Pictures not taken

[Lea]

Hello everybody!

I'm a visual artist based in Brussels and I am looking for photographers who would like to collaborate on my new artproject.


I collect descriptions of shots that photographers would have like to photograph, but were unable to for various reasons (technical, ethical, etc.)..
My purpose is to try to make drawings from these texts as close as possible as the described pictures.
I am therefore looking for photographers who would be willing to send me a detailed description of
one or more picture they never took : framing, composition, colors, lights, depth of field etc..
I really wish to create an exchange with the photographers so the drawing result would seem satisfying to him
I'm really impatient to start this project


If you are interested, you can contact me by pm or untakenpicture@gmail.com
Thanks in advance and hope to hear from you soon,

Léa

[Dr Croubie]

Wow, this is something I've been thinking of for the last few years, those "damn, I don't have a camera" moments (and I've had a stack of them).
I was even thinking it would make a great exhibition (except for the whole bit about not having the photos, and I can't draw or paint for shit either).

So anyway, here's one for you (maybe it's even one you could take a photo of, seeing as you're in Belgium).
I lived for a few years in The Netherlands, the last winter of which was in Den Haag. Every morning I would walk to the tram stop and take the tram to work. And every morning, there would be people doing the same, and being The Netherlands most of them were on bikes.
I saw this lady many times, riding a Baboe Bakfiets (or some similar brand), with her two kids (boy and a girl, maybe 2-4 years old), crossing the road at the same lights as me, probably going off to kindergarten or somewhere.
As the weather got colder and colder, then it started snowing (remember the winter of 2010-11 when the whole of Europe shut down?). But still every morning I would walk to the same tram stop, and still see this same lady riding with her kids, in the same Bakfiets, the kids progressively wrapped in more and more clothes.

The picture I have in mind is the lady riding this bike, crossing the Konigskade at Dr Kuyperstraat pretty much the view is this. The kids are in the Bak, dressed in pink and blue Parkas, with matching Beanies and Gloves (polyestery-type, but all fingers together). They're in the foreground, she's pressing down on the pedal accelerating (those bikes are a bitch to ride i know). I'm looking at her with Den Haag Centraal in the far background (along with all the construction sites that seem to be permanently happening there). And the whole place is white, like 50cm deep with snow, there's barely any cars around (actually, on the day I saw this scene I think it was the day that I was 2 hours late to work, so much snow on the track that there was no electrical connection and the tram stopped). But the kids are just so happy and smiling, with very rosy red cheeks just visible under all the clothes.

Anyway, like I said, I wished I'd had my camera that day. It was not until getting back to Australia that I realised how very Dutch that whole thing was. We get 2cm of rain here, not even less than 15 degrees, and every bloody mum drives her kids to school in a big ass 4wd, not a cyclist to be seen (although to be fair, they'll drive their spoilt brats to school any day it's not raining either). I always wished I had this photo to show how real people live and be healthy in places where there isn't such an ingrained car-culture...

[Steve U]

Welcome Lea.

Great story Doc, I don't want to be a party pooper, but with all first time posters I think we should show some restraint and possibly ask for examples of work. Definitely before personal contact is made.

Just something to consider.....

[clemmb]

Welcome Lea.

Great story Doc, I don't want to be a party pooper, but with all first time posters I think we should show some restraint and possibly ask for examples of work. Definitely before personal contact is made.

Just something to consider.....

Lea,
I like the sound of the project your working on. Helps me to get some creative juices flowing.
Steve brings up a good point. Could you please fill in your proflie so we can learn a bit more about you?

The photo I wish I had a camera for was, while driving donw the highway I come upon a police officer giving a speeding ticket to a car he pulled over that had been traveling in the other direction. About 20 feet from the cars were like 30 cows all standing still intently looking at this action. It was actually a pretty funny site to see.

[M_Six]

You could have illustrated Will Steacy's book. Loads of material there.

[conropl]

Lea,
I like the sound of the project your working on. Helps me to get some creative juices flowing.
Steve brings up a good point. Could you please fill in your proflie so we can learn a bit more about you?

The photo I wish I had a camera for was, while driving donw the highway I come upon a police officer giving a speeding ticket to a car he pulled over that had been traveling in the other direction. About 20 feet from the cars were like 30 cows all standing still intently looking at this action. It was actually a pretty funny site to see.

Sounds like a "Far Side" cartoon.

[Sheiky]

Great story Doc, sounds familiar. I'm not sure how good an artist you are Lea, but I would have liked a photo of me and my girlfriend in Norway last year.

We had been doing this amazing, but very long and hard trail(hiking) to a very beautiful lighthouse on a hot day(Norway-hot so probably about 22 degrees Celcius). At forehand we had no clue it was going to be like this, so we went unprepared. Just one small bottle of water and a few crisps I think. It turned out to be a 2,5hour walk to and from the lighthouse through tough, wet, slippery and very steep terrain. My girlfriend was trying to make me stop on the way to the lighthouse, but I figured we were already so far to it that I wanted to continue(stubborn and foolish...I know). Once there it was definitely worth all the trouble, but we needed to get back again.
On the way to it my girlfriend was already very exhausted and I carried all the stuff. On the way back this didn't change. Continuesly helping her as well to walk/climb the trail. Again after 2.5hours or so we came back to the car totally exhausted. Putt down all of the stuff including the camera, opened the door of the car and set down. Drank something we had in the car and put on some fresh clothes.
My girlfriend started packing everything in the car again and prepared to drive further. She drove, since I was still very tired. We drove away and a woman was waving, but I didn't think it was for us. After a few minutes I asked my girlfriend if she packed the camera. She said: the bag is in the backseat. I asked again if she putt the camera in the bag, but she said no. She thought it was already in it!

Now here's the part I would have loved to have gotten a picture off:
I had putt the camera on top op the car! And by this time I still couldn't believe it... I began to freak out(understatement) I started listening and I asked again if she had grabbed the camera from the roof of the car. "No!", she said. It was a bendy road so I figured it must have fallen of already when we drove away or somewhere during the ride and I was thinking about all the money I had putt to it. I hadn't heard anything like breaking glass so I figured it could also be still on the roof. My girlfriend very gently slowed down and with my freak-mode on I opened the door and got out. It was still there!!!
The tripod base-plate had scratched the roof a little, but that was all! Both the most unhappy and happy day of my holiday

Thinking backwards, this must have been a killer photo. Two persons in a car, driving around the most beautiful countryside with the most scared faces and a camera on the roof.... To me that would almost be worth losing the camera for


For what it's worth, the Lighthouse from the story:


Skongenes Fyr Lighthouse, Norway by Jan Paalman, on Flickr

[ddt0725]

A recent scenerio ...

I had planned to go down to the Lake Michigan shoreline two miles from my house to take shots of Sandy hitting after she moved in from the coast. At the last minute, I changed my mind thinking by the time she hit here it wouldn't be much more than the shots I already have from a very windy day. Boy, was I mistaken! Nothing like from on the coast but some pretty dramatic photos were captured by others and they were plastered all over our local newspaper ...and none of them were mine!

[ddt0725]

Quite the story, Jan! Wow, was luck on your side on that day ...for the both of you surviving the hike and the camera surviving the ride!! A great photo? More like a fantastic video for youtube!!

[Steve U]

Wouldn't have stayed on the roof if I was driving. My wife's "pet" name for me when I drive is....jerk. Apparantly I'm a little heavy on the break pedal.