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Reviews of photography products that enhance the enjoyment of taking pictures. Published frequently but irregularly.
An Evening Out
30 August 2013
Dinner was served. But the lady across from us was puzzled. "Is this the chicken piccata?" No, it was the roasted chicken.
A mistake had been made. What to do?
An Evening Out. Things have a way of working out.
Some people (well, most of us) would call the waiter back and point out the mistake. Some people (not as many as one would like) would politely and with some embarrassment do that. Others would turn red sputtering threats of legal action as they stabbed the offending chicken with the point of their knife.
But the lady across from us decided to try it. And she liked it. A lot. She'd never had roasted chicken so deliciously done, she said.
So when we tell you she had just acquired a dog that was giving her fits, you'll understand she herself is pretty accommodating. It was the dog that was the problem. It was terrified of everything.
We told her about another friend who had once had a dog problem. In that case the dog was diagnosed with separation anxiety. Whenever our friend left the apartment, the dog would go nuts. Which was an issue because our friend had to leave the apartment. To go to work. To earn money for dog food.
When's the last time a photographer, shutter cocked, asked you to smile with a frown on their face?
Never acquire anything that eats.
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We got in touch with that friend on behalf of the lady across from us to find out the name of the professional who had diagnosed her dog and whose advice had led to a long and happy life for old Blue.
Turns out she had just called her local SPCA where, at no charge, an animal behaviorist advised her what to do. "There isn't much that can't be addressed," she told us, "by exercise." Anxiety, depression, you name it, exercise helps.
As with people, we leap to our feet to add.
Part of the benefit of this job with a camera in one hand and a mouse in the other is that you can't do it well from a chair. Yes, you do have to do some of it from a chair, which has its benefits. But a lot of it has to be done on your feet, walking around.
Street shooters, for example, do a lot of walking around to get their shots. So do landscape photographers trucking their heavy tripods around. And nature photographers crawling up to insects as their macro lens nervously autofocuses. Not to mention those guys with the hefty scopes on tripods who shoot birds.
Even those guys stuck in a studio all day taking portraits have to hop around like finches behind the camera to get their subjects to watch the birdie.
You have to be pretty active to be a photographer. Any kind of photographer.
All that physical activity just may explain why, as photographers, we're so good natured. Whenever we turn the door knob and swing open the door to leave the building there's always a refreshing sense of being set free. The possibilities await us. And we eagerly anticipate them. Our next masterpiece is just a few steps -- and clicks -- away.
Even when (returning to earth as a mere writer) we're stuck here in the bunker climbing the walls, we're happy as a lark. Our bodies are designed to move, after all, and our spirits perhaps to fly.
If you think we're exaggerating (again), just answer one question. When's the last time a photographer, shutter cocked, asked you to smile with a frown on their face?
It can be hard to get out of the chair for that walk every day, but if your roommate is a dog, it will be delighted to remind you with an uncanny punctuality that might even make you forget to bring the camera (which could explain why we never see a dog walker around here with a camera).
So things have a way of working out -- especially if you work out.
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When the waiter came over to see if everything was all right, the lady across from us nodded her enthusiastic appreciation. She enjoyed it so much, in fact, she ordered dessert. We don't recall what it was but we do remember one thing about it.
The waiter comped her dessert.