Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

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by Lisa

Aaron Joel Santos, the guest host for this week’s challenge writes: Culture is a bit of a loaded word. In a photograph, it can embody everything and nothing. So where do we draw the line? Shopping culture, hippy culture, Asian culture, Thai culture, ancient culture, and on and on. These phrases have different meanings. For me, as a working travel photographer, being able to show culture, in all of its various guises, is crucial to the success of an image.

While driving to work and thinking about what I could post for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture I heard a news story discussing the closure of our local bowling alley, Robin Hood Lanes.  Vintage bowling alleys across the United States are closing as the land owners sell their properties to strip mall developers and chain stores and the Seattle radio host shared a few of his own stories about how many cultural landmarks from his childhood have been sold to make way for newer businesses.  Here in Edmonds Robin Hood Lanes had operated as a profitable business since 1960 and my family spent many happy birthday parties and Saturday afternoons in rented shoes, bowling for strikes.  Sadly, it sounds like a disagreement between the property owner and the business managers who leased the building led to the sale of this land to a national drugstore chain and now another community gathering place is scheduled for demolition.

Published by

Lisa

29 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture”

  3. Another end of an era. Great cultural story. What are they going to do with the writing on the wall? Hope it be kept in the Library for cultural history.

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  4. Your post highlights a major shift in our culture. Now bowling is done on a Wii or other “game” platform. It’s not the same as piling into the car and sharing a real life experience.

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    1. I’m glad you see the culture shift point I was trying to highlight and I agree, Wii bowling is just not the same kind of experience. It is fun to play at home but there is something special about everyone making time to go out and do something together.

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  5. Interesting selection for the challenge. Looks like the bowling alley was a beating heart of your neighborhood culture — and now it’s stopped beating. Always sad.

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