No chair. Anywhere.
Sure, the sky’s nice and black. And the shadows of the stairs make an interesting pattern on the wall. And the foreground is nice and gravelly. And the one door’s got an arched top, but the other one doesn’t. And it looks like remnants of graffiti next to the lower door. And that concrete-block lean-to has sort of an interesting texture.
But the bench? What’s with that? Don’t these people know they are supposed to put chairs out for me to photograph? Seriously. Sometimes I just don’t know….
Colorado City, Texas
photographed 3.13.2013
Posted on September 8, 2013, in architecture, Photography and tagged 365 photo project, architecture, black and white photography, colorado city, colorado city texas, melinda green harvey, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas. Bookmark the permalink. 19 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
tsk tsk *some people*…
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I know! They need to start paying attention, don’t they!
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I like the bench! I see a lot of photographers shooting entire portfolios of benches. Lonely park benches that hardly anyone sits on. They’re emotional and full of pathos (or so I’m told). And they’re everywhere! Like people! And what do all people have in common? They need to sit. Then where is the bench when you need it.
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Outside the Masonic Lodge in Colorado City (Or C. City, to the locals) is where this bench will be when you need it. Judging from its location relative to the door and ashtray, I’d guess this is the Smokers’ Bench.
Today’s discussion question: where on the cliche-scale do lonely park benches fall? Bonus points if the discussion also includes baskets of kittens.
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the bench makes a nice shadow… no chairs sure but it is an interresting image…
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The seat of back of the bench do cast an interesting shadow.
It’s cheating, I think, to carry a chair around to use when the shot could benefit from a one, so I’ve got to take what I can find, even if it is a bench!
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Four legs, seat and back = chair. I think you have a chair in this shot, one wide enough for large people.
What you also have in this shot is a great shadow line leading right to the bench, and that lovely wrought iron hand rail and a perfectly decrepit building in the background. I think this shot pretty much has it all.
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One person’s chair is a skinner person’s bench? That’s probably accurate.
You’ve seen the building in the background before, right here on this very blog: https://melindagreenharvey.com/2013/03/20/c-city-rectangles/.
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Nice! Love the open space and loneliness! Also, agree with only working with “reality” as you find it. Regarding cliches — a lot of what is human is universal and a little obvious, but that doesn’t make it bad. Empty benches, bicycles etc. are all things that speak to our human interaction with our surroundings. If you aren’t using them in a cliche way, then the photos aren’t going to be cliche… and you also have to factor in intent… a few thoughts… though I don’t know how to add in a basket of kittens… other than when I pick up a little kitten I don’t think at all about how cliche their cuteness is, just makes me happy when they purr! 🙂
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Thanks, Mark. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. The sorts of things I like to photograph often lend themselves to cliched shots; that’s something I struggle with often. (And, I hope every now and then, I win.) I have a problem seeing the same shots done over and over, because it starts to look like laziness; our recent photographic society show was full of HDR shots of old farm trucks. Good grief.
One of my followers uses “baskets of kittens” as code for “a shot full of cliches.” So that’s where that came from.
And, finally, there’s almost nothing better than a warm kitten, curled up in the crook of your elbow, purring happily….
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I wonder why the arched door has a bump in it… like the guy who did the arch did not make the opening wide enough for the door. Things like that make me wonder.
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Yep – someone wasn’t too accurate with his/her measurements, were they? (Adding to my own personal amusement is the fact that this building is the Masonic Lodge….)
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I like that bench – I think that’s another photo within the shot. In fact that whole wall is photogenic.
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There’s a chance that I’ve got a closer shot of the bench, somewhere in the Colorado City archives. If not, I can catch it on another visit: things move slowly in C. City, so I’m pretty certain the bench will still be there.
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haha! Great capture with or without the chair.
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Thanks – glad you like it!
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I understand you – what are the bench doing there… 😉
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The only way it makes sense is the way Ehpem described it in an earlier comment – maybe it’s just a wide chair?
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Hahahaha… now that makes sense ;D
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