Cycling trips wear me out. Days of pumping and grinding up hills in the strong sun with sweat and road dirt caking my skin. I feel roughed up and worn, weathered by both the elements and the exertions. And yet I end up feeling stronger physically and blessed with some great days to look back at with real pleasure. This is what weathering means to me.
I have always loved the aesthetics of weathering that takes our plain surfaces and deconstructs them into something much more beautiful. As our urban world becomes riddled with cracks and rust and scratches it gains nuance and character. And that feels like what cycling trips do to me.
These macro photographs of various weathered surfaces were all taken on a recent 6-day cycling trip in Thailand. During every stop we made (and there were a lot of them in the mountains) I glanced around for the battered, worn, abandoned and forgotten stuff that natural forces had been working on. There was always something. And it's always getting ignored.
For this type of photography I like to get everything in focus. It doesn't have to be, that's just my preference, but it means that many curved or structured objects won't work for me photographically and so are just enjoyed in-situ without a permanent record of all their intricate detail. Then there are the awkward things visible but just out of reach. Plus stuff in private property with feisty dogs in attendance. But, still, there is so much around that there's rarely any problem finding great subjects full of interest and colour.
For some reason road signs in Thailand often develop some really 'cracking' patterns so a road trip is perfect. This set of images includes road signs, a table top, a fence, advertisements and an old abandoned school bus which was being used in an arty roadside bar/cafe/shop set-up that had also become abandoned thanks to covid.
The biggest problem with my often blinkered view of seeking weathered surfaces is that I sometimes forget to look at the lives and views I pass along the roadside which gives a skewed view of my trips.
