Waiting Room
Yesterday I spent some time waiting to give samples for my annual doctor’s tests. The waiting area was unusually empty.
Except for chairs, of which there were many. Usually there seem too few, and I am not sure how that works – I know chairs have legs, but do they use them to get out for a break?
The photos on the wall are OK, though I think I could have taken them and that makes me think the office could have tried a bit harder.
I took this picture with my phone to post in a square format on another platform, which I did. But it works better in the original long format.
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Samsung Galaxy S4
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burnt embers 
Agree, the length of the photo captures the waiting mood better than in the square image. It’s been a month since I switched from a Blackberry to an iPhone (company phone) and I’m still getting used to taking photos in a square format. Some pictures just work better in 3:2 or 2:3!
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Hi Angelina – I was not aware that the iPhone restricted you to a 1:1 format photo. I thought it was one of several formats you could choose (unlike my Samsung which has several formats but not square). Have you researched that feature? I think you might find other formats are available. Square format can be really difficult to compose within, and some subjects, like this one, really are not suited to it. A single chair, or maybe two chairs, probably could be made to work, but I didn’t try. I think there is a different way of seeing needed with a square format. It makes the Instagram site of some interest to me as it forces me to look differently at scenes, and at photos I have already taken. I have quite often cropped with a square format, but never really taken pictures with the idea that a square crop was where it should end up. So it is an interesting exercise, at least for a while.
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Ah, no, that’s not what I meant. One of the default photo aspects on the iPhone is 3:4 (I’m used to 2:3). There is also a square option that one can do. I usually take my photos with the 3:4 ratio and crop it later, if I wanted to, into a square. Agree that some subjects are just not suited for this format and it takes a different way of framing – which is an interesting challenge!
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Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding. Since I don’t have the square option, I crop later. However, today I unboxed a project camera that I will be using on the job this summer – an Olympus OMD-E-M1 and I was interested to find it has a square format as an option. I doubt I will be using it, but it shows the influence of social networking sites on hardware.
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I spent part of Monday afternoon at the doctor – and I checked out the (completely generic) photos on the wall. I am pretty sure they were ordered from the Big Book o’ Boring Stuff for Waiting Rooms. However, I did not even give a single thought to photographing the chairs – so thanks for giving me an idea for my next doctor’s visits!
(Hope you got good results from your tests.)
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I think the best gig going for a photographer must be supplying the Big Book o’Boring Stuff for Waiting Rooms with photos (and not all that challenging either). I am surprised that you, photographer of chairs, let some go bye without a thought. And thanks, I hope for and expect good results from the tests.
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I agree, the longer format works better than the square one. Why not suggest your own photography for the waiting room? Show them all your chair photos, for example, wouldn’t they be a great fit for a waiting room, of course including the one photo you show here. As it happens, I’m right now sitting in a hospital cafeteria. I’m a firm supporter of art in hospitals, it offers wordless company and comfort.
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Hi Gunilla – that is a pretty good suggestion – this is a company that has many offices for sampling us medical specimens in my area, so it could be a good gig if it were available. I agree about the art in hospitals – it is very comforting to come across a beautiful or thought provoking creation in these frequently sterile corridors and waiting rooms.
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A surprisingly interesting photo!!
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Thank you Katherine! It occurred to me that the empty chairs were actually quite interesting, and there is no way I could take a picture of them occupied.
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