Chairs

I'm not exactly sure what got me started photographing chairs, but over the years they've become a common subject for my camera. So much so in fact that many people know me as "that guy that shoots chairs." The style and composition of my chair photos are similar to that of other inanimate subjects I photograph, yet chair photos often evoke a much stronger and often emotional reaction from viewers.

This stronger reaction could be attributed to chairs being a uniquely human object in design and therefore more easily personified than other subjects. This leads to chairs grouped together being seen as interacting socially. A chair left alone against a wall is often described as being lonely. For me what often catches my attention is that the chair in my viewfinder is probably where it was left by it's last occupant. This creates a mystery as to who was sitting there and what were they doing--reading, thinking, smoking, or just waiting. In that sense the photo can be seen as a portrait without the person or perhaps even a stage minus the actors. In this way of seeing, what is not present in the photo is just as important as what was left for the camera to find.