I was with Gala and Nubby. They wore matching outfits as usual, white and blue, Gala in a dress and Nubby in pants. I suspected they were a couple and I wanted to say to Gala, "How much of this relationship is because you just broke up with your guy?" but I understood the draw to 'dulling the pain in someone new' and I thought our friendship was too new to get so personal right away. I decided I'd wait to talk some sense into her until we hung around for the day, later in the evening over dinner. And because I know that Gala and Nubby always take a picture of what they're wearing each day, I said, "Hey, while I'm here... let me take your picture for Outfit of the Day together!"
They enthusiastically agreed and headed around to where there were a series of stairs at the side of a building. They went to the second floor to pose on the landing there and I shifted the cigarette to the right side of my mouth so I could bring the camera to my eye. I centered them interestingly in the shot using one of the handful of composition tricks I knew. If only I had Dream Worlds, this shot could be so much more interesting I thought, referencing an expensive book I really want but which has to be ordered from the publisher in order to get it to my downtown Denver's Tattered Cover. Up on the stairs, Nubby motioned me to wait while she fixed her hair.
Watching the girls primp above me, I thought back to the cosplay pictures I'd taken last week but that I'd need to re-shoot. Because I've known the friends I cosplay with for a good 4 years now I didn't pay much attention to the people in the shot, concentrating mostly on showing the amazing costumes they'd made. But looking at the pictures the night before I'd noticed a horrible mistake: one of my friends had gained weight. A LOT of weight. And not really 'seeing' it, I had shot him from angles that were NOT flattering and in fact showed the large bulk of his stomach straining his shirt. The outfit itself, and the small boyish character he was emulating, would make him look even bigger - I would need to be especially careful about how I photographed him. Maybe I should say something? He didn't used to be that heavy... I thought, and then looking down at my own rounding stomach I added ruefully, well, none of us were as big THEN as we're getting NOW, were we? Giving it another thought I realized that it would only add guilt to my friend's life to say anything; he knew what he looked like, and just like me he had decided, for whatever reason, he didn't want to take the time to work out. It made me re-think my own decision to put the physical part of my life aside while I was so busy with school/work/family...
"OK, ready!" Gala shouted down at me, and I dismissed my preoccupation with myself while I focused on this shot. I raised the camera to my eye again...
...My phone alarm went off and I woke up. Took me a minute to orient, lost in a dream-world of online friends and my own insecurities and Mamimi (poor girl, pining for a not-there boyfriend (and I use the term loosely) while making do with a right-here boy. Never knows best Mamimi). I came to the realization that I was asleep curled up in the front seat of my car under my co-worker Farmboy's oversized sweatshirt and remembered everything at once: after going to bed late last night, I got up this morning and opened the coffeeshop at 6:30 as usual for a Sunday... but at 6:50 Farmboy came in and pointed out on the schedule where I wasn't supposed to come in until 8 o'clock! I told him I was going to take a nap in my car until 8 - I took his sweatshirt (it's Fall here in Colorado and freezing in the mornings), ran the car's heater for 10 minutes, turned the car off and fell immediately asleep. I'm so tired, friends, so tired.
And evidentially I'm busy in my head, judging from the vividness and all that went on in that dream. I'm not even sure what most of that means, but I haven't remembered a dream in a long long time; I have a feeling it's important to figure out.
I was going to work on my illustration skills tonight by going to Dr. Sketchy's after I got off work at 5, but I think I'll take it easy tonight - I'll draw two pages tomorrow. First thing I'll do when I get home is jump under my covers in bed and get warm while I figure out that dream! Then soup and homemade foccacia for dinner, and then I think a little hot chocolate is in order - maybe some popcorn? Oh, and Pawn of Prophesy, my favorite go-to feel-good book! Am I the only one with a book like this, or do you have a favorite book you pick up and put down whenever?
Anyway, I wish everyone a very good evening. <3!
They enthusiastically agreed and headed around to where there were a series of stairs at the side of a building. They went to the second floor to pose on the landing there and I shifted the cigarette to the right side of my mouth so I could bring the camera to my eye. I centered them interestingly in the shot using one of the handful of composition tricks I knew. If only I had Dream Worlds, this shot could be so much more interesting I thought, referencing an expensive book I really want but which has to be ordered from the publisher in order to get it to my downtown Denver's Tattered Cover. Up on the stairs, Nubby motioned me to wait while she fixed her hair.
Watching the girls primp above me, I thought back to the cosplay pictures I'd taken last week but that I'd need to re-shoot. Because I've known the friends I cosplay with for a good 4 years now I didn't pay much attention to the people in the shot, concentrating mostly on showing the amazing costumes they'd made. But looking at the pictures the night before I'd noticed a horrible mistake: one of my friends had gained weight. A LOT of weight. And not really 'seeing' it, I had shot him from angles that were NOT flattering and in fact showed the large bulk of his stomach straining his shirt. The outfit itself, and the small boyish character he was emulating, would make him look even bigger - I would need to be especially careful about how I photographed him. Maybe I should say something? He didn't used to be that heavy... I thought, and then looking down at my own rounding stomach I added ruefully, well, none of us were as big THEN as we're getting NOW, were we? Giving it another thought I realized that it would only add guilt to my friend's life to say anything; he knew what he looked like, and just like me he had decided, for whatever reason, he didn't want to take the time to work out. It made me re-think my own decision to put the physical part of my life aside while I was so busy with school/work/family...
"OK, ready!" Gala shouted down at me, and I dismissed my preoccupation with myself while I focused on this shot. I raised the camera to my eye again...
~~~~~~~~~~
...My phone alarm went off and I woke up. Took me a minute to orient, lost in a dream-world of online friends and my own insecurities and Mamimi (poor girl, pining for a not-there boyfriend (and I use the term loosely) while making do with a right-here boy. Never knows best Mamimi). I came to the realization that I was asleep curled up in the front seat of my car under my co-worker Farmboy's oversized sweatshirt and remembered everything at once: after going to bed late last night, I got up this morning and opened the coffeeshop at 6:30 as usual for a Sunday... but at 6:50 Farmboy came in and pointed out on the schedule where I wasn't supposed to come in until 8 o'clock! I told him I was going to take a nap in my car until 8 - I took his sweatshirt (it's Fall here in Colorado and freezing in the mornings), ran the car's heater for 10 minutes, turned the car off and fell immediately asleep. I'm so tired, friends, so tired.
And evidentially I'm busy in my head, judging from the vividness and all that went on in that dream. I'm not even sure what most of that means, but I haven't remembered a dream in a long long time; I have a feeling it's important to figure out.
I was going to work on my illustration skills tonight by going to Dr. Sketchy's after I got off work at 5, but I think I'll take it easy tonight - I'll draw two pages tomorrow. First thing I'll do when I get home is jump under my covers in bed and get warm while I figure out that dream! Then soup and homemade foccacia for dinner, and then I think a little hot chocolate is in order - maybe some popcorn? Oh, and Pawn of Prophesy, my favorite go-to feel-good book! Am I the only one with a book like this, or do you have a favorite book you pick up and put down whenever?
Anyway, I wish everyone a very good evening. <3!
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