05 May 2010

Empty room, Ranthambore fort

Signs from the past
For more than a thousand years the fort has surveyed the surrounding countryside — now Ranthambore National Park. Once it would have been full of residents going about daily life. Now the tourists wander about, some unable to resist the urge to leave a record of their visit, but after the park closes in the evening, all that inhabits this room will be the last sunlight sliding across the floor and up the walls, perhaps a bird or other small animal checking for scraps of food, the echoes of time passing.
[1 March 2007; Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 13 mm, ISO 200, 1/25 at f8]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor
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7 comments:

  1. leonie.wise5 May 2010 at 23:15

    wow. what a place. so many stories there

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  2. Zhoen6 May 2010 at 02:09

    This has the feel of an art installation. Really, an accidental sacred space.

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  3. pohanginapete6 May 2010 at 07:59

    Leonie, in places like this it's almost possible to touch the stories. They constantly remind me of Barry Lopez's statement that, when travelling, what we think about a place depends on what we know, what we imagine, and how we're disposed.

    Zhoen, what a great insight — I hadn't thought of it like that, but I think you've nailed it. Thanks.

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  4. leonie.wise8 May 2010 at 10:17

    Pete, i love that quote from Barry Lopez - thanks for sharing it here!

    What a brilliant statement and how very true it has been for me in many instances. After all, our view is the only viewpoint we can ever bring to anything isn't it (even whilst still being mindful of others)?

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  5. pohanginapete8 May 2010 at 12:07

    Leonie, the quotation's from his book Arctic Dreams. I've paraphrased it slightly.

    I like your observation too. Maybe that's why some photos resonate so strongly — because we recognise viewpoints either so close to our own or so strikingly different. In either case it's a reminder of how we're essentially isolated from everyone else and only by sharing our viewpoints can we reach across that isolation.

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  6. michael.offworld11 May 2010 at 02:07

    Beautiful photo and words...

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  7. pohanginapete11 May 2010 at 20:47

    Thanks Michael. :^)

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Constructive criticism is welcomed (I particularly appreciate thoughts on what you like and don't like), but please keep it courteous.