Abandoned Couch

[Otavio]

Hi.

Today I passed through a degraded area and noticed this abandoned couch. It looked like a beggar was making a temporary use of it (although there wasn't anybody closeby when I passed). Just shot it before the trash trucks collect it and made this monochrome approach.

C & C welcomed, as always.

[mugge]

I think that the wall behind the couch dominate too much. Perhaps use gaussian blur to lessen the wall a tad. Just my two cents worth.
Cheers Ole

[The amateur]

Otávio, it seems to me that the digital editing of this image of a decrepit, abandoned sofa should ideally evoke a sense of antiquity, a character of age and history. Of course, this is just one idea among many; it could be easily questioned, set aside, or simply developed further.

This was precisely what I set out to do by adjusting the image as my vision evolved. I aimed to capture as much contrast as possible from the sofa, highlighting its shadows and intricate details, while deliberately de-emphasising the background with the use of masks.

All of this work was carried out in Lightroom. I then refined the balance between the sofa and the background to ensure that the sofa truly stood out. I made a slight re-cropping and reduced the brightness of two “white” areas on either side of the sofa.

I also experimented with Lightroom’s presets, exploring sepia tones and vintage hues “Vintage Instant” preset particularly caught my eye. I then slightly reduced its intensity to achieve the visual effect I found most appealing.
A heavy preset vignetting was applied BTW !

It’s remarkable how many abandoned sofas one can come across, isn’t it? I’ve even spotted them in the most unexpected places!

One final detail: I have the habit of saving snapshots along the way. This allows me to easily revert to previous versions and find what I consider to be the best one. In short, it’s just part of my personal workflow.

[Manfred M]

This reminds me a little of Horst Wackerbarth's famous Red Couch series. He dragged the couch all over the world and photographed it in various places.


https://horst-wackerbarth.com/en/the-red-couch/

[The amateur]

Manfred, these are long-term projects that tend to be accessible only to those who, on the one hand, possess an exceptionally creative flair, and on the other, hold influence within the Arts and who also have the financial means to see them implemented at a relaxed pace over as long a period as needed.
They are simply not within everyone's reach.

Meanwhile we ordinary mortals, content ourselves with simply photographing the sofas we happen to come across.

[Manfred M]

Manfred, these are long-term projects that tend to be accessible only to those who, on the one hand, possess an exceptionally creative flair, and on the other, hold influence within the Arts and who also have the financial means to see them implemented at a relaxed pace over as long a period as needed.
They are simply not within everyone's reach.

Meanwhile we ordinary mortals, content ourselves with simply photographing the sofas we happen to come across.
]

Agreed. Now if I only had a wealthy commercial sponsor and a different coloured couch.

I understand there were actually three couches and all went through numerous repairs over the years.