“Without beauty, life would be unbearable. We need the beautiful as much as we need love. Beauty and the beautiful are not the preserve of luxus or the elite privileged. Everyone needs it. There are people in the world now who are holding out on the rawest edges of what’s humane – in refugee camps, in prisons, in hospitals, in places of starvation – who are only able to hold out because they’ve got some glimpse of the beautiful. Sometimes beauty is like that. It turns up as a minuscule moment in a dark landscape and recalls us to possibility and inspiration and encouragement. We can hold out in very bleak places if we are in touch with the presence of beauty (John O’Donohue – ‘Divine Beauty, The Invisible Embrace,’ Greenbelt).”
Alzheimer’s disease had found Dad and brought a need to establish assisted living care closer to family. In the summer of 2011, having pulled Dad from his retirement in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia and taken him home to Edmonton, Alberta, the tasks of clearing Dad’s house in readiness to be sold and settling Dad’s estate were next. With a body stiff from two days of driving and a need to stand and move, a side road near Vavenby, British Columbia, presented rusting relics, the opportunity to see these trucks that had had Lives and the opportunity to engage my curiosity, imagination and thinking. The owner allowed me to photograph them.
In My Back Pocket - Photography 
This inspires me to do play with some of my old car images. Very nice work.
A man made old beauty that blends in so well with the landscape. A great shot. I know for sure that one of the next books I am going to buy is J. O’Donohue’s “Invisible Embrace”. The quotes you share with us are so inspiring. Thank you.
Hey there, Isa:
Sorry not to have replied sooner … the last two weekends have been road warrior weekends 2000km per weekend with travels from High Level to Edmonton, Alberta and back. Glad to see you take hold of John O’Donohue; he’s a thinker as well as former priest. He’s lectures tend towards encapsulating all that life’s about and our role(s) in it. Maybe drop me a line … and let me know about what surfaces as important. 🙂
Take care, …
stunning colours and lines. love this! 🙂
Reblogged this on skymunki.
It looks monstrous. Well captured —– or would you prefer to be said, well created?
Monstrous, yes (perhaps more than beautiful) … reminds of Mater in Disney’s Cars. Captured and appropriated are more to the truth … I had a chat with this truck’s owner after finding what he referred to as the Valhalla of Rusting Relics. Created … perhaps if I’d been involved more concerned with angle of view composition etc.. The distortion offered by the wide-angle adds to the monstrous quality … I’ve got the picture downstairs to acclimatize to … after two or three months it still hasn’t settled mostly because of the distortion.
Thanks for looking in ….
As always, I love what you do with these old cars. I think they must like the stories you tell about them with your images.
Greatphoto, and I might have to look up John O’Donohue. I loved the quote you used on another post as well.
Hello Naomi:
Definitely have a look into John O’Donohue … there’s a lot there that’s good. Thanks for having a look in on the photoblog.
Take care,
Exquisite, I loved your ‘Beholding Eye’ but I think I like this one even better, x
Beauty sees us through in remarkable times … often we don’t recognize its sustaining power. Good schtuff, it is …. 🙂
Love the color and composition here-your work is very inspiring-Thank you!
Hello, hello …
One of those first shots I took and posted, here … there are different things I’d now do with this – choice of lens, pulling out line and detail, sorting through perspectives and an alternate plane of focus, editing to bring out colour; I did have the chance to drive by this truck again in February, another drive sorting things through – this time in settling the estate of my wife’s father, down in the Okanagan. Nothing has changed. It sits in its owners acreage front yard. I did talk to the owner a year ago and forwarded images. He’d moved forward with the building of his shop and furthered himself forward in his automotive repair business. Even last year, I saw more of what could be done in photographing this truck.
Still … I’ll be always be grateful for the visual respite or camera work that he allowed that day.
Thanks for looking in … 😉