In 2010 we began collecting trash around the mouth of the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in WA State. We have a family cabin nearby so I spend a lot of time there surfing, paddling and beach walking. We picked up the trash originally to clean the place up a bit know knowing that the items we found mostly had floated in from elsewhere. Many of the items were from Asia (pre-Tsunami), Canada or from other places in our region.
Because WA State doesn't recycle bottle caps, these were a popular local item. Other local pieces included tampon applicators, trash from fishermen - foam trays, pee bottles - with pee, pop bottles, plastic rope, plastic line reels, and lots and lots styrafoam. Most of the kelp beds along the Strait of Juan de Fuca are saturated with tiny to large pieces of styrafoam or plastic.
I used to specialize in shooting conceptual still life for the fine art and stock industry so I realized all the found items would be interesting as a still-life. For each trip I'd do one arrangement. Over two years I had enough to do a few shows. Now a few years later I may revisit this project and decided if so, I'll place each arrangement on the same background for a bit more consistency. Since I started the project, the Elwha River dams have since been removed and the river mouth is a completely different. It had been cobble and is now fine sediment resembling sand stretching out several hundred yards into the Strait.
Because WA State doesn't recycle bottle caps, these were a popular local item. Other local pieces included tampon applicators, trash from fishermen - foam trays, pee bottles - with pee, pop bottles, plastic rope, plastic line reels, and lots and lots styrafoam. Most of the kelp beds along the Strait of Juan de Fuca are saturated with tiny to large pieces of styrafoam or plastic. I used to specialize in shooting conceptual still life for the fine art and stock industry so I realized all the found items would be interesting as a still-life. For each trip I'd do one arrangement. Over two years I had enough to do a few shows. Now a few years later I may revisit this project and decided if so, I'll place each arrangement on the same background for a bit more consistency. Since I started the project, the Elwha River dams have since been removed and the river mouth is a completely different. It had been cobble and is now fine sediment resembling sand stretching out several hundred yards into the Strait.
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