Artwerks by Donna » Wheels

More Grunge. I’m in a groove.

Donna — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:11:46 +0000

To date, I’ve shot this old truck from every imaginable angle and in every season (except snow). So recently, when I revealed this treasure to a new photo buddy of mine (Sonja), I felt a bit challenged to find some new approach to one of my favorite and most familiar subjects. This compelled me to get closer than I normally do…really “LOOK” for details that I may have missed in previous shootings…details like the tiny vines entwined in rusted cracks of metal…like the nuance of colors in the rust and the way the light hits the glass in the headlights…the frayed remnants of the steering wheel cover blowing in the spring breeze, or the vines creeping up into the place where a plush seat once rested.

Sometimes when something seems old and outdated and seems to no longer serve any useful purpose, perhaps it has simply adopted a NEW purpose. This old truck no longer hauls hay and feed, no longer takes teenagers to drive-in movies or to get ice cream on a hot day. But it CAN reflect the play of the light and shadows around it; it serves as a nice backdrop for a tangle of tall grasses and creeping vines. As the integrity of the old metal gives way to the ravages of rust, passersby who take a moment to stop and look, can enjoy the varying textures and colors of the process of oxidation and decay. Whooda thought destruction could be so charming?

Too bad I can’t look in the mirror at the ravages of time as played out on my own carbon unit, and appreciate the process of aging as aptly as I can in this old truck. Wrinkles, freckles, age spots and cellulite just don’t come across as quaint and beautiful as rusted metal. But I CAN lose myself–in all my inglorious imperfections–behind the lens of a camera, as I continue to seek out and reveal the surprising beauty of unlikely places.

Retired Workhorse

Donna — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:12:53 +0000

This stately antique sits proudly in the center of a large, spacious field on a small farm near my home. It shares its residence with an antique tractor (click here). I’ve got loads of shots of this thing, though I still feel compelled to shoot it every time I pass it with a camera in the car with me. It’s multi-layered textures and colors just BEG to be further studied – perhaps I can find a new angle, a new patch of rust – there must SURELY be SOMEthing here I’ve missed on my many other visits.

This is actually a re-work. I had originally posted the original shot when I first set up this website…it was my first post. This version was processed with Photomatrix and tonemapped to bring out the depth of texture and tones in the dramatic sky. This is one in a series I’m currently working on putting together for a grouping.

(Click on the pictures to view a full-frame version, and to see picture title.)

CLICK HERE TO BUY PRINTS!

Local Farm Workers

Donna — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:54:05 +0000

CLICK HERE TO BUY PRINTS!

This is an old antique tractor that sits on display in a neighbor’s field. The background of the original setting was not horrible, but neither was it very interesting. So I start plundering through my collection for some background images that needed a little something extra to make THEM more interesting.

An old shot of another neighbor’s donkeys seemed a PERFECT fit for this old tractor. I had actually put the tractor on 3 other backgrounds too…all of which I like, and may post later…this one just turned out to be my favorite. It’s almost as if the donkeys are checking out the tractor as the “new guy” in the field…”So he thinks he’s a hot shot…sitting over there with his big rubber tires and loud motor…PFFT.”