Lost Shoes
(2018-)iPhone photography
I add to this collection periodically: basically whenever I come across abandoned footwear. Of the types of lost shoes, the diminutive size of the childrens’ shoes naturally confer on them an endearing forlornness. But they are the most predictable, because children are always losing shoes.
It is the high heels, however, that raise questions. For example, I was on a bike ride in the New Forest when I came across the wedge slingbacks (1) hanging from a tree. In the middle of gravelly heathland with the nearest car park miles away, had their former owner simply underestimated the distance and terrain and switch to an available alternative? I hope so.
Was the gold sandal wedge (6) abandoned at the bus stop because the other one had already been lost or broken earlier in the night? The discarded grey suede ankle boots (9), meanwhile, had been neatly presented on a wall in front of a bin, perhaps to entice a passer-by to pick them up.
The positioning of the pair of wellies (5) and Birkenstock sandals (10) suggest they were forgotten or overlooked. The former, sat waiting for their owner on the kerbside, were left behind when loading a car after a walk. The latter were mislaid after having been set down in the middle of the pavement while their owner rearranged the contents of the bag they had been in.
It is the high heels, however, that raise questions. For example, I was on a bike ride in the New Forest when I came across the wedge slingbacks (1) hanging from a tree. In the middle of gravelly heathland with the nearest car park miles away, had their former owner simply underestimated the distance and terrain and switch to an available alternative? I hope so.
Was the gold sandal wedge (6) abandoned at the bus stop because the other one had already been lost or broken earlier in the night? The discarded grey suede ankle boots (9), meanwhile, had been neatly presented on a wall in front of a bin, perhaps to entice a passer-by to pick them up.
The positioning of the pair of wellies (5) and Birkenstock sandals (10) suggest they were forgotten or overlooked. The former, sat waiting for their owner on the kerbside, were left behind when loading a car after a walk. The latter were mislaid after having been set down in the middle of the pavement while their owner rearranged the contents of the bag they had been in.
