It's been a long time since I have visited this abandoned house and it has decayed quite a bit from my last visit inside. Having passed by it recently I saw the wooden statue outside sitting amongst a bunch of other junk. When I saw the challenge the house and the statue came immediately into my mind. The front door was jammed shut so I had to return with a flashlight so I could enter through the basement door lugging the statue with me in the dark and dingy refuse cluttered space and up some wooden stairs. I was concerned that the stairs would not support the weight but I was determined to photograph the image that was in my mind. Once I made it to the first floor and into the "living room" I was surprised to see how badly the area had decayed since the last time I was there. Not knowing what animals might have made it a home I quickly set up the statue and took several shots from different angles, carried it back into the basement and out to where I had gotten it. As I was replacing the statue a gentleman appeared and asked me what I was doing. He lived in the neighborhood and maybe he thought I was a squatter! After some explaining he told me the hole in the roof had become the home for some turkey vultures and he wasn't sure if there were snakes and rats in the basement! With that I assured him I would not be returning!!! As I walked back to my car I was wondering if it might be a good photoshoot opportunity for a DPC "Halloween" challenge;)
CLARIFICATION OF THE TITLE: The description that was given in the challenge stated "Your challenge this week: Take one thing and your camera into an empty room and photograph it." I know that some members are very specific about the requirements of the challenges. I was thinking that those viewing my entry would not think that I would bring that statue into a deserted house and that it was already there! Thus I wanted to clarify that point in the title. Sorry if I caused confusion or insulted anyone's intelligence:) !!!
Statistics
Place: 4 out of 14 Avg (all users): 6.6667 Avg (participants): 6.8571 Avg (non-participants): 6.5714 Views since voting: 534 Views during voting: 45 Votes: 21 Comments: 7 Favorites: 0
i understood the title even without reading the challenge description. i gave you a 9. i thought you would ribbon, but maybe it wasn't empty enough for some people?
I loved reading your story so much ..
I think many photographers are a breed apart .. risking life and limb to get a photo .. you definitely fit the mould ..!!..
and now I know what you thought I was thinking ..
that you'd set this up ..
and really it's almost obvious ..
I'm not ashamed to admit though that it didn't occur to me .. I just thought it was a pretty odd thing to have a statue in an old decaying room ..
anyway .. congratulations on the 4th place .. :)
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