"IF YOU STAND THERE YOU'RE GOING TO BE RIGHT IN THE W..."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Shot a few additional photos for a church website today. They had a BBO / potluck. Well before any of the hogs bellied up to the trough, I stood with my tripod at the front of the chow line to get a few photos. An elderly woman marched up to me and declared "IF YOU STAND THERE YOU'RE GOING TO BE RIGHT IN THE W..."

...that's as far as she got because my intention was to block JACK SHIT, and I already had the photos I needed, and I was walking away from her as she attempted to chew a piece of my ass.

Not that I would mind someone politely informing me that I might be in the way.

This woman made an assumption and attempted to assert her authority and then ended up wiping her ass with her authority because she was WRONG, she was ABRUPT, she was fucking RUDE, and she KNEW IT...and recognized it in time to shut the fuck UP.

I'd say 75% of the clients I visit for onsite photography have some form of "YOU ARE IN MY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" person trying to climb up my ass.

75 fuckin' PERCENT.

:grouphug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Amerigo Vespucci...

I'm sorry you had to endure that. NOBODY should ever talk to you that way, ever.

You, sir, are a professional. You did not chew her up and spit her out (as she richly deserved) because you have class.

:hug:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Thanks CP, and as a fellow photographer...

...that means quite a lot coming from you.

I feel like I've been very respectful through the course of the project, and for the most part, people have been that way to me...

...but there has been that ten percent, like this woman, like the still photographer who walked directly in the line of my video camera while I was videotaping a wedding for the site (and she IS in the final cut...she did it in the EXACT 60-second sequence I needed to use).

The thing that kills me the most is the church paid me to design a Website to attract new members, and if this incident happened with someone visiting for the first time, they would NEVER come back.

Then again, it's not my battle, not my problem. I did my job above and beyond the call of duty and that doesn't extend to "controlling" the rude behavior of the church or its members.

Thanks again for reminding me that I'm a professional, CP...I do my best.

:grouphug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Ah, thank you...

I am no professional...and you ARE.

I appreciate your thoughtful words.

Once in a while, I get a good shot, but it's mostly because I'm lucky, not because of any real skill...

You do your best, and it's outstanding!

Don't let the bastards get you down.

:hug:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. Here's what I was doing when I got yelled at

She started yelling as I finished that last photo, at the front of the line.

I believe people love BBQs and potlucks, for the most part...it helps fill a gap that exists of they never had "family cookouts," or if they just love that side of life so much that too much is never enough.

So they had an impressive spread, and I wanted to capture it...TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO THE CHURCH.

But, as you say, I did, and "Illegitimis non Carborundum"...these photos are going on the site.

:toast:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Wow, what a spread!

I just had lunch, and boy, I'm wanting me some of that!

They should get lots of new members based on those all by themselves...

I don't even care that much for watermelon, and those look amazing!

You done good!

:yourock:

[Call Me Wesley]

4. Uh my ...

I don't think I could do this job anymore, so big, big kudos to you. I remember a client who wanted some 'water ski pictures.' (This was aeons ago, I went on a different path afterward.) So I thought, 'cool, I set up my stuff at the beach while they drive by.' Wrong. I ended up being on a little boat that dragged the skier behind it. Oh, and they provided the film rolls. One 36er. The boat went up and down and up and down, fast and hard.

Unfortunately, they were pissed because not all of the 36 pictures turned out to be in any focus at all. I was more concerned about my 180mm lense holding on to my Nikon F2 then.

Bah.

Sometimes, it's as good as to have not only the main client, but the 'graphic artist,' the son of the client and his niece and the 'graphic artist's' printer and great aunt sitting in the studio while shooting. That is real fun. Especially, when the 'graphic artist' starts to look at the scene turning his hand into a lense pretending to be Richard Avedon or Stanley Kubrick.

I'm now a hobby photographer. Honestly, I enjoy it much more. ;)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. I have photography in my blood, because...

...as a kid, a really, really little kid...6 or 7...I helped my dad in his darkroom. In the old days, well before the words "digital photography" even existed...a little darkroom with a red safelite and tongs and trays of chemicals and clothespins to hand up the prints as they dry. Me helping my dad, "bitten by the bug."

It's in the blood, and that's all there is to it. I love it.

And my photography is distinctive. It's not perfect, I don't pretend it is, and to be honest, that's not my objective. I want to be REAL, warts and all.

In this same church...coincidentally enough...one of the pastors paid me a wonderful compliment. The wall colors, wood and carpeting offer a perplexing challenge. The photos come out with a high orange / pastel tint. He saw the batch of photos I took of the interior of the church, and as a fellow photographer, asked me how I did it. "It's like you lifted the roof off of the building and let the natural light flood in."

So that's why I was cautious to present the rudeness as a minority...but a high minority, it is 10% at least, and the level of it befuddles me.

In the long run, I love what I do and am so committed to it, that is a pitifully small price to pay.

Thank you so much for your kind words.

[Call Me Wesley]

8. "Warts and all."

Love it! IMHO, there's no perfection anywhere, but there's honesty, and from what I've seen of your work, the honesty is there, and it's good; it's true.

Darkrooms, I remember them well; the safelite took some time to lighten up, the eyes took some time. I spent many winter days arriving when it was dark going into the darkroom and coming out when it was again dark outside. And I still can roll up a film in total darkness for developing.

Photography is a passion, it's an art. I still have my old equipment, although I'm not using it anymore. Now I just have a little D5 and a nice lens I mostly shoot with. And I have fun with photoshop filters and especially HDR-treatment. As I said, it's now a hobby.

I do shoot with Polaroid again. That's the instant-analog-digital of yesteryear. Love it.