Monday, May 21, 2012

Say "Cheese"...and Cross Your Fingers

          
            Since entering the blogosphere, I’ve noticed that young homemakers—for me, that’s anyone under fifty—are particularly drawn to blogs that offer helpful hints. Hints on anything from interior decorating to housecleaning-made-easy to cooking a gourmet meal in under ten minutes. Unfortunately, you won’t find many of those kinds of suggestions here. Oh, I do have a great recipe for baking a cake in under two minutes that I plan to post later. And I also have a handy tip I’m going to share on keeping cut hydrangeas from wilting. But those kinds of posts will be the exception, not the rule. And I’m certain you will NEVER see a photography how-to post on my blog.

            When I was eight, a neighbor cleaned out her closet and offered me an old box camera she found. From that very moment, I’ve been photography challenged. No matter how diligently I try, something ALWAYS goes wrong. In my family, I’m famous for fuzzy photos, snapshots of the roof of the car, subjects with no heads. I used to claim the line often quoted by children and adults alike, "It’s not my fault,” and in my defense, that's partially true. I do have the genetic disability of not being able to shut one eye at a time. Throughout my formative years—years when all cameras required me to look through a viewfinder with one eye—this handicap not only presented difficulties in picture-taking, it also seriously challenged my ability to flirt. But that’s another post. With the invention of a camera “window,” I thought my problems were solved. Not so. I don’t know why, but I still continue to be haunted by shutterbug goblins. Evidence of this includes a video of my daughter at age two, interrupted by a three-minute segment of grass and unintelligible mumbling. It seems I forgot to turn off the power as I followed her around the yard. When I got my i-phone thirty years later, I was excited because I thought at last I’d found a dummy-proof camera. Exhibit A below bears witness to the contrary.
            But I’m not giving up. With all the blogs out there offering advice, there’s no excuse not to overcome my snapshot snafus. My bucket list includes taking a perfect still-shot of an Oklahoma sunset and making the perfect video of my grandson laughing.


EXHIBIT A




10 comments:

  1. That video cracked me up!

    I can't wait to get your hydrangea tips. And I wonder if your cake recipe is the same as ours? Does it involve angel food cake mix and a microwave? Steve has become an expert at making moist, low cal microwave cake. :)

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    1. Yes, that's the recipe! Don't you love it? I'm going to ask for suggestions for different toppings.

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    2. Toppings? You told me once that all I have to do is place Hershey bars on top of a warm cake...instant icing!

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  2. I too am photographically challenged. Even with my iphone my pictures are blurry. How can they be blurry when there is no lens to adjust?
    Love your post. Makes me know that all writing geniuses - like us - have tiny inability.

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  3. Well, Jesse and I thought the video was great. :)

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  4. That is so much fun. I usually get 10 minutes of me walking or griping or gossiping after the video should have been stopped.

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  5. More than once I've tried to take pictures only to find I was shooting video instead. The results are, well, interesting.

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  6. Yes, Maria, that's another little goof I've made that I forgot to mention.

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  7. Oh, Dee Dee, that video is hilarious. I am still laughing out loud!

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    1. Glad I could bring a little "chuckle" into your day. :-)

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