Photographers frequently like to photograph collapsing barns, rusting cars, and other decaying subjects. Rust and decay often impart increased visual complexity and character to aging objects. And there is a certain satisfaction in contemplating things older than we are.
Boats on Point White Drive
These old vessels seemed to be sailing into the shrubs on shore. I think they’ve vanished entirely by now.
Foundation at Fort William Henry
My wife grew up near Lake George in New York State. On a visit with her there, I was taken by the complex patterns ornamenting this old stone and brick structure in the fort’s ruins.
Shack at Meigs Farm
This old shack was still standing 11 years ago when I took this shot.
Meigs Farm Shack Interior
The interior of this old building seems to have been used as a hangout for young people who turned it into a graffiti gallery. On this day there was also a sleeping bag in the place, I thought perhaps one used by a homeless person.
Gate Ornament at Meigs Farm
If you walk along the Meigs Farm trail starting at the corner of Koura and 305, you’ll eventually come upon this gate ornamented by an owl head biting a mouse which is biting a piece of cheese.
Abandoned Church in Morsasco, Italy
When we were visiting former Bainbridge resident Anne Pell’s family in their new home in this little north Italian village, her mother Linda took me on a tour. One of the first buildings we walked by was this old vacant church. Anne and her friends fixed it up later to use as a concert venue. The bell tower in the distance belongs to the local palazzo church, still in use.
Rusted Vehicles
When I asked the former owner of Grandma’s Christmas Tree Farm on New Brooklyn Road about the old truck and cars parked just below what has become The Barn, he said he had owned them all, driven them all to high school.
Rusted Float
This large rusty old float among the driftwood behind the Eagle Harbour Condos attracted me not only by its pleasing textures and colors, but by the striking contrast between its original function and its present strikingly non-buoyant state.
Rusted Bulkhead
The bulkhead running along the edge of Creosote Point displays some spectacular abstract designs at low tide.
Rusted Logging Machine
This piece of old logging equipment draped with moss is a feature of the guided walking tours given by the Bainbridge Island Land Trust on Springbrook Creek Preserve across the road from the Johnson Farm. This trail is not otherwise open to the public.
Rusty Rectangle on Battle Point Beach
Something iron-based clearly stood on the beach here, now decorated with seaweed and barnacles.
Rusty Sunset
I took this detail of the Creosote Point bulkhead and flipped it sideways to create this landscape.
Sheep Shed Collapsed
This old farm building beside the road to Port Townsend has now completely collapsed, but on this day it was a striking image of decay in action, particularly in contrast with the crisp lines of the adjacent farmhouse.
Rusted Truck as well as Invasive Species in the Woods
When I was sent out by the Bainbridge Island Land Trust to photograph the Quitslund property, I was focusing mainly on the stream and trees they were aiming to preserve. This unusual project combining conservation with development led to the removal of the truck as well as invasive species in the woods.
GALLERY VIEW
Shack at Meigs Farm
Meigs Farm Shack Interior
Gate Ornament at Meigs Farm
Foundation at Fort William Henry
Boats on Point White Drive
Rusted Float
Abandoned Church in Morsasco, Italy
Rusted Truck as well as Invasive Species in the Woods
Rusted Vehicles
Sheep Shed Collapsed
Rusty Sunset
Rusty Rectangle on Battle Point Beach
Rusted Logging Machine
Rusted Bulkhead
OTHER PHOTO ALBUMS BY PAUL BRIANS:
BRIDGES
REFLECTIONS
SNOW FALLING ON BAINBRIDGE
PEOPLE ELSEWHERE
PEOPLE ELSEWHERE GALLERY
Image courtesy of Bainbridge Public LibraryABOUT PAUL BRIANS. Paul Brians does extensive volunteer photography for the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. He created the photo book Four Seasons on Bainbridge Island (2010), was principal photographer for Natural Bainbridge (2019)and contributed the majority of photographs in Dave and Alice Shorett’s Thirty Walks on Bainbridge (2020) published for the benefit of the Land Trust. He also took photos for some years for Bainbridge in Bloom. He has had six exhibitions of his prints on the Island and his pictures have appeared in many regional publications and on Bainbridge-related Web sites. He posts photos daily on Facebook and is an active member of the Bainbridge Island Photo Club.
English
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
