What Holds Us
A photo and reflection from the Olympic Photo Club walk
I didn’t plan to photograph bolts and beams, but during our recent Olympic Photo Club walk, I kept coming back to this row of rusted metal. Something about the way it had weathered in place, quietly holding everything together, felt honest. I took wildlife photos too—brighter, more expected—but this image stayed with me.
What Holds Us
Rusted, weathered, forgotten—
but still here.
Lined up like quiet sentinels,
each bolt holding a story
the rain didn’t wash away.
They don’t shine,
they don’t move,
but they hold the shape of what was built—
and maybe that’s enough.
There’s a kind of strength
in simply staying put.
Sometimes I’m drawn to the quiet things—not the showy subjects, but the ones that endure. This photo made me think about the structures we lean on without noticing, the things that stay steady even as everything else moves around them. Maybe that’s why I kept coming back to it. Some days, staying put is its own kind of resilience.
