JULY 2024: JOHN ANGERSON
“MAKE A PICTURE INSPIRED BY THE WORD DESTroy”
This month, British documentary photographer John Angerson sets an assignment that will have you thinking about the word ‘destroy’. This assignment was set initially in episode #440.
THE ASSIGNMENT BRIEF
From John: “Destroy could be interpreted as a positive challenge as much as a negative one. You could destroy an idea to create a better one or destroy your best idea because it was too obvious. As with most things in photography, turning things upside down can often yield unexpected results. So, capture an image that conveys the concept of ‘destroy.’ This could be a haunting photograph of a decaying building that once stood proudly, now reduced to rubble and ruin. Alternatively, you might focus on a shattered object, capturing the moment of its destruction or the fragments left behind. Nature scenes can also tell a story of destruction.”
HOW TO ENTER. IMPORTANT NOTES ON FILE SIZE AND ENTRIES
Send your entries to stories@photowalk.show. Pictures should be 2,500 pixels wide, if possible, for online optimisation. Or send the full-resolution photo, which we will optimise. Feel free to provide text as well, if you think it will help explain the location, context etc.
Entries are shown below, and good luck!
Neale
JOHN ANGERSON
July 7th 2005. Edgware Road, London, England.
On the morning of Thursday, 7 July 2005, four Islamist extremists separately detonated three bombs in quick succession aboard London Underground trains across the city. The bomb, on a westbound Circle Line train heading towards Paddington, exploded in the second carriage close to the second set of double doors. It killed six people.
PAUL FRIDAY - FLASK WINNER FOR JULY
I used to live on a run-down estate that the council planned to demolish. Every time a flat became empty they boarded it up. The local kids, of course, then broke in. All through October they gathered the sheets of plywood, furniture and anything else they could find and stacked it on the estate's playground. Come November 5th, they lit it.
They were having the same fun as the posh people, but without the wicker man.
KYLE DYMOND
I often travel the back roads of southern Alberta near Calgary in search of my zen however I love the weathered barns and grain bins. Near my home I often pass these grain bins and it raises so many questions on how they were destroyed and it has my mind wonder. Was it a tornado or a snow storm or did Father Time simply say times up. If you wish to see more of my photos the best place is Instagram.
MICHAEL TENBRINK
My beloved father-in-law survived World War II in Poland as a young man, but on July 20, death came for him, as it will come for us all. His passing leaves a gaping hole in our hearts.
At 95, he lived a long and remarkable life full of love and adventure; we should all be so lucky. My husband and I were holding his hands and telling him over and over how much he was loved as he took his last breaths.
I took this photo in his apartment as I stood over his still-warm body. The building he lived in for his final years is located in what was once the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw. The beautiful church steeple seen here was used as a machine gun nest by Nazi soldiers during the War, as they surveilled and shot the Jews below.
JADE LEE
This is my photo for this month's assignment. We had a really foggy morning in early July and I went to take a photo to capture the eeriness of the car lights coming through the trees that line the path I walk on. Unfortunately, the fog destroyed my photo! But I kind of like it!
MICHAEL BRENNAN
Fisher Body Plant 21, Detroit, Michigan. Caddilac, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Packard used to roll out of there. One of the largest industrial ruins. The land you see in the foreground is going to be slowly restored back to native plants.
JOHN KENNY
Alongside the road are the remains of the Redcar blast furnace following its spectacular demolition in 2022. Whilst the steel production had halted some years previously, the blast furnace was a prominent landmark on the horizon and a symbol of the towns' once prosperous past. Like a lot of industrial towns a great deal of the local character was attached to the heritage of that particular industry, with the blast furnace a constant reminder and link to the past. Whilst progress is important, there were a lot who will feel that the identity of the area has been destroyed with its demolition.
I am trying to work out if I can try and pitch my way into documenting how they get rid of the last remaining piece in this picture. When the blast furnace was stopped in 2015 a process known as a 'Salamander Tap' should have been used to get rid of the last liquid iron and slag. Instead the remaining waste has cooled into a massive heavy lump. The company tasked with blowing it up are having to employ some innovative ways to achieve the goal and remove it using explosives. Should be interesting whatever the result!
See more of John’s work on his website.
JEFF SMERALDO
This is my entry for this month’s photo challenge. I had a bit of a hard time with this one, I took several that just weren’t quite right. I took your suggestion about something breaking at the point of impact as a challenge. Thought of this as were getting rid of some old plates and had some assistance with this from my daughter (she works in the film industry so we followed on-set safety protocols). Hope this works for the challenge. I have to say these challenges do get the creativity flowing.
DAVID HIGTON
I've been pondering the destroy theme however I settled on the attached. My grandson had his first trip to a British beach last week - this is Porth Tywyn Mawr on Anglesey. Like all toddler's he enjoyed destroying the sandcastles - either by hand or by spade!
I've been thinking about writing and poetry after the recent episode so thought I'd give it a try to accompany the image (perhaps I should stick to photography).
British summer, toddler's right of passage.
On the beach, no matter the weather, Daddy watches on.
Sandy hand reveals the culprit,
Observing, growing, enjoying - bliss!
DAVID HORNE
Destruction by fire. Shot taken from my front yard September 2, 2017 with a 300mm lens.
On September 1, 2017 a small brush fire started on the southern slope of the Verdugo Mountains. These mountains are effectively the backyard of my neighborhood. The fire started in the late afternoon around 3pm. None of us on our side of the range expected the fire to push up the southern slope and on to our side. The fire crews and water-dropping helicopters went to work fighting the fire almost immediately. Choppers flew back and forth after filling up at a nearby reservoir and dropping their payloads on the fire. Smoke was billowing up and filling the sky. Visibility was becoming limited for the choppers. Around 6pm as darkness approached we all new the choppers would have to stop flying. It would be up to the ground crews to fight the inferno. They would be fighting a losing battle, though, because as the sun set, the Santa Ana winds began to blow, fanning the flames toward much more overgrown scrub brush and Manzanita trees that exploded into flames, feeding the ever-growing fire.
By 11pm my wife and I, watching from our living room window, could see that the fire had breached the crest of the south side and was still burning out of control and headed our way. We watched as walls of flames with peaks as high as 50 feet, pushed by the Santa Ana winds, lit up the night sky giving our neighborhood an eerie orange glow.
Shortly after daybreak the water droppers were able to begin dropping water again. Around 11am the fire was beginning to be contained. But on the bigger prevention side 2 DC10’s with a full load of 9400 gallons each of fire retardant used our street as an aiming point and dropped their payloads. Thankfully our neighborhood was spared and even thought we were all given the “be prepared to evacuate” order we never had to leave.
Since we’ve lived here in this neighborhood, this was the 2nd of three fires. This one was the worst. I have a few shots of the DC10s dumping the fire retardant and flying low right across the street above my neighbour’s house. I also have shots of the fire at night as it breached the crest of the hill, lighting up the night sky. I submitted this shot because I thought this was the most appropriate. Fire destroys thousands of acres every year in the west. We have been very fortunate in our experience with its destructive power. In California last year a who town was wiped out.
See more of David’s work on Vero.
ALLIN SORENSON
I’m never sure if these photos are to be taken during the month assigned, but since others have posted older photos, I’m sharing this one from a very memorable experience in 2007.
This was the year of the devastating ice storm that hit the Midwest, knocking out power and destroying countless trees across Arkansas and Missouri. Luckly, we were able to have power at our home for most of the time, which meant that our friends, family and even neighbors would make regular visits to charge phones and computers, shower, share meals and tell stories about how this was impacting their lives. I remember National Guard vehicles driving the streets and absolute silence at night, punctuated by trees succumbing and crashing, followed by more silence. Stores, schools, and other non-essential businesses were closed for over a week. This was contrasted by blue skies and relatively warm temperatures for January. You could drive (some) of the streets, but there wasn’t anywhere to go.
This photo was taken of Stone Chapel at Drury University during one of my first visits back to campus. Surprisingly, several buildings had power so faculty and staff would move their families into offices and classrooms temporarily until power was restored at their homes.
It was an event I will never forget and one that dramatically changed the landscape of our city and region. The number of trees destroyed was heart breaking and it is just now beginning to return to what it looked like before the storm.
MARTIN PENDRY
At the beginning of the month, I was in Norway and took daily walks with my cousin, exploring the islands beyond Tønsberg. For those of you who know it, as a child, I lived on Tjøme and was back visiting again. I was fortunate with the weather, except for one day of rain and high winds. On the day following the bad weather, we walked on the beach at another island called Hvasser, where we saw several dead sea creatures, including crabs, jellyfish, and shellfish, which had been washed ashore and displaced from their habitat. The high winds had destroyed this poor fellow's life.
I was particularly fascinated by the blue jellyfish as I tend to see the other types more. The red ones sting if touched, while the clear ones are harmless. In Norway, it's always advisable to avoid red jellyfish when swimming. While fishing with nets, I was always impressed by my uncle, who would handle the red jellyfish barehanded, claiming that the palms are less sensitive to stings.
See more of Martin’s work on Instagram.
DANIEL KISS
MARK MACKAY
The sea air where I live is very corrosive - it causes things to crumble, as it has with this fence.
PATRICK SCHOENMAKERES
Here is my entry for this month's theme ‘Destroy'. I made this photo at a food market in Seoul, South Korea. For me, this photo and especially those scissors symbolize the way in which we humans in general deal with nature on our earth. In my opinion, a confrontational and bizarre still life of how we humans destroy many things around us for our own well-being.
PETER TURNBULL
This image is from a demolition job I am documenting for a client. I guess this could fall under different names - destruction, demolition etc. But when I saw this particular image other thoughts went through my mind. You see, this was a bedroom window on the fourth floor of a multi-million dollar home, built on one of the most prestigious gated island communities on the Gold Coast. It had views across the Gold Coast seaway to South Stradbroke Island. The original owners would have woken to many a magnificent sunrise through that window. As I watched the heavy machinery tear through this structure, I could only imagine what emotions the original owners would have felt if they saw their pride and joy being destroyed, along with the memories. But then, the current owners (who paid $6.3m less than a decade ago and are now tearing it down), will build their own McMansion in its place and create new memories. Just for comparison, the current home was just over 1400sqm… the new place is going to be more than 4000sqm with a master bedroom that is larger than my entire house! And yes, that is the colour of the sky here in winter.
See more of Peter’s work on his website.
KELLY MITCHELL
See more of Kelly’s work on her website.
COLIN MAYER
All is not well at work at the moment. Management and the unions are in dispute over the latest Enterprise Barganaing Agreement with cost of living pressures at the heart of the unions argument for better pay. As both sides strive to destroy each other's resolve, around me protected industrial action takes place, impacting our ability to complete essential maintenance and connect new generators, putting our electricity at risk and destroying our reputation of being a company wind farm developers can rely on to connect them to the electricity grid on time.
All this pushes the price of electricity up and destroys trust on many levels.
Transgrid, ETU fight leaves generators stranded and power prices under pressure - ABC News.
Outside my office, the Electrical Trades Union have set up camp. A massive inflatable rat and a fat cat draw public attention to the dispute.
A ballot on the wage offer will take place in a couple of weeks. As a manager, I encourage my team to vote "YES" whilst my union colleagues outside encourage people leaving the office to vote "NO". We are on opposite sides of a very economically destructive divide.
ANDREW CLARK
When in Crete recently, I noticed that there were several abandoned hotels and commercial buildings that had been half-built and abandoned.
The Hotel Casablanka almost looked like it had people staying there, but on further inspection (it was unlocked and open), it was very abandoned. It looked like people had just finished their holidays and got up and left for the airport, leaving many things behind in the hotel rooms.
There were suitcases, towels left on unmade beds, old, long unused toiletries in some of the bathrooms, dirty abandoned clothes scattered around rooms, towels on the balconies with the balcony doors open as if someone had come back from the beach and left them out to dry.
The building had started to decay, with tiles and brickwork falling apart and paint peeling on some walls.
Anyway here are two pictures (sorry I know it is supposed to only be one) but the first one is of the front of the hotel where at first glance you could be mistaken that it is occupied until you start looking closely… and the second picture is of the pool area where it shows the decay of a pool that has long been used or cared for.
CHUCK BENNORTH
This is my submission for the Destroy assignment. Weapons may be used for many things, but one of its purposes is to destroy things. Those things include life, be it animals when hunting or other humans in war. This photo was taken at our local renaissance festival, so the only thing destroyed here was the powder in the musket.
CHARLES NAGY
I've wanted to submit a photo for the assignment for quite a while. Every time that I went out I just came up empty handed (or empty memory carded). This was taken at a community festival in a small town right on the border of Ohio and Michigan called Petersburg. It was part of a Korean Karate Demo.
Right before this section of the demonstration the announcer dryly stated without a hint of irony, "These moves can break bones, but we don't do that. We break concrete."
I don't know why I thought that was so humorous, but I knew that during this demo I was going to get a photo that represented destroy, and here it is.
See more of Chuck’s work on his Instagram.
JESSICA MARTIN
Here's my submission + description if needed. A girl in a luxurious ball gown amidst trash, symbolizing the stark contrast between human excess and the neglectful destruction of our planet.
See more of Jessica’s work on her website.
MAURICE WEBSTER
Recently back from another trip and inevitably another visit to one of the local markets. Walking through the fish market in Catania, Sicily this gentleman immediately brought to mind this months assignment. One of dozens of images taken in the market and around the city.
JOHN LANCASTER
A photograph of the trig point on the top of Loughrigg Fell, near Ambleside, Cumbria, with the Langdale Pikes as a backdrop. Hiking chatter suggested “vandalism” however I have a feeling it’s a result of the Instagram generation using the trig as a stage on which to pose for their summit photos. It’s fixed now, of a sort, a foot shorter and not half as photogenic as it used to be.
GERRY O’FARRELL
This photo was taken while on holiday in the West of Ireland, nothing really to do with the location, but maybe the quality of the time I had to connect with what was around me. The Teddy Bears, the pillows and the iron rod attracted my attention as they were on top of a pile of builders rubble. The abandoned nature of the children’s toys and the pillows connected with something in me that felt sadness. When I studied the photo when I got home I noticed the detail of the Teddies, particularly the one on the right.
The photo evokes for me the feeling of sadness for all the destroyed lives of children through out the world. How innocent lives can be destroyed through abuse, abandonment and selfishness. Steve Reeves story of Michael’s life is a testimony of how people can be extremely cruel to children, particularly here in Ireland where we have been uncovering cruel stories of historical abuse. This photo brings it into the here and now for me and the inevitability that it is still going on. I think I would like to title the photo “Innocence destroyed”.
WALEED ALZUHAIR
This photo was from July 30th, 2005 and I asked my sons Sulaiman (sitting on the floor) and Abdulaziz (may he rest in peace) to pose for this one. There is nothing worse than a destroyed family.
