Ross Bay Chair
Today was one of those quite windy fall days, but not yet cold. I went to Ross Bay intending to try out my freshly bought remote cable release and timer for some long exposures, but my neutral density filter was not dense enough to get me past 30 seconds, the camera’s limit, and besides I need to put in some effort with the timer manual. In any case, I did take some long exposures and will get to those in the next few days.
This is what I was presented with when parking the car next to my the Ross Bay storm drain (yes, back to that subject, you just have to know you can’t avoid it around here). I did not try out the chair, it looked a bit damp, and who knows what might be living in it, just waiting for a warm body to transfer find refuge on. The angle to the cushion suggests to me someone was feeling around in the crack for lost change or other goodies like TV remotes – I hope they did not find a discarded hypodermic.
The chair makes a nice diptych with the stuffed trio I photographed just 20 m or so down the beach this spring. What is it with people leaving these things sitting around? I could fill this blog with shots of couches and chairs left beside the road for someone to have free, which usually means the city has to pick them up and pay the dumping fees. Doing a sustained series on these things might not be a bad idea, but I see them mostly when I am going somewhere in a rush, or from the bus on the way to work.
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Canon EOS 5Dii, Canon 50mm/f1.4 lens, ISO100, f7.1, three brackets at 1/640th, 1/130th, 1/80th, processed in Photomatix and then in Lightroom.
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burnt embers 
I’m sure the reason large items are left at the curb is to avoid paying the dumping fees, but the small items people leave behind also interests me. I find an assortment of them each month and it changes with the seasons. I always photograph them but rarely put them on my blog in the “Debris du Jour” category since they are the anathema of my focus on nature. Someday I’ll assemble all of them in some fashion. I think you should keep photographing them as a historical record of things people no longer value. As the collection builds, you’ll start to see how they all fit together.
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Debris du Jour – what a great category title! These things jar with my sensibilities too, but every now and then they are interesting in some way – an odd juxtaposition, or nice lighting, etc. So, if I have my camera with me, I will probably take pictures of them as you suggest. Maybe I need a Abandoned category, or something, to put them in.
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There’s something extremely dramatic in this image! It’s almost monochromatic, producing even more drama. I’m totally with Joseph, this could make for a fabulous study, Ehpem!!
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Thanks Toad – I like this photo, there is something unexpected about it. And yet comfortable.
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Surreal!
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That’s a pretty good word for it. It is rather strange to find these things in a location like this.
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Love the post processing (I go for these kind of HDRs…not the overprocessed/cartoon’ish ones)! 😀 Interesting that there are so many chairs left about, bet the furniture stores love it.
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I think that the furniture stores are part of the problem, they don’t want them (unless perfect), nor do the thrift stores or auction houses, so they go to the dump, which charges a fee.
A lot of people leave stuff by the curb for passer by to take away, and it works – I do it myself, its a good way to recycle. But, it does not so well for large things, and people are nervous of bed bugs these days and less inclined to take stuffed chairs of unknown backgrounds.
Thus street sofas are as likely to be brought home as street people, for some of the same reasons/fears.
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Even trash makes for an interesting image. The gritty processing is entirely in keeping with the subject. Nice work.
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Thanks Andy. I like this look, but have been experimenting with the other soft end of the scale a bit lately – it does not come quite so naturally to my eye, but I am getting better results at the soft end and will probably be sharing some of that too.
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People leave this type of furniture (free for the taking) so that you can turn them into great looking photographs. I don’t think I have ever favourited a photograph but if ever I did this’d be one of them.
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Thanks so much Joseph. Most of them are not quite so well placed as this one, but it might be kind of fun to take a series. Maybe a glacial pace series – when opportunity arises over a few years.
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You may be on to a project here. 😉
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