As a lazy kind of experiment, I thought I’d take a look through my Flickr stream to see if I could find any shots taken on exactly this day (15 July) one, two, three, four, five or six years ago. I had a sinking feeling when 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 in turn all yielded absolutely nothing, but to my great relief there were six of them (and mercifully, not too shabby, either) for 15 July 2006, back when I was new to photography and couldn’t get enough of it.
This was my clear favourite – in fact it’s a picture that’s always made me smile and one that I should really print out and frame one of these days. A pretty mundane, non-picturesque site by the side of a country road (I think, though I don’t remember the precise location) is transformed into a sight of wonderful, belly-laugh audacity by that funky orange monstrosity (which in its heyday must have been a great piece of furniture!). I love the fact that someone had obviously made the effort to place it absolutely neatly in line with the sign and the edge of the verge, so that it almost looks as though it belongs there.
I’m a notorious one for missed opportunities when it comes to taking pictures, but this is a chance capture that makes up for so many of those. I wonder who left the sofa there, and what became of it…