Old Things Made New

I remember a while ago, someone told me never to through away or erase the photos that I don’t like on first viewing. I’m not sure who told me this fact but it really proved true to me just yesterday, when, on a lark I looked through some of my “rejects” and found a treasure or two in the rough.

 

My favorite was probably this one here.  This is before shot. I took about a year ago when we were doing the World Wide Photowalk.  I really enjoy old buildings and was hoping to capture some architecture with this shot.  Alas when I looked at it all I saw was a washed out, bland photo. I than tried playing with some of the processes available with the web site Picnik.  I don’t have photoshop and wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did, so I find Picnik a little less intimidating to experiment with.

 

 

 

  

      Ta Da! This is the new image. It’s still not wholly up to par but it’s a bit more pleasing than the previous look.  It’s a funny thing when you look back on life and see things you hated at first, began a new life in just a slightly altered fashion.  I mean that seems to be the trend today and frankly I think it’s genius.  I hate seeing old things lose their sheen especially when they were great and wonderful works of art in their own right.  The building to my left has stood the test of time but there were many building in our little town that have not.  Because of the size, and I’m guessing the economic condition of Joplin, Mo, the “urban renewal” movement of the 1960’s and 70’s stole many great buildings away from the future and replaced them with parking lots. Not a great exchange if you ask me. One of those wonderful buildings was the Connor Hotel.

 

 

The Lobby of the Connor Hotel

The Connor in 1978 about two years before it was torn down.

The Connor’s Rooftop Ballroom

And this if the final photo. I’m pretty sure this was taken in the teens or twenties.

As you can see sometimes it’s hard to let old things go away for good.  What stands now on this spot is our local library which doesn’t quite match the architecture of the many other old buildings that stand around it but in the spirit of change there is sits.  Though this may seem like a daydreamer’s vision of days gone by I did think up quite a good point. I see Etsy as a place that opens the doors for revitalization. There are so many vintage items that are finding new homes and new uses and it makes my heart glad.  Not only is this great for our environment but it opens the doors to history and stories previously left in the forgotten ruble of the past.  The next time you see a great vintage item on Etsy and wonder what in the world it was used for way back when, use it as a chance to learn more about it. Oh and for the hoarders out there, i.e. me, this is a great way to share your fun vintage things with the others in the awesome Etsy community.   Well it’s time to get off my soapbox, which I’m pretty sure I recycled from someone, and now that I think of it might make a good flower box hmmmm…  Have a lovely weekend everyone : )