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Ebay pictures

Photographically speaking, EBay images are ‘pictures’;-deliberate and staged, (unlike the ‘snap shot’ which captures a moment). They have the amateur, home spun quirky quality about them that appeals to me.

All EBay photos share the same purpose, they are taken for the same reason, to sell something. How amazing that millions of people worldwide are shooting ‘things’ in the same way, going through the same processes and modes of approach.

I found this photo of a floral sofa on EBay, with only 14 seconds of listing left. I saved the photo to my hard drive before it disappeared, there was a sense that it would be lost to me forever even though it was neither precious nor important. I’ve reproduced this image as a cyanotype. So now the floral sofa photo exists outside of the realm of EBay.

EBay heaven

The best EBay photos show a snippet of the seller’s life; that bit in the background just behind the sofa for sale that they couldn’t squeeze out of the frame; the bad carpet, dying plant, dirty window or someones reflection.

Despite this, used objects are photographed with care but they are most definitely portraits of ‘things’.

EBay still offers a sense of discovery, a search will often harbour an irreverent or awkward object filed in a mis-matched category. Chancing upon such items is treasure hunting for those attracted to tat. (Me).

Whilst browsing, this got me thinking; how does the inherent qualities of an EBay photo change outside of EBay?