A few days ago I took an early morning photo trip to a local ‘swimming hole’ on a nearby river. This ‘swimming hole’ is at an old industrial mill dam and has been in use by local citizens for many, many years.
There are large river rocks and boulders along the river bed which with the rushing water create some nice photographic scenes. There are also old broken stone walls in the surrounding woods.
Like many popular public “hang-outs” there’s graffiti’s painted on some of the rocks. Much of it seems to have been there for years.
I took my photos that morning working to avoid any graffiti which I thought would spoil my shots.
However, after viewing the photos I’ve come to understand that I was capturing the place as I wished it to be, but missed part of the natural character and energy of the location.
My next trip back I’m going to regard the graffiti differently. Perhaps I can capture some of the energy that went into its creation or at least interpret through photos that this place is also about the people who use and enjoy it.