Welcome to Thorntown

I’ve been making road trips since 2006. The photo above is from one of my earliest trips, down State Road 47 and US 41 in western Indiana. What a great day it was! And I was exploring and learning about places I’d never really known before.

Welcome to Thorntown

I’ve seen a lot of Indiana now with my camera in my hand. Where I was once driven by the desire to see new things, increasingly I want to visit places I’ve been before. They’re like old friends, and I want to catch up. So here’s how this same scene in Thorntown looks as of a few weeks ago — much the same, but a little worn.

Stone bridge, Michigan Road

Nature also changes the view. This is the Shepard Bridge, way down in Ripley County on the Michigan Road. This is how I found it in 2008.

Shepard Bridge

In 2018, it’s becoming overgrown. It’s a shame, because unhidden it provides such a lovely view.

Stone bridge, one-lane alignment

Sometimes the man-made elements themselves change — or go away. This is the Middletown Bridge as I found it in 2008. It was on a one-lane alignment of the Michigan Road south of Shelbyville.

Site of the former Middletown Bridge

A section of the bridge collapsed and, after a fight to save it was lost, it was removed. I went to see in 2015 and was greeted with this.

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Comments

11 responses to “The scenery changes”

  1. Dan James Avatar

    I can recall many photos where I’ve captured almost exactly the same scene more than once over a period of years and it’s interesting to see how it changes. Or not. We become almost like historical documentary photographers, charting the changing landscape and streetscapes… Though I don’t tag my photos by location at all, so have no easy way of gathering together photos of the same place.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I have a pretty good mental map of Indiana so even without geotagging I generally remember these places.

  2. Kurt Ingham Avatar
    Kurt Ingham

    These are really amazing!Time travel by camera Thanks, Jim!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      You’re welcome!

  3. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    Hello Jim,
    Interesting contrast how things change in and around our lives.
    Do you recall the cameras and film you used to capture these?
    Thank you for sharing your roads.
    Have a blessed day
    Wayne

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I suppose if I drove by these places every day I wouldn’t notice the changes! I shot all of these with various digital cameras. The Thorntown shots are film. First: Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 on Kodak Gold 200. Second: Minolta XG-1 and 50/1.7 MD Minolta on Agfa Vista 200. The rest are digital: Kodak EasyShare Z730 and Canon PowerShot S95.

  4. M.B. Henry Avatar

    The force of time at work! Very nice pictures

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      And entropy!

  5. susanJOY Hosken Avatar
    susanJOY Hosken

    Jim, I loved the before and after shots. SUch a lot to look at in them regards from susanJOY

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      You’re welcome!

      1. susanJOY Hosken Avatar
        susanJOY Hosken

        Jim, I had to laugh with the before and after shots as I had one of my photos on my lap top as a wall paper and it showed my lovely tidy desk which at this present moment is really untidy. do I dare take a photo of the untidy desk as a before and after!!! regards from susanJOY

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