Fading Into the Forest: An Old Two-Story House Left Behind in Louisiana

It seems like I’m seeing more and more places like this lately (or I’m noticing them more through photography). Old homes from a bygone era are slowly being claimed by Father Time.

What sticks with me most is that, at one point, this was someone’s home. Someone built a life here.

That’s a big part of why I feel drawn to document as many places like this as I can.

Oftentimes, I get discouraged because the view isn’t always perfect.

However, many of these homes aren’t always accessible. Property lines and trespassing laws are often blurry (in both the physical and metaphorical sense), but I try to photograph what I can from where I can stand. Even if that means shooting through trees and thick brush, or from the road’s edge.

I recognize that this isn’t just a structure, but a place where life happened.

So even when the framing isn’t ideal, or the subject is partially hidden, I still take the photo. Because someday (maybe not in my lifetime), it won’t be there at all. And the photographic moment, frozen in time, is all there will be.

I can only hope to be so lucky that someone discovers my digital archive of work someday in the distant future and appreciates its existence for this very reason.