There’s something about antique stores that attracts photographers. At least, every time I go out shooting, I always seem to find myself conscious of where the nearest antique store is located, what I think they might be selling, and what kind of vintage items might be around that neck of the woods. I don’t know if I’m the only photographer who feels this well-it sure seems like a trend (or, to be more precise, a correlation) to me anyway. When I was out shooting in Vegas, it seemed like other photographers were shooting antique shops there too, so it can’t be just me (can it? Oh come on, it’s not really just me, is it now?)
Maybe it’s a photographers obsession with “old stuff.” Then again, I don’t really know about that, as I seldom do photograph any “old stuff,” well, other than antique stores that is. (OK, so that’s probably not what it is that attracts me to vintage boutiques, antique shops, and the like, but it was a good hunch, right?)
To me, there’s something a bit odd about putting these sorts of old items out together, offering them for sale. It’s a bit weird that, maybe, I don’t know. It just seems like we love to shoot old antique stores. And, I really hate to say this now, or at least to admit it in public but, I never do seem to buy anything in these type of shops. It’s not like I actually get to shop in there. No, unfortunately, I always seem to go away finding myself just taking pictures. Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do with half of this stuff. (Maybe, just maybe, that’s why I like photographing it so much? It’s quizzical?)
I love too this sort of shot where the town is reflected in the windows, and you can spot some of the “modern-ness” of the town alongside the vintage antiques set out on display. I do a lot of these. Maybe it’s just force of habit or maybe it’s just my way of celebrating the antiques? I don’t know. There’s just something I like about the incongruous look of a town reflected in a shop window featuring piles of old junk (and I mean that in the nicest of ways-it really is nice “junk” most of the time I’m out photographing. I just use the term “junk” for lack of a better word really. OK, maybe “stuff” would be more appropriate?)
Yeah, photographers and old stuff. We go together like cookies and cream. Like chocolate and peanut butter. Like…well, you get the idea.
So, next time you’re out and find yourself near some kind of antique shop, do stop and take a look. Maybe you too will find some sort of photographer-like creature with his (or her) nose pressed against the glass. Camera lens surgically implanted into the large front picture window. We try not to drool (too much. Note, I did say “try” here, folks.) And, it should go without saying really but, should you happen to be hunting a photographer (in the rare instance you would say want to shoot right back at one of us, or the even more rare instance you might want to say actually hire one of our kind) you can probably just hunt down your local antique shop and find at least one from the heard hanging around out front.
Ah, yes, photographers, We’d be the best at loitering around antique shops if only we weren’t so darn good at trespassing through graveyards. (Oh wait, just a second. Did I say that aloud? Move along here, folks! Nothing to see here. Nope, nothing to see here at all….)
Until next time…
