Just a small ‘found on the beach‘ layout for you here today. In my last beach trash post, I mentioned how the last few times I had been to the beach previous to that visit it was actually very clean. It seemed like the park was on the up and up! There were new picnic benches, a fancy pants wooden fence, and most noticeably of all, it was clean. This beach that was previously covered in driftwood, and trash was actually somewhere people might want to go again. But that was before winter though. It seems as though it was ignored for a few months which meant it was a mess again. I think Earth Day marked the day that beach cleaning started up for the park. All of that to say, my preferred trash beach is fairly clean for the time being which is great obviously but means I don’t find as much.
This layout was from my first visit after their clean-up. Not too many things but the stuff I did find was pretty interesting. I’m working on another found on the beach fabric collection so needless to say, I’ve been hunting for really great little odds and ends to make the photos really pop. I was happy to find two plastic planes, the letter ‘G’, and a couple of strange little animals from hair clips.
It isn’t my best or largest beach trash photo but I can never resist the opportunity to arrange things in rainbow order, and get a few shots…
A quick found on the beach FAQ
- Did you find all this stuff in one trip? Sadly, yes. This isn’t even a quarter of it either.
- What do you do with all after you’re done? Normally I toss it in the trash. Sometimes I may take certain pieces with me if I think they’ll look cool in a future arrangement. On rare occasions, I leave it as I photographed it. I’m still not sure which side of the fence I fall on here. It’s a bit counteractive since it’s still on the beach after I spent the time to pick it up but maybe others finding it and seeing what an issue plastic is, and possibly getting a kick out of the fact that someone made something colorful and fun from trash, is better than it sitting in a landfill forever. I don’t know.
- Do you wear gloves when you pick all this trash up? No, I don’t. These are things that are washed up from the lake, not just left on shore. They’re no dirtier than the sand or water. That’s not to say I don’t sanitize my hands as soon as I get back in my car though…
- How long does it take you to do these? Maybe 20 mins (probably less) depending on the size to pick everything up, and another 20 minutes to lay everything out and shoot it.
My last arrangement inspired me to start a new little photos series where my shoe color starts the gradient in the arrangement. The white pair is still my favorite, just because I think that arrangement is the prettiest. I currently have one other colorful pair of Palladium Boots, in blue, so I’m looking forward to adding to the series. I’m thinking I’ll like it a little bit more when it doesn’t just remind me of the Italian flag. Heh! I also should probably get this pink pair, right?!
beach trash buddy!