I took a picture of our old basketball hoop that we were getting rid of and manipulated the warmth and saturation of the colors in iPhoto. I played with the brightness of the photo just a little, too little and you end up with really dark orange and lose the background. Too much and you are blinded by the white of the backboard and can’t see the imperfections and rust.

This basketball hoop was an everyday object for years in my family. It was old, rusted, leaned to one side, and didn’t have a net. Yet, even though it looked horrendous, my sister and I never really cared. That hoop could be hours of fun. Trying to make a basket and running into the woods to retrieve a ball when you didn’t. We spent a lot of time in the woods.

To me, this photo tells of the time spent having fun and the end of those simple times. Where the children grew up and became interested in other things. Instead of looking like summer, when the picture was actually taken, it looks more like late fall. Normally the season where plants are dying, a transition period from sunny and warm to wet and freezing. The hoop is laying on its side, in pieces, stating to the world that it is no longer usable, no longer a source of fun. Therefore, it no longer has a purpose. This photo is of the transition from favored to unneeded.