Woody by Ken Haak

Forgive the lame pun but there was something about these images, also from Ken Haak Summer Souvenirs, that stood out to me. It has nothing to do with the models, but all about the material they lie, sit on and stand in front of, the summer wood.


There really is a difference between wood in the fall and winter and in the summer. I really had not thought too much about it until one of these images brought me back to the feel and smell of a deck chair I spent so many hours in during one specific summer. The summer sun tends to highlight aspects and flaws in the wood you normally would not notice. Anyone who has spent a summer on a beach with a boardwalk or a cottage knows what I am talking about.

The smell the sun brings out of cedar or pine. The splinters you have to be careful of when picking up a boat oar. The peeling paint from a wooden chair or bench that needs some care. The harsh brittleness of the wooden shingles on a house, beaten down from the sun and salty air.