Friday, August 13, 2010

My Old Spiral Jetty


The two things I miss most about the western side of the country are 1) the mountains and 2) vast open space.  I really get homesick for it some days.

I was inspired by Holly, over at Self-Portrait as, to dig out my old pictures from 2003-2004 of the Spiral Jetty and the surrounding area.  The colors in the pictures aren't as rich as they should be but I attribute that to the fact that the film sat undeveloped in a hot humid house for 6 years.  Once I switched to digital, I completely forgot I still had an old film camera.  I tried enhancing the colors in a photo editor but I wasn't happy with any of the results.  I just couldn't get them to look right.  It's as if they were all meant to look old.

On the other hand, as I look at these pictures, there is a heavy sense of a bygone era.  Memories of a past that feels so far distant that even though they are familiar, they are complete foreign to me.  So, it's OK for them to look old.  They are faded and tainted with color, just like my memories.