Going back into the archives and dusting off images from projects that for one reason or another, have never quite made it beyond the contemplation stage.

Sometimes they are referred to as B-Sides. But that would presume there was an A-Side…

Metaphorically speaking, there is something really interesting about an empty chair. There are so many questions that could be asked: Whose chair is this? Where did they go? Are they coming back? So many stories that could be told. Whether we are even conscious of it or not, an empty chair stirs up all kinds of thoughts and emotions.

So, for many of those reasons I find them fascinating. And if you’re really looking, they’re everywhere. I will almost always stop and make a picture when I see one.

The picture above was made in a private yard near the small town of Victoria in southern Virginia. I had parked my car and was meandering when I stopped to photograph the patterns in the stone on the opposite side of this wall.

Naturally, I was spotted almost immediately by the home owner, an elderly women who I guessed to be somewhere about in her 70’s. But instead of chasing me off or calling for the authorities, she very graciously invited me into her garden where I would find “more interesting” things to photograph.

She wasn’t understating. The garden was more than three times larger than it looked from the outside with beautifully weather-worn stonework everywhere I looked. I spent the next 45 minutes darting from spot to spot taking in as much as I could. I could have stayed through to the following summer and not run out of inspiration. Not wishing to wear out my welcome, I thanked her for her time and patience and went on my way, thinking that I would stop again the next time I was in the area and bring her a print.

Too bad I didn’t also think to write down the address. In my excitement I failed to make a note of where I was or how I got there. Initially, I wasn’t too worried, thinking I would recognize the landmarks when I returned.

Not so. In several return trips I couldn’t find anyplace that looked like that neighborhood as I remembered it. In odd moments I wonder if the place really existed. Although I do have the photographic evidence.

The print is still in my files.

Now, of course, with digital technology, I’m able to tell exactly where I make a picture and even the time I made it, right down to the second I clicked the shutter. Even so, I still make notes on a location for later reference, especially if I’m shooting with film as it will be the only record I’ll have.

Well, mostly I remember to…

Keeping notes wasn’t an issue for the top two photographs as they were both made with my phone. The best camera is always the one you have with you.

All three of these pictures are part of my grand collection of empty chair pictures which will probably never amount to anything except a growing collection of empty chair pictures. While I do enjoy making them, the reality is, there are hundreds of photographers making chair pictures, and many far more interesting than mine.

And as I think about it, given the problems I’ve had with law enforcement and chairs in the past, it’s probably best I keep them to myself. But that’s a story for another day…