The Shape of Change

A soft teaching on impermanence

Here is a reflection on impermanence, and how the lasting of all things is merely a change of state.

The tree you observe here has fallen.

This photograph stands as a quiet testimony of what once was.

I pass by this tree many times each month, sometimes driving, sometimes riding in the passenger seat, and I always find myself looking for it. Alone in the field, like a mystical island. There is my portal, my great escape, I would think, my spirit drifting into daydream.

Now it has transformed. It has broken open and almost resembles a door. Indeed, it feels like one.

What once stood tall now teaches differently. In its fall, it offers another lesson: nothing truly disappears; it only becomes. Now I must return to learn from her teaching.

This image is part of my photobook Bewilderment, published in December 2025, a collection of 78 photographs shaped by time and transformation. The majority were captured on film, using a range of cameras and film stocks, including expired film, while a smaller portion was made digitally. I believe the analogue approach gives the work its texture, depth, and emotional resonance.

If my reflection speaks to you, I invite you to explore my book Bewilderment here www.houseofdisquiet.com, to hold it, and to live with it for a while.

By purchasing it, you are directly supporting me as an independent photographer and artist, and helping keep slow, intentional image-making alive.

Thank you!

Author: Vanessa V.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 26, 2026, ON EXPIRED FREQUENCIES SUBSTACK (PART OF HOUSE OF DISQUIET).