Here we are at the bus graveyard. A glimpse into the past can evoke many ideas.
Susan says, “So many ideas are available for the harvesting in this photo. Before we explore that however, let’s just take an appreciative look at these tough old battered birds. Clearly the life of a bus is tough: rusting in the Portland rain, being run rough shod by hundreds of passengers and miles on the roads. So here they come to die: rusting in the rain, old and forgotten. But, enough with the sentimental personification of buses. How could you put this photo to work in your presentation? Aging, recycling, public transportation, waste. All are ideas that could be illustrated by these old busses. I would pick this image over any one of dozens of stock photos of buses that are so tritely predictable. What say you?”
Lucia says, “I saw these buses from far away and trekked across a field to get to them. I couldn’t resist the rust and decay. When I got there I set about creating photos from different angles. Photographically there is so much in this composition: repetition, shapes, muted colors, long depth of field to keep all the buses in focus. These rusting buses brought up many thought for me. I figured they are from the 50s and 60s. Buses were probably the main method of transportation in the city back then. I imagined people dressed in ‘vintage’ clothes boarding the bus for work or school. But the strongest images that came to me were of bus boycotts from the civil rights movement. These particular buses were not part of that movement, but one can see similar looking ones in old photos from that era. All these ideas run through my mind while looking at this photo of old, rusting, decrepit buses. This goes to show how powerful an image can be in waking up the mind’s eye to see ideas. We can’t tell you enough how important it is to use strong photos in your presentation. They will help you connect with you audience and convey abstract ideas in ways that no words on the screen could ever do.”
