However I have had to think about which pictures to post.
As my photography habit has grown, its quite interesting to see the obsessions which emerge. I seem to have taken an inordinate number of pictures of traffic cones; rubbish; chimneys; abandoned clothes and shoes; fire hydrants and similar; walls and pavements; chairs.
so, here is a small selection which are - on reflection - partly illustrative of me, where I live and where I go with my camera:
a lot of the chairs I photograph are dumped
The left-hand picture above is the Thames which is, for much of its length, a beautiful river. But the stretch where I walk and cycle most is full of dumped artefacts and I have quite a few "Thames chair" pictures. And even more "Thames shopping trolley" pictures.
This is one of my most viewed pictures on flickr - no doubt because it is entitled "bottomless". pffft
but this is clearly not just a London, or an English phenomenon, or an urban phenomenon. Here are some abandoned chairs spotted on my travels:
in urban Ipswich, Suffolk, England
in suburban Nyack, NY, USA
in the deeply rural Dordogne, France.
Some "street chairs" are ambiguous.
dumped? or loitering?
dumped? or waiting for a bus?
by a bus stop in Greenwich
dumped? or enjoying the sunshine?
just down the road from home in Charlton
dumped? or avoiding a parking fine?
in a car park in East London, Nr. Liverpool St.
dumped? or waiting for lunch?
outside Somerfield in Greenwich
This chair is certainly waiting to be sat in
its in one of my favourite pubs in Greenwich, the Greenwich Union.
My final chair is also waiting - to be returned (post-renovation) to Little Gem's bedroom, to be engulfed in a teenage PILE
26 comments:
Never a shortage of chairs in this world, is there?
Although where they end up is always fascinating. Especially wondering if anyone happens to use them in such places, and you know they do, despite their appearance ; )
This is great; I love the captions as well.
you have captured some good chairs in your wanders! I'd love to settle into that comfy number at the greenwich union with a pint in hand!
did you do the seat on little gem's chair - it's beautiful!!!
Looking at these photos I got the distinct impression that the chairs have actual lives and personalities. Maybe it's the way you captioned them, but I'd swear that one was taking in the sun on purpose.
This was great Letty!
This is truly fabulous! The pics, the concept, and your way of telling us about what we're seeing.
I like the chair being eaten up in the woods. It's always comforting to me to know that someday, all of our doo-dads will be reclaimed by this living planet.
Thank you for this! Wow!
HAHAHA. I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! I must see more lonely chairs...they just take on a life of their own
The Ipswich chair is magnificent! They're all really wonderful shots --I think you can create a chair book !
CM, i'd never noticed or thought about it before i started taking photos. i'm sure some of these are used (esp. the one at the bus stop)
ta, D-D
Kimy yes I did, thanks. it was a lovely project to do - hemp and rags.
I hope to take you to the Greenwich Union one day.
lynne, they really really do seem to have lives of their own...
thanks reya. that french photo is one of my favourites - for just those reasons.
nilly - THANKS! [there is a sad chair group on flickr :-) ]
well thank you too Avid Reader. a coffee table/chair book?
I do love your photos. A friend of mine has taken to taking pictures of the red elastic bands that the postmen discard. They turn up in all sorts of places.
I'm in awe of people with good photography skills because I am pants with a camera.
Hope you are well.
Woo.
x
What a collection of abandoned chairs! I like the one at the bus stop. :)
Absolutely brilliant. For some reason, the exhibit you featured quite a while ago comes to mind--the work table that seemed to be splashed with paint, etc., in a random fashion but was in actuality a work of art itself with inlay, etc.
I just saw someone else's chair who is danish weaving it. look here:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=chair&w=9926328%40N07
She has a v nice blog, to: The Runcible Bin
You are all humor today and I love it! It's like 'the secret life of chairs' or something. You chose well in selecting these pics and certainly brought a smile to my face.
The one at the end of the alley looks like a Dalek to me, an unstoppable juggernaut.
The one in the woods looks like it could be a home to some little creatures.
Lovely tour.
What a chairy occasion. Did you go out looking for them, or did they come looking for you!? What an amazing collection of chair shots. No chair ever lasts a minute outside here, the vagrants would never pass up a chair!
my faves:
the composition in the Ipswich shot
the civilized bus stop in Greenwich
LOVE the Charlton arrangement (but perhaps, moving the dumpster closer to the chair would make for a cozier situation for the sitter? I'd ring if I were you, and suggest it to the owners):-)
the Liverpool chair with a view
and the pub chair - what can I say? a pint of stout, please.
Cheers, Letttuce!
is there some chair wrestling going on in the loitering dumped shot?
I'm just amazed that when someone picks a topic you are able to come up with a dozen photos! You must have thousands of pictures. But how in the world do you categorize them?
I never realized how many abandoned chairs there were in the world!
Did you do the seat on the final chair? It is lovely!
just think of all those bottoms that have graced those assorted chairs, bottoms of all colours, big and small, wide and narrow. Baby bottoms and elderly bottoms. I'll have to be more observant, there must be chairs around here to photograph too.
Lettuce,
I loved your shots and the concept. I unfortunately lack a favorite chair now. Thanks for your kind word on my blog. I do hope you'll return for another posting.
That's a cool post and a very interesting point of view on things and subjects. Sometimes we can be inspired by things we often regard as ordinary.
Great post - it was fun! I remember reading somewhere of a lady who used found discarded chairs in situations such as you've presented, as an art form, stencilling messages on them. They all have such character.
Outstanding collection indeed!
This must be a world-wide phenomenon ... I often see chairs here.
It is fun seeing your photos on Flickr...
thankyou for all your great comments
:-D
Ooh, the Greenwich Union! Way too long since I've been there ..... :D
I'm looking for a new chair........
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