Gone But Not Forgotten – Weekly Photo Challenge
“The Moment! Once you miss it, it’s gone forever.”
Henri Cartier Bresson
(6 photos)
This week Krista has offered us an interesting challenge: “Gone But Not Forgotten”. A few weeks ago I posted about a glorious sunrise at Botany Bay in the nearby Ace Basin of South Carolina. At the time I promised to later post some B&W versions of the hauntingly beautiful trees that have been decimated by the tides as they encroach upon the beach. It seems to me that those trees are a wonderful subject for this week’s challenge as they cling to their last moments of existence.
“Photography is very philosophical. You look one moment and there’s everything, next moment it’s gone.”
Joel Meyerowitz
As I mentioned in my previous post, the sunrise at Botany Bay was incredibly vibrant the day I visited, but once the sun began to rise higher into the sky, the day became quite difficult for color photography. On the other hand, very high-contrast situations such as a bright sun over the ocean with dark trees as subjects, lend themselves wonderfully to B&W.
“No man-made invention will ever be as clear, or as vivid, as the image captured in your mind of a loved one who’s gone.”
Larry Wilder
I’ve often commented to friends that the subjects of my photographs are the most memorable moments of my travels. Is that because they were more memorable to begin with, or because I’ve translated them from my eyes, through my lens and onto a solid medium such as a framed print or a book? I suspect a little of both. But I do find that photography not only causes me to notice more of the wonders of our world, both large and small, but it also helps me to remember them.
“There is always the feeling that something is gone.”
David Plowden
The ephemeral nature of this particular site, Boneyard Beach, is emotionally moving. One is faced with the transitory element of life – here today, gone tomorrow. But forgotten? Let us hope not. If only memorialized by photographers like myself who find them stunningly beautiful, at the very least they will be remembered by some number of us. So too all of us, who will someday cease to exist other than in photos or more importantly in the minds and hearts of those who have known and loved us.
“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
Karl Lagerfeld
No one wants to think about ceasing to exist, after all, it’s the only thing we know. But much has been written of late about what happens after death. Science and medicine have reached a point where many who have been technically dead for some time – no heartbeat, no brainwaves, no breathing – can be returned to life. Many of them have reported experiencing a wonderful “existence” after physical death, such that they were reluctant to return to life in the here-and-now. Who are we to question, since we have no way of knowing what really happens? People of faith have always believed in a hereafter of some form, and many people around the world firmly believe in reincarnation. Who are we to think we know otherwise?
“My favorite thing is to go where I have never gone.”
Diane Arbus
“Gone but not Forgotten” not only describes the barren trees of Boneyard Beach. It also applies to the loved ones we have lost, and of course to the incredible moments I spent in this very special place. For that reason, this week I have surrounded my photography with the quotations of famous photographers. Who better to talk about Gone but not Forgotten than those who have captured fleeting moments and frozen them for all time? Because of their amazing collective works they will not soon be forgotten either.
To see what other bloggers have not forgotten, click here.
Your really nailed the theme…Love your black & white photos.
Thanks Charlie – glad you enjoyed! Happy holidays to you.
Amazing photos! I love the way you capture the nature, and these images are perfect for the daily post challenge!
Thanks very much Indah😊
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Wow, the opening photo is incredible ~ drew me right in to your writing. The B&W works so well, and perhaps it is the theme of what is here now in all its glory will eventually fade ~ and it is not a sad thing, just part of this great thing called life. Great series of photos Tina, perfect for your theme.
Thanks so much Randall. “Just part of this great thing called life.” Couldn’t have said it better myself!!
Beautiful, both in words and pictures, the black & white, or rather, shades of grey, is very evocative. I haven’t yet responded to this theme, and may not have time to, but it certainly also made me think of people I loved who are no longer in this world – thanks for a lovely reflective post.
Thanks so much Maamej for your touching comment.
Between these hauntingly beautiful “drowned” trees and the well-chosen quotes and your own observations, you have crafted another elegant post, Tina. Really beautiful…
Thanks so much Annette – SO much fun meeting you yesterday!
What a touching post so beautifully written. And your photos are superb 🙂
Many thanks Jocelyne, glad you enjoyed.
BnW really adds atmosphere to the scenes; quite sere in a way. Love the quotes.
Many thanks Liz
Wonderful post, Tina. You have very skilfully captured a mood with these stunning black and white images…..and the quotes add another element. I concur with you on photography causing me to notice moments and remember them. Friends are often amazed by my memory for things, for places….but it is because of the images I have taken!
Exactly Sue – we agree wholeheartedly. Thank you for the lovely comment.
Wonderful shots Tina, loaded with emotional content. It’s amazing how photographs of even trees can evoke strong emotions if captured skillfully. Your images are an example of that.
PS: I HAVE to say this – the first one is a stunner!
Thank you so much Uday – nothing like a compliment from the master to make one’s day!
These are stunning! They have such a surreal feel! Perfect quotes for each shot!
Thanks so much PE – they are glorious specimens of nature’s power.
WOW…so POWERFUL …LOVING your words as well as the photos! The B&W sends me to a place of deep thought….a very peaceful place….really beautiful work!!
Thanks so much April – it’s a very powerful site actually, I was fortunate to catch it at just the right moment.
B&W is a perfect medium for the starkness and forlorn feeling of these trees Tina.
This is a very thought provoking post but this sentence is one that I fully agree with. “photography not only causes me to notice more of the wonders of our world, both large and small, but it also helps me to remember them.” So appropriate for this theme, the moment is fleeting and then gone, but with the photo it will never be forgotten.
Thanks Pomme, it was an incredible day for me, and while the mood was not somber while I was shooting it, the B&W certainly makes it appear so! Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Some lovely personal thoughts here Tina . Trees like this are hauntingly beautiful .
Thanks PT, the trees are incredible. I felt very lucky to see them at their best that day!
This is a very moving post. Love your work on these photos, very haunting and full of solitude. The quotes you share go so well with this week’s theme. Moments come and go so fast, sometimes we don’t realise what we have or what’s happening around us until it’s gone or over 🙂
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment Mabel, much appreciated!
That first shot is such a sculptural beauty, Tina- you had me with that! 🙂
😍 Thanks Jo – sculptural is a good word for these beautiful specimens! Thanks for stopping by.
Its a beauty!! 🙂
Thanks so much Nivin, glad you enjoyed!
what a poignant post, Tina. i remember the glorious morning colours you posted previously of this unique place, and they were so vibrant. these b&w views are more understated and at the same time more evocative.
our days are fleeting, and yet we have the gift of choice to make them full and meaningful. in fact, every new day provides such a gift. and at the same time, it’s not just always about today.
thanks for sharing. 🙂
Beautifully said Kris, thanks so much for your thoughtful comment
A fabulous selection of quotes Tina. I remember the gorgeous colour version of these shots, but I love the stark, monochromatic treatment of this series as well. Perfect for the challenge.
Thanks you Madhu – amazing how different the two sets of captures from the same shoot can be seen isn’t it? Must admit I loved both – as well as the memory of the day!
Tina, your posts always have such great depth to them. Today’s is particularly special and one that I will want to keep coming back to. I love your quotes and your thoughts as well as the beautiful black and white images. I have a quote from my mother when she was alive. She used to say ” all we really are, are pictures in an album.” Have a great week and thanks for inspiring once again 🙂
Thanks so much for your lovely comment Andrew. It was a very emotional day for me so I am most happy that you saw the emotion in my post.
what a cool way to weave in this appreciation for photographers and the value of their lingering work – that was nice to read as the post unfolded. and this beach seems unreal – seems like a movie set that was created. I clicked back over to the color post and then came back again and it has to be one of the most unique beaches I have ever seen.
Anyhow, I guess it is becoming standard for me to grab a quote from your posts (well the last few posts at least) and the one from this post was something I selected early, and then found that I liked my selection even more after I read the entire post. I liked it because it was that personal touch – that was inviting… and it was such a complement to the photos, the quotes from other photographers, the highlight of their left behind works – and then the bit of philosophical extras … well this was my takeaway quote –
(referring to the most memorable travel moments)
Is that because they were more memorable to begin with, or because I’ve translated them from my eyes, through my lens and onto a solid medium such as a framed print or a book?
well thanks for being open to long comments – lol!! and thanks for dropping by my Civil War post because your comment there added something rich – appreciate it – Peace!
That phrase also struck a cord with me Y. A bit of both I suspect, usually it is a memorable image that attracts us to take a photo and studying it as the photo is taken then fixes it in our mind.
Exactly my thought Pomme! Thanks for the extra comment 🙂
Peace to you too Yvette – and thanks for the “long comment” and the appreciation for my own quote. It gives me great pleasure to see you enjoying my thoughts!!
Great composition, Tina. Sadness and drama. Bravo!
Thank you so much Svetlana – I thought the mood of the B&Ws was so different from the color shots. Can’t say really which ones I preferred – guess it depends on your mood while you’re viewing them!
These photos are poetic… I love Karl Lagerfeld’s quote. Thank you, Tina!
Very much my pleasure Amy, thanks for stopping by!
The kind of landscape that calls for black and white. Glad you thought to convert them. Nice set.
Thanks Jane – B&W creates an amazingly different feel from the color shots. Must admit I loved each in a different way.
All your gorgeous photos have moved Botany Bay and Boneyard Beach to my must see list! Your shots are spectacular.–Patti
Oh yes, if you possibly can, you definitely should! It’s an amazing place Patti – a photographer’s dream! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Tina,
Your previous blog on Botany Bay inspired Andy and me to drive there on Saturday. We’ve been all around it…have picnicked on Botany Island but never hiked down to Boneyard Beach, have taken our John boat up Ocella creek for picnic supper, but didn’t land. On Saturday, walking out to the beach, it was much like your black and white photos. The fog was rolling in and out and all was platinum and shining. There was one tree that looked like a braided pretzel. How did it get that way? Amazing place! Diane
I consider it a supreme compliment that my post moved you to visit Diane! Would LOVE to shoot it in the fog–must have been amazing! Thanks for letting me know!
Nice one Tina. In fact all photos represent a moment in time that has gone, but will not be forgotten.
Thanks Jude. My sentiments exactly!
Tina, the great thing about these trees is that they still look beautiful, even when dead or dying. You’re right that black and white is perfect for these shots. As Sally says, there’s a simplicity here but a beautiful one. I like the tree in “Soon to be Gone” and the sky in “Swirling Water.” But they’re all excellent.
janet
Thanks so much Janet. Yes, I think they were more striking in their final moments than they would have been in full bloom. Let’s hope the same is true for us 😉
Gorgeous
Many thanks SV!
These are gorgeous photos Tina. I love the simplicity. And as always – your post is very thought provoking
Thanks so much Nora – appreciate it!
I absolutely love these photos, and the prose is beautiful as well.
Thanks so much Lex – I had tons of fun shooting them 😊
Great series and it certainly lends itself well to B & W.
Thanks Vicki – appreciate your visit and comment.
When I was young, I couldn’t wait to work in color, in fact, in high school, I even experimented with the Kodak color printing developers and papers, along with the ever-ubiquitous Ektachrome slide processing system. Then I left photography for a another career. Now, the more I see black-and-white work, I find my love for color to be a false love. Beautiful images… my favorite being “Swirling waters.”
Thanks so much John – yes there are definitely some things that cry out for B&W, while others demand color. Some subjects work both ways, as I believe these did. The good news? We have creative options more than ever before!
A wonderful post – both the photos and the words. Thank you.
My pleasure Annette – both literally and figuratively!
Nice work Tina, perfect subjects for B&W.
Thank you Jim – they were simply perfect subject – B&W or color, photography, painting, you name it, they were something quite special.
Great shots, T.
Thanks Jane
These trees certainly do make wonderful subjects Tina and as you say, a bright sunny day can lend itself to high contrast black and white photography perfectly as you demonstrate here. Smashing post.
Thanks so much Adrian – its an incredible sight. I’m tempted to return but don’t want to diminish my memory of the perfect day we caught on this adventure!
I feel like this week’s topic was chosen just for me. You have illustrated it so beautifully and enhanced with your choice of quotes. I know the viewer brings their own perspective to a work of art, this blog entry has moved me to tears and touched me deeply. Thank you Eileen
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Eileen, very much appreciated.
A wonderful post, Tina. I would love to visit this place. I really love the first quote. So true.
Thanks very much AD2P, it’s definitely visit-worthy although definitely out of the way and off the beaten track. I suppose that’s one of the reasons it remains so pristine.
I was so moved by not only your hauntingly beautiful pictures, but mainly by your quotes and thoughts. I copied Larry Wilder and David Plowden and wound up copying the whole piece!
It feels like a gift. Thank you.
How very sweet Mary Lynn, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Nothing could make me happier than having my post thought of as a gift.
Only God can make a tree is the last line in ” Tree” a poem by Joyce Kilmer ‘ a fellow Hungarian and New Jerseyite. Coincidentally, I was fishing on Friday and was looking at the dead and dying trees scattered around the club property. Your post is quite appropriate.
Yes, I did “borrow” Kilmer’s line from that poem to title my photo. It seemed appropriate to the glory of the morning. I can remember reciting that poem MANY times having been in school 5 minutes from where Kilmer wrote it!
Yes, who are we to think we know otherwise? Good thought, Tina…and haunting photographs.
Thanks Sharon. Amazing how different the B&W look vs the color photos from that day, isn’t it?
Your photos are truly a work of art Tina. In capturing them the trees thus, you have kept a bit of them alive.
Thanks so much Colline – it was an amazing day. Awe-inspiring really
aaah, these photos are balm for the soul along with the quotes you’ve chosen along with them.
Thanks so much Hanne, happy you enjoyed.
Gorgeous Tina! The first one puts me in mind of a Stags antlers 🙂
Thanks very much Amanda. And you’re right – it kind of DOES look like antlers, doesn’t it?!
I really enjoyed reading and looking at your photos how you immortalized them … Never to be forgotten. Tina, thank you. Perpetua
Thanks so much Perpetua!
wonderful post! you nailed this week’s Topic!
Thanks so much Nalinki
Photographs can elicit so many thoughts and emotions of a time we won’t get back. Thanks for sharing a very thoughtful interpretation.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. Yes this challenge was particularly thought-provoking wasn’t it? A bit melancholy for the holiday season I thought!
This is really captivating, Tina. And hard to believe, like totally surreal. What’s ging on here? I had never heard of this Beach so I looked it up. A forest stranded in the surf. Is ist a destination itself? What a wonderful post, thank you for sharing this part of the world with us!
Dina Xx
Thanks Dina, yes it’s an amazing place – target of many local photographers and you can see why! It’s really only fabulous when the tide is high and of course we wanted to time it so the high tide occurred at sunrise for the best light – which means only 1 day each month. The entire experience is pretty surreal! Glad you enjoyed.
Lovely in their simplicity…
Thanks Sally, glad you enjoyed.