Taken at the Seattle Westin (more on this place in a future blog entry.)
Hotels these days seem to be engaged in a cold war of sorts. They're pulling out all the stops to convince travellers that they have the latest and greatest beds, because we know a state-of-the-art bed is all it takes to make one think of home.
I think it's a load of bunk. Marketers love the bed-war thing because it allows them to personalize or warmify what is, at the core, a highly impersonal and cold experience. The uniforms, professional demeanor and wall-to-wall branding of everything related to the hotel do little to change the fact that you're sleeping in an anonymous concrete box in the middle of a huge building that's filled with hundreds of other strangers who are also sleeping in their own anonymous concrete boxes.
Okay, I'm overstating it. But I can hardly pad through the lobby in my one-piece jammies and share a tea with the concierge, now, can I?
But the high thread counts look kind of interesting in the muted light that comes through the window on a cloudy day, especially when the sheet is just messy enough to show some relief in the shadows.
This is one of those images that I might not have taken in the pre-digital era. Because every shot came with additional logistics and cost, it simply wouldn't have occurred to me to study something as seemingly featureless as a sheet.
Apparently, it wasn't as featureless as I once assumed.
Your turn: Can you think of other textures that, in your opinion, are worthy of a picture? Why do textures make for such interesting photos?
they obviously have never heard of a press or an iron
ReplyDeleteBecause of all the different thoughts that go through your head when you see such textures. Such as life is complicated.. or a good nights rest after a long long day.
ReplyDeleteno offense... but boring... no depth and color to it like your other pix... and there's no real focal point... it's messy and plain. but still nice pix to show all those things! your photography skills are not the problem... the subject is...
ReplyDeletenow i'm struck on seeing you traipsing through the lobby in your one peice!! too funny.
ReplyDeletei love the starkness yet comfort in this picture. and as i have rarely had to stay in hotels purely for work, my feeling towards them is probably quite different. sexier definately... though the one peice pj's idea changes that slightly!!
as for other textures although obvious i suppose, an enduring favourite of mine as a child and of the lets now is of course tree bark... all kinds. to look at and to do rubbings from.
I'm fascinated by textures... touching them, looking at them, everything. I think they make for interesting photos because they stimulate more than just the sense of sight; they can spark the imagination and conjure powerful mental imagery. Like melting ice in a glass, everyone sees something different therein.
ReplyDeleteTexture rocks for me because of negative space. I've always been drawn to and am a big fan of whatever negative space an artist employs. Not just in visual art. The music between the notes in jazz; the subtext between beats in theatre; the ether between words in prose (in fact, I think many authors say it best when they're not saying anything at all)...they have always been what draws me most into any piece.
ReplyDelete...
blah blah blah...monkey penis.
Oh...and that Westin is where I spent one of my prom nights.
ReplyDeleteI like grass, carpet, leaves. They form patterns that you might never be aware of until you capture it in a photo and see it with a fidderent set of eyes, as it were.
ReplyDeleteI've always been fascinated with textures, again, could be a offset of being a musician and playing with the textures of the sounds I make...
ReplyDeleteTextures that make good pictures, for some reason : bread, snow, grass, thread, water and dust...
Michele sent me. Have a great weekend !
Maybe it's because I am a knitter, but I find the textures of fabrics interesting once you get up close. Also, I agree with Keda re: tree bark...and the texture of ice, the sort you get in a drinking glass, can be really beautiful, what with the play of light and shadow. Big chips of ice, melted just a little, so they're clear.
ReplyDeleteyou never tried to share a tea with the lobby man in your p j s maybe just maybe he would have loved it and that would have made your cement surroundings just that much more than great sheets !!! next time try it ... now that will be a good story !!!!!
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