Just the chimney now, but used to be someone’s home

I have been digging out some more of the photographs I took in the past—back when I took photographs. For some reason I have always liked to capture images of old things. Mainly old houses, but really just old things in general.

One of the problems with this kind of photography is that you often come across ‘subjects’ by surprise while driving somewhere else for some other reason. So generally the light is not how you would prefer it and most often you have to make do with the lens or lenses you have with you.

You know that the chances of you coming back this way again are very slim; almost zero.

Typically the light is in the zone of midday plus or minus three hours so it is harsh and the shadows are strong.

Such was the case with this old house yard and chimney that I came across NNE of Popanyinning.

So the trick then is to try and take angles where the strong shadows and the harsh light are somehow tamed so that the photograph is not too stark and the contrast appears a little tamer than it really is.

This first picture, which I can only show at 650 pixel wide due to my posting width, shows the fence that went around the house block. You can make out the gate to the right and the still-standing chimney is in the centre of the picture.

Just over to the right of that fig tree that you can see on the right edge of the picture there is another building, and I have a picture of that later.

The next picture features the chimney.

It is likely this house had a earthen floor because there is no evident of floorboards or a concrete floor.

You can imagine—at least I did while I was there taking these pictures—members of the family sitting around this open fire keeping warm on cold winter nights.

This final picture shows a decaying building that is off to the right of the chimney that I indicated in the first picture. I am not sure if it was part of the main house or was an outbuilding or shed.

From what I can tell I don’t think this building it was part of the main house. Also the fact that it is still, more or less, standing sort of suggests it was built some time after the house because all walls of the house have been reduced to dirt and rubble.