Simple Doorway Arch

Grungy arched doorway from a small neighborhood church.

Dark Chevy

Emblem from the front of an old Chevy truck. Click for a larger view.

Tennis Only

The tennis court down the street. "TENNIS ONLY". I have yet to see someone actually playing tennis there.

Portland Parks Lock

Rust and a padlock? Who can resist such a grunge photo cliche? Click for larger view.

Thousands of Items

Advertising on the side of a building.

Yellow Circle, White Up

A drive-thru arrow on the pavement. I suppose it's lucky I didn't get run over by someone in a hurry to get their fries and a shake.

Wall and Window

Sunny day, grungy wall, strange thing in the window.

Rivet Riff

More rivets from the Steel Bridge across the Willamette River in Portland.

Upstairs

Creakity stairs, squeakity door. Grungy, grungy.

Three Chains

Why is rust so photogenic?

NEPO

Detail from a fire hydrant.

Weather Bird

This sign will forever be etched in my brain. Something to stare at in the early morning as I wait for my bus.

This Train

I ride the electric commuter train to work every day here in Oregon, but don't see many old freight trains any more.

Bath Mirror

Muted fall colors mirrored in a bird bath.

Fix You

I've had the song "Fix You" by Coldplay going through my head all day. Seems to go well with this photo and my mood.

Cash for Cars

The car salesman tells me that this sign has been up since 1970-something. That makes the sign an antique. And me too, now that I think of it.

Fence Decay

Urban decay both fascinates and bums me. Odd how there can be scenes like this, and a house across the street with an immaculate lawn and flowers--like a neatly trimmed personal oasis for some city dweller.

Tree Abstraction

Tree shadow on the wall.

Loading

The side of a parked train.

3800

Random shot from a junkyard. If you can tell me what make / model of vehicle it came off of, you win... um... bragging rights?

Spike and Plate

Rusted plate and spike on a railroad track.

Pane

Broken window from an old train depot.

Volvo on a Lonely Street

Old Volvo with no place to go. Stitched from five separate photos.

Oregon Farms

After nine months of our new urban life, the sight of a rusty ol' tractor and wide open fields of fruit and grains refreshed my soul this weekend. If only I could have the idyllic country setting with a shopping mall, coffee shop, and plenty of restaurants right next door. I'm a study in contrasts.

Master

Lockin' up nothing in particular. Just a padlock on a pole.

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Still going with yesterday's contest post. If you haven't posted your guess yet, be sure to. The winner gets a free 5x7 of any Crossmark photo. Those who don't win can always order prints and other stuff here or here. =)

Coin Laundry

Retro laundromat sign. Love the goofy water drop guy.

Trash Bash

It's hard enough being a trash can without having your sides bashed in. Stuck in a corner. By yourself.

Boarded Window

A broken, boarded-up window. Like a lot of people who've given up hope.

No Red

Traffic signal sign approaching the Steel Bridge over the Willamette River in Portland. I didn't remove the color from the red light. That's just how the sign was. Did somebody steal the little red circle?

Rusty Bump

A flaky, rusty bump by the railroad tracks.

O

An engraved "O" from a sign on the campus of Reed College here in Portland. Or is it a giant stone eyeball?

Pipe Shadow

A rainwater drain pipe casts a long shadow at high noon.

Rusty Grid

Rusted window on a school door. Looks more like a prison though.

Patina Gate

The ubiquitous pale turquois metal guarding the public transit system in Portland.

Green Door

A forgotten door to a forgotten building.

Hatch Lumber

All that's left of an abandoned lumber yard.

Yellow Pole

A colorful triad of poles from a swingset at Grant Park in Portland. If you've ever read Beverly Cleary's children's books about Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins, you'll recognize Grant Park as just one of the real life landmarks from Portland that she includes in her fiction. My wife writes about our visit here.

Link

Just a rusty chain.

1-2-3

Numbers decorate a favorite playground.

167

Detail from a fire hydrant down by our Community Center.

Chipped and Cracked

Layers of weathered paint add character to the old train depot in Bryan, Ohio.

Speaker Dots

A rusty speaker box along the train line that I ride to work every day.

Gas Pump

More farm footage. Gotta fuel that machinery somehow. (And you thought gas prices were high for YOUR car!)

Hooked

Just a couple of chains lying around on the farm.

Rusty Jumper

Rims

Racks of rims at the junkyard.

Rusty Blue

A tired old delivery van rusts away in the junkyard.

Cascading Tires

Old tires never die, they just take the road less traveled.

Rustic Shed with Ivy

Found this rustic shed on the way to the park the other day.

Warehouse

Something about the repetition in this practical architecture caught my eye. This building sits just a block from us, but I never noticed this side of it until last week.

Unchained Melody

Chain and pole at an abandoned silo.

Too Late

So did they put the sign up BEFORE or AFTER this happened?

112

Painted Padlock

Gas

Just an oddity on the sidewalk on Toy Street.

Hole in the Wall

Pretend I said something deep about this ladder. Or the hole in the wall. I'm sure it's a metaphor for something...

Rusty Latch

Wooden green door from the old train depot in our town. One of those places you wish someone would restore and turn into a museum, ice cream shop, or something.

Open

Can't believe I let almost a week slip by without posting. Been gone and pretty busy with the July 4th holiday. Back in business again. This shot is from Toy Street by Ohio Art.