my hikes. The small bird was curious about me and stayed only long enough for me to capture a few images. At the time, I thought I hadn't photographed this specie of bird before, but later I found photos of one that were taken a couple of years previously at my birdfeeder.

One would think that I would see lots of birds in the forest, but to be honest, I see a few chickadees, robins and crows, but not very many birds at all. I hear lots of birds, but seldom get a chance to photograph them.

Feel free to check more photos of the white-throated sparrow at: http://www.lanephotography.com/birds/white_throated_sparrow/white_throated_sparrow_01.htm

Clouds

I saw an interesting cloud formation and made several images, a few of which I am sharing today. I shared cloud photos in mid-October and someone suggested doing a series of photos on the various types of clouds. These clouds were very high and, according to one web site I checked, they could be cirrocumulus or altocumulus. You can see that it is difficult to classify certain types of clouds from the definition alone.

Cirrocumulus clouds appear as small, rounded white puffs. The small ripples in the cirrocumulus sometimes resemble the scales of a fish.

Altocumulus (Alto, "high", cumulus, "heaped") is a cloud belonging to a class characterized by globular masses or rolls in layers or patches, the individual elements being larger and darker than those of cirrocumulus and smaller than those of stratocumulus.

Sunset

I remember seeing the clouds and thinking that when the sun sets, there should be excellent colours. I drove home, picked up my camera, drove 2 or 3 miles up the Trans Canada Highway, and walked through the woods to Rushy Pond just in time to photograph the beautiful colours. I also remember shooting a roll of 36 slides because it was so beautiful. Included this morning are photos of the grasses with the rich colours in the background. What you can't see are the mosquitoes, which were numerous on that beautiful evening in 1975. :)

I have sold photos from this series as enlargements as well as publication in brochures and magazines. If anyone on this list is interested in purchasing enlargements of Newfoundland and Labrador as gifts, please feel free to browse the photos on my web site and/or Blog. Just click the links below. I also have several photo products that you can check out at: http://www.lanephotography.com/photo_products/photo_products_02.htm

Dance

In June 2006, I photographed a dance rehearsal at the Arts and Culture Centre in St. John's. In October of that year I shared three abstract images I made that day, but the photos were very tiny so I am sharing similar images of the abstracts again. These images were made through a translucent curtain that caused the dancers to be out of focus. As the lighting changed, I continued to make photos.

After viewing the abstracts, a friend commented that if she takes a photo that is out of focus, she thinks she is a bad photographer and discards it, but that I see it as art and keep it for future use! There is some truth in that statement. Often, I will save an image that is blurry and out of focus because it may be useful in the future.