Thematic Photographic 391 - Repetitive

Insecurity
Woodbridge, ON
November 2016

For as long as I can remember, I've looked for stories in the shadows, the places where no one else would willingly look. I don't fully understand why, but I suspect it has something to do with discovering stuff no one else saw. Or thought of. Or bothered with.

I recall when I was a kid, wandering down dim, empty hospital corridors long past bedtime and thinking I was the only person on the planet who was watching the airplanes fly over the city from This Very Spot. Or who got to ride the elevators for hours without getting caught. It was an environment rich in unconventional stimuli, and as visiting parents left for home and an institutional quiet slowly settled on the kids who were left behind in the pediatric ward for the night, I waited carefully for the moment when I could slip my six-year-old self unnoticed out of bed and onto the brilliantly waxed floors just outside the door to my room, ready to explore this enormous collection of buildings, not so much afraid of the uncertainty as excited at the possibilities.

If only I could do the same today, but with a camera.

Which is probably why, no matter where I find myself, I like to take little time-outs from whatever I'm doing to point my lens at things that normally wouldn't merit a photo, much less a few paragraphs of writing. Like these lockers at a bowling alley. The place was packed, with boisterous groups of people enjoying a curiously addictive night of flinging a heavy ball down a slickly waxed wooden lane and hoping against hope that it would knock down a bunch of pins. It was a happy place, with skilled players easily mixing with the morons like me who could barely keep their balls out of the gutters.

And yet my eye kept wandering to the badly lit room way down in a forgotten corner stuffed floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall with the square lockers you see here. No one used them for the entire time we were there, which made me wonder if anyone ever came here. I was reminded of similarly forlorn lockers I'd seen at other bowling alleys rather far away, and couldn't shake the feeling that I needed a picture to remember the moment.

Your turn: Take a picture that reflects, supports or otherwise evokes this week's theme, repetitive. Share it on your blog, website, social media presence or wherever you wish, then pop back here and leave a comment letting everyone know where to find it. Visit other participants to share the photographic joy, and feel free to post again through the week if the spirit moves you. Additional instructions on how Thematic works may be found here. But whether you're a veteran or a newbie, all that matters is that you enjoy the journey. Happy shooting!