A recent comment made me think about old photos and how they can make you sad, whereas paintings or drawings don’t. I know I experience a bit of melancholy when I see old photographs of people in an antique store. I wonder why they’re there. Did the family no longer care about them, or did they just need the money? I think I don’t want my likeness to be for sale in an antique mall one day.
But why are paintings less sad? I guess it’s because photos are so close to the real thing. That’s why people pose next to cardboard cutouts of the president and take pictures. A painting is heavy canvas or wood, with layers and layers of paint. And they often don’t look like the real thing. Picasso, anyone?
It’s the same concept with movies (moving pictures). I have old movies of my parents and grandparents, and I can’t bear to watch them. It is heartwrenching to see them young and alive. When I was little, I couldn’t for the life of me understand how someone could be dead, because we were watching them in home movies. Maybe that has stuck with me.
I find nothing sad in photos of flowers or architecture or living persons. In fact, a beautiful photograph can make me feel wonderful. I read somewhere that the ability to really appreciate beauty is one of the greatest things a person can possess. I’m truly grateful to have it.
I hope the following photos bring a bit of a smile to your faces…. Ironically, they’re all blue. I picked them before I decided on my topic!
Is this lavender? Probably, but it looks kind of velvety for that.
We took my stepdaughter over to the Jefferson Memorial the other night, and as we were leaving I looked up and saw the moon. It was around 95 degrees and humid, so there’s a lot of haze.
As many times as I’ve seen the Washington Monument, you’d think I’d remember that the stone is two different colors. But it always surprises me. The reason for the color change is an interruption of several years for a lack of funds and the Civil War. It’s the tallest obelisk in the world and the tallest structure made from stone (marble, granite and sandstone).
Thanks for stopping….
Pearls & Prose 
What a great blog roll to be a part of. Thank you!
You’re so welcome. I think your blog is great.
I live in the DC area, and I didn’t know that about the Washington Monument. I need to pay more attention. Great pictures!
Thank you!
I don’t know either why old photos have a way to make one sad.
A photo represents one instant, a drawing or a painting can be the result of many hours of work. Maybe that work of many hours keeps talking or murmuring to the viewer! Look at an old ceramic vase and compare that to a machine made one.
Photos are partly machine made. Sí señor. I know that behind the camera there is the photographer, and in your case there is very much photographer, and behind that machine-made cup there is a designer, and yet….
Ooops, this is all very sad.
Yes, the layers of paint and/or patina add to the experience, definitely. I like older homes and furniture for the same reason. A sheet of fresh drywall can’t compare to an ochre-colored plaster wall in Italy. Not everyone agrees with me, though.
I’m not really thinking of the person behind the work when I admire it. I just enjoy it for what it is.