64. They Paved the Patina and Put Up a Fresh Coat of Paint
You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Painted Over
I’ve learned over the years that I’m drawn to photographing things with patina—cars, buildings, doorways, anything in the neighborhood that shows age and weather and time. Those surfaces feel alive to me. They’ve earned their character.
I appreciate a good renovation, but there’s always a moment of disappointment when the patina disappears. It’s that quiet “don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” feeling you get when a familiar surface suddenly looks anonymous.
What hits even harder is when someone doesn’t restore anything at all—they just roll a layer of paint over it. No repair, no care, no preservation. Just a quick coat that erases everything underneath.
I’ve walked New York, San Francisco, and Burlingame for decades, making thousands of photos, and you start to notice when the old texture gets paved over—or painted over—overnight. One day it’s a surface full of stories; the next day it’s just…smooth.
Above and below are a few before-and-after moments where I watched that happen.
Here are a few more places I see on my walks that still have patina. I am keeping my eye on them because they can be gone with a stroke of a paintbrush.
Let me know your thoughts.
Until next Friday morning,
josh
p.s. Remember to check zineschool.com if you’d like to create a zine, or visit Etsy to obtain a copy of my recent Chicago Zine.