When All Else Fails, Just Take A Photo.

I love the unusual. I love the weird. I love the wonderful. And as my husband says, I will take a photo of anything that moves, and two of anything that doesn’t. And it’s true. I love to photograph, and will photograph just about everything. Even public loos. Why?? Because sometimes the most common thing can be strange or wonderful. Because sometimes it’s the little things that put a smile on my face. And because sometimes, if I didn’t, no one would understand or believe me.

Now, the thing about continental Europe is that it’s hard to find a free loo (as in one you don’t have to pay to use), so when I come across a free one I usually take it when I can. However, when I entered this particular loo in Lausanne, Switzerland there was no toilet. There wasn’t even a trough. There was just this great big piece of porcelain sunken into the floor which had two islands and a hole. The infamous squat loo. I’d heard about them, but this was the first time I’d seen one. In my humble opinion, these loos are the reason that the women in the sign on the bathroom door are wearing dresses…. cause that’s about the only garment you can wear to use one without going to the trouble of getting undressed. Coveralls are definately not the garment of choice.

So here I am, standing in my coveralls and toting my large camera bag, staring at this large piece of square porcelain with two islands and a hole. I’m not planning to get undressed and lay my stuff down on the wet tile. Yet, in some way I actually feel bad not to actually do something. After a moment, I realized exactly what I had to do. I took a photo. Then I left. Two minutes of my life. One silly photo. One small moment of my life I probably would have forgotten in a few years had I just simply turned my back and walked away, yet now it’s a layout that brings a smile to my face whenever I see it.

The moral of the story?? If in doubt, take a photo. All photos are worthy of scrapping if they have a story, and sometimes it’s those the little things that make life interesting.