Houses and Outbuildings

This will be the last in the Houses and Outbuildings for a while. As I continue scanning my slides, I am sure I'll come across more.

The first photo was taken in Brigus, Conception Bay in the mid-80s. The last time I photographed this house, the walls were barely standing. I suspect it may be gone completely by now. The second photo shows houses at the end of a beach in Freshwater, Conception Bay. At least one of the houses, if not more, are gone now. The winter scene of Harry's Harbour was taken in 1973. I am guessing that the old building no longer exists. I think the fourth photograph was taken in Conception Bay South. The green house and the barn were photographed in St. Joseph's, St. Mary's Bay. The outhouse was in Trouty, Trinity Bay and the last photo was taken in Pouch Cove.

I hope you enjoyed the old photos of houses and outbuildings that may no longer exist. For years I have been photographing old houses, barns, fishing stages, outhouses and other buildings. Even though I have many photos in my collection, I continue to make images of those subjects. The odd thing is that when I return to an area and notice that a house or building is gone, there is usually nothing but an empty lot which doesn't mean a lot to the viewer. I do have many photos of empty lots or concrete foundations of houses but, unless I put it together with the older images, the new photos have little meaning. Another future project!!

Pouch Cove

Today's photos were taken in Pouch Cove in the summer of 1981. I didn't realize it at the time, but it wasn't too long in the future when the fishing stages shown in these photos were taken down and replaced by a more modern, but less scenic, structure. I remember walking in and around the stages and making several photographs of the weather-beaten structures. I am sorry I didn't take more at the time.

These photos have grown in historical value because the wooden structures no longer exist.

I have uploaded this photo essay to my Pouch Cove web site: http://www.lanephotography.com/pouch_cove/pouch_cove.htm

Lost?

The first two images this morning were taken in Pouch Cove in 1982. I remember being amazed at the wooden structures built precariously on the high cliffs. A few years later, they were replaced by one large concrete structure. To be honest, I am not sure if I ever bothered to photograph the new structure.

The third image was taken in Bay Bulls and this area has changed dramatically since the mid-80s. Two boat tour operators operate from this location nowadays. Since the small boat was in a state of disrepair at the time, I assume that it no longer exists.

I learned very early in my photographic career that nothing stays the same. One morning in 1970, I was going to photograph a mining exploration camp as we travelled up river to explore for minerals. I decided to wait until the afternoon, but when I returned in the evening, the camp was on fire. I captured a few images of the fire, but missed the photo of the peaceful camp in the early morning light. That incident occurred during the first couple of months that I owned a 35 mm camera.

Quite a few of you are enjoying this series so I'll send a few more over the next few days.

Boats

Yesterday's photos demonstrated a technique that I have been experimenting with over the past few years. This morning I chose two photos taken in Pouch Cove a few years ago to further demonstrate how you can "force" the viewer to see what you want them to see.

The boats in the first photo are part of the whole scene and not the dominant subject of the photo. Some viewers MAY concentrate on the boats in the foreground, but others will look at the town, ocean, sea cliffs, etc.

By zooming in closer to the boats, I am only allowing you to see the boats and steep slipway. Since you can not see the town, it is not a distraction.

Photographers attempt to communicate through their images and include only what they are trying to show, eliminating things in the image that may distract the viewer.