The Corrosion of Value by Chipka
Open full image in new tab Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
They hold value, and yet they are seldom noticed until sufficient numbers (in jars and half-abandoned coffee mugs) carry them into human notice. They once held copper in their cores. Now they bear only copper coats surrounding zinc that will melt if left on the turned-on burner of a stove. I don't notice them often, but on some days, when corrosion and untarnished copper work through troubled negotiation, sunlight catches the interplay.
As always, thank you for viewing and reading and commenting, and hopefully you're all off to a great week.

Comments (25)
a penny for my two cents worth?! twilight and sunset or dawn---absolutely wonderful photograph!
I've heard the only reason we still have pennies in this country is because the zinc industry thinks we desperately need them! I think we need them ... something vital would be lost without pennies. I love this shot!
I still pick up pennies when I see them, often nearly getting run over in the process. I've been around long enough to remember 2 for a penny candy--they are special somehow and we'd be poorer without them.
The striking contrast of copper and patina has always impressed me. A little oxidation and the orange-red shifts to an even more striking blue-green. By the way, we have the same problem with our pennies and they usually meet the same fate.
Great picture! There's something profound about the whole thing. But I still pick up my pennies. But enough of them in a Coinstar machine and you can get a gift certificate and buy a nice book on Amazon.
I love the title of this--it has a fabulous barb of double meaning. I like the extreme closeup and the sharp green of the corrosion. The details are amazing, you're really getting into this macro thing. Speaking of pennies, I've collected quite a lot of them over the years and once had over two-hundred dollars worth. Great shot.
Great shot.
WOW - I cannot decide if the image or your amazing play with words impressed me most! Probably the combination! Excellent image and sentiment! :)
Point captured directly. Excellent representation, further in life we discover that value to one is often meaningless to another. Fine capture.
Great image!
you said it...well done and great image
Fantastic image!!!
nice work.
Great 'one cent capture' Chip. The corrosion has some colorful trappings about it.
I love copper oxide, the green is so lovely. Beautiful shot and title, Chip!
You have found and captured a discarded little gem. I still remember the things I could buy with pennies at the candy store when I was a child. My dad used to say ... 'watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.' And now I have a huge glass jar filled with them that is too heavy to lift. :o) CC
fabulous capture.I love the concept behind!
A great example of the 'Mock-heroic'! wonderful.
Great photo, only a real artist even notices these kinds of things to shoot. Love your notes, too.
I like this extreme capture and the sharpness of this image !!! Thank you dear Chip, for sharing this....with us !!!! Also thanks a lot for your special comments and your creativity !!!!!!!!!!!!! 5* Hugs, your friend Karin :)
I still pick them up when I see them :) Excellent shot, and sad depiction of the state of affairs, I think. We have the zinc companies saying we need pennies and we have politicians and bankers telling us what else we need and don't need. Makes ya think.
I always pick them up, and save the old ones when I come across them, guilty of having pennies in jars here.. lol
I know the economy is really bad, so therefore you can one post your one cent worth, and then you gave it to Corey as a penny for his thought, but here is my two cents worth. Really nice shot Chip. Love the textures and the contrast. Love the food for thought you created with your words. Very awesome composition all the way around.
The value of a penny now days, doesn't seem to be what it was, not really all that long ago. I'm old enough to remember penny candy, and old enough to realize a lot more. About 9 years ago, I had asked my teenage sons if they wanted the pennies I was bringing home from work, I'd run out of room to store them, from collecting all that had been just left on tables, or tossed onto the floor as something worthless, by my co-workers. Neither son wanted them, so I gave them to my daughter, we counted them out and found there was almost $30.00. Both of the boys were upset, because they would've taken them if they had known how much they were worth. Pennies are a lot like people, alone we might not really be all that much, but gathered in numbers, renders a strength so often overlooked. I still pick up each and everyone I see abandoned, sometimes others chuckle or laugh at me for doing so, but they only see the one, and not what many can mean. Come to think of it, I'm running out of room again at work...you shared with us a penny, I gave you my two cents worth.
Very strong and evocative work... Value corrodes itself and changes constantly, but God Money remains the absolute instument of power -since you can buy EVERYTHING with it apart from love. Who would deny it? Excellent work.