parking tickets

I’ve driven past this garage / petrol station loads of times and always think it will make a nice picture. I know that “gas stations” are a massive cliche in photography, but this one has a certain charm. It’s an old-fashioned looking place, with its window full of spares, and slightly dated-looking fuel pumps (although they could be the latest spec for all I know – I didn’t look at them closely, and my knowledge on such things is limited). And on this morning I got the chance to take a photograph.

I still think it deserves a better picture though, maybe on 6×9 medium format, or even on large format. It’s a case of choosing the right time when the light is nice and in the best position.

Olympus 35 RC on Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 8 August 2025

I’m not going to claim that this is a good photo from any compositional point of view, but it’s kinda interesting because of its subject. A relatively ordinary Ford Ka in a car-park, but I do wonder what the story is behind all those parking tickets?

By my count there are eleven of them. I’m not sure how frequently a ticket is added, or if there is some sort of escalation procedure that occurs when it becomes clear that no-one is seemingly coming to collect the car. What does the traffic warden / car park attendant think when they stick yet another notice to the growing set already there?

Is the car stolen perhaps? But if that’s the case, would it have been carefully parked in a public place upon abandonment? Maybe the owner is indisposed in some way and unable to reclaim their vehicle, or perhaps even alert someone to its location?

I wonder if it’s still there?

Olympus 35 RC on Kodak Ultramax. Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro.

Taken on 9 August 2025

Tag: parking tickets

Central Garage