January 26, 2011

B is for Bench

For ABC Wednesday I am offering a series of benches for the letter B that I photographed last week while visiting friends in a town along the Tanjiang River in Kaiping County 

The photos pretty much speak for themselves. I do think each bench has its own special character that shows off better in a monochrome image (and if you have the time, enlarging the smaller photos tells a better story).


 

 
Kaiping, 2011

37 comments:

Cezar and Léia said...

Dear Francisca,
Wonderful idea, I know someone that will love this post!
I also like the choice b&w , and the set of beautiful benches is perfect!
My favorite? Hmmm difficult to choose, I think that one among huge columns!
Amazing and brilliant post!
Léia

Pat Tillett said...

Nic pics! I like next to last photo. It looks like the bench is half sitting on it's leg and half sitting on a block or brick.

Nanka said...

LOL!! those antique benches in the small photos may have been beautiful and reduced to this state over the years!! Wouldn't want to sit on them now for sure :D

Sylvia K said...

Terrific post and photos for the B Day! Love the benches! You're very creative, Francisca! And the B&W are perfect! I hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

Sylvia
ABC Team

Hooked on Memes said...

Wonderful array of benches!

Sara Katt said...

Meow!
Nice collection of benches. I must admire the inventiveness of the two-leggeds! And the variety of form that one item can have.
We cats try to keep life simple. All we need is our tongue and we can keep ourselves well-groomed.

Thanks for sharing. (Yes, I agree, monotone is good for certain images.)
Purrs,
Sara Cat

Sara Cat's ABC-Wd-Rd-8-B Black Beauty

Roger Owen Green said...

A nice variety, well photographed.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

VP said...

I think that nothing show off better in B&W than in color, but this is my humble and obviously debatable opinion. I would have loved these benches...

Francisca said...

VP, I can send them to you in color, if you want. Yes, color versus black & white is debatable, of course. In this case, the weather was rather gray already and I felt that any spots of color just detracted from the main subject.

Dina said...

Some good improvisations to keep some of the benches standing.
A fun collection you made.

cieldequimper said...

Fabulous! Creativity! And I love the last one.

photowannabe said...

Oh, I love the benches and the treatment of them. You certainly have a wonderful eye.
Thanks for your comment on my post. I think the tree is called the Sweet Gum tree. Those balls are sharp and very messy when they fall on our grass. Pretty tree but such a pain!

Rinkly Rimes said...

How about starting a 'bench' meme. Your collection would get you off to a good start!

Wanda said...

Benches ~ What a variety...what a clever idea for B.

tapirgal said...

Enlarging the small ones really does tell stories or at least make us wonder. I also love the well-used and reconstructed benches here. The shapes are very cool. I think they look great in b&w, although normally I'm liking color more these days.

Tumblewords: said...

Wonderful B post. Love the calmness represented by the beautiful benches.

Kay L. Davies said...

I enlarged the smaller pictures and am so glad I did! This is wonderful, Francisca!
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Carolyn Ford said...

Some time ago there was a meme for benches. Your collection shows quite a range of styles too. Fun post,Francisca!

TheAL said...

An empty bench can be a sad sight, but these are beautifully nostalgic shots! :-)

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous!

B for Broken Plate, come and see.

Sara Katt said...

I forgive you Francisca! In fact, you are First Commenter and get an extra link back to this blog!
Congrats!
Purrs,
Sara Cat

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

In Singapore, the govt put bumps on the benched so you can't sleep on it. I am glad they don't do it in China.

Where are you on Lunar New year?

mona said...

that is what i need at this moment i want to rest on a bench :) btw, MY ENTRY IS HERE have a peek :)

Andy said...

Benches remind me of the police... there's never one around when you need one:)

Lowell said...

Nice post, Francisca. I like benches, too, but I always think they are nicer when people are sitting on them, so I'd vote for that last photo!

EG CameraGirl said...

This is a very nice series of benches! I see they are a popular form of seating worldwide.

jabblog said...

What a great variety of benches - all very inviting! I like your final photograph best, I think, with the man on the left looking at you and smiling.

Lowell said...

Hi Francisca...

Now you're just being silly! It doesn't say "Drink Snow Drift," it says "Drink Coca Cola."

But I think you knew that and were just teasing me. :-)

Very nice to hear from you!

Kim, USA said...

Such an awesome choice of today's meme and I like the black and white color too. Happy Wednesday!
Outdoor Wednesday

fredamans said...

Beautiful benches! Great idea!

http://fredamans.blogspot.com/2011/01/abc-wednesday-b-is-for-blue.html

Unknown said...

Francisca, beautiful photos; I too like the B&W. I am worried about anyone trying to sit on the third bench!
Helen Mac, ABC team

Leslie: said...

Fabulous idea to do them in black & white! Gives a whole new dimension to the images. Hope you're having a great week. :D

Leslie
ABCW Team

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a good idea for this meme Francesca! Those are all very lovely -- and very inviting (I am at the age where benches are more tempting than they used to be ;>)

Oakland Daily Photo said...

Interesting post. Each photo is like a portrait. The black and white really works.

Bradley Hsi said...

Love this post, such beautiful lay out and photos.

Kaori said...

Oh you are so right, Fransisca! Each bench looks like they have a wonderful story to tell :-D

Love how you took it in black&white!

Unknown said...

The minute I saw this photos, VP came to my mind, I wonder why?... :-))) Great post, Francisca.