Post by Erik Donally on Aug 3, 2013 16:08:04 GMT -5
Erik sat crouched next to a tree, his right shoulder pressed against its wide trunk. He could feel the rough bark scratching at him through the thin cotton t-shirt he was wearing, but he was too concentrated to notice anything more than a light tickle. He sighed, leaning forward to capture a photograph, his camera poised perfectly between his hands. He put his eye to the peep hole, catching his fifth photograph of a family. They had came to picnic at the jungle gym just a half an hour before, and their noise had disrupted the pictures he had been taking of squirrels playing in the dappled sunlight that fell through the trees to pattern the ground. Abandoning all hopes of taking anymore photographs of the strange creatures, he focused on the family. It wasn't that he came to the park to take creeper shots or anything, but he just happened to have an interest in people watching.
Zooming in, he caught a few shots of a little girl playing on the monkey bars with what appeared to be her younger sister. They held hands while hanging upside down. It was kind of cute, something he would have done with his sister when they were kids. He zoomed in on their handhold, thin wrists and small fingers locking together as they hung together, rubber bracelets sliding up and down their wrists. They were swinging back and forth, which made it hard to capture the image, but he figured he got it pretty good. He wanted it to look like an action shot. He couldn't wait to get home and develop it, perhaps even edit it and send it in to one contest or another. He loved when people saw his work, and he hoped they got it like he did. Everyone saw things differently, so he didn't want them to all see exactly what he was seeing, but he wanted someone to feel inspired by his work.
Moving on from the two little girls, he focused on a stroller left with a balloon tied to it. He didn't really care where the baby was, as that was not his focus. Instead, he wanted to zoom in on the shiny red balloon, perhaps catch whatever was reflected in its surface. He found himself leaning forwards with interest. There were trees and people in the red latex, and it created an interesting image. Just as he was about to snap the shot, a trail of smoke twirled into view, distracting him from the balloon. Frustrated, he realized it sort of defeated the picture. The smoke made it harder to see the balloon's reflexive surface, and he groaned, leaning back. That was the problem with taking photographs out in the open - sometimes the weather changed or people were in the way, and he just had to deal.
Interested, however, he moved the camera, tracing the smoke. He finally found the cigarette, held in the grip of thin fingers. He snapped a few pictures, capturing the glowing orange tip and slowly burning rolling paper as the man continued to smoke. He liked the way the smoke twisted higher and higher into the sky as the cigarette continued to burn down. He personally didn't like the idea of smoking in a park, where there were families only a few feet away, but he wasn't there to judge. Instead, he wondered what made him smoke. Was it addiction or just a personal want that made him pick up a new pack every once in a while, put the cancerous stick in between his teeth and suck in? Slowly, his view shifted to the man he was questioning so much. He was surprised to find a boy his age - someone who was possibly too young to smoke. A floppy piece of black hair was tossed over his face, covering it partially. His thin lips parted, and for the first time, Erik actually witnessed the smoker take a drag. Before he could even think it over, he was taking pictures of the boy, fascinated by his unconventional looks and burning cig.
He didn't take into consideration the fact that he was only a few feet away. Instead, he continued to take his candid pictures, hoping that he wouldn't mind. He just seemed to be situated perfectly. For someone who wasn't even aware of being photographed, Erik found it hard for him to understand how posed he was. The sun was setting behind him, his smoke trail leading into a blue and orange horizon, trees and grass slowly becoming darker in the evening light. It was an amazing shot, actually inspirational in one way or another.
Zooming in, he caught a few shots of a little girl playing on the monkey bars with what appeared to be her younger sister. They held hands while hanging upside down. It was kind of cute, something he would have done with his sister when they were kids. He zoomed in on their handhold, thin wrists and small fingers locking together as they hung together, rubber bracelets sliding up and down their wrists. They were swinging back and forth, which made it hard to capture the image, but he figured he got it pretty good. He wanted it to look like an action shot. He couldn't wait to get home and develop it, perhaps even edit it and send it in to one contest or another. He loved when people saw his work, and he hoped they got it like he did. Everyone saw things differently, so he didn't want them to all see exactly what he was seeing, but he wanted someone to feel inspired by his work.
Moving on from the two little girls, he focused on a stroller left with a balloon tied to it. He didn't really care where the baby was, as that was not his focus. Instead, he wanted to zoom in on the shiny red balloon, perhaps catch whatever was reflected in its surface. He found himself leaning forwards with interest. There were trees and people in the red latex, and it created an interesting image. Just as he was about to snap the shot, a trail of smoke twirled into view, distracting him from the balloon. Frustrated, he realized it sort of defeated the picture. The smoke made it harder to see the balloon's reflexive surface, and he groaned, leaning back. That was the problem with taking photographs out in the open - sometimes the weather changed or people were in the way, and he just had to deal.
Interested, however, he moved the camera, tracing the smoke. He finally found the cigarette, held in the grip of thin fingers. He snapped a few pictures, capturing the glowing orange tip and slowly burning rolling paper as the man continued to smoke. He liked the way the smoke twisted higher and higher into the sky as the cigarette continued to burn down. He personally didn't like the idea of smoking in a park, where there were families only a few feet away, but he wasn't there to judge. Instead, he wondered what made him smoke. Was it addiction or just a personal want that made him pick up a new pack every once in a while, put the cancerous stick in between his teeth and suck in? Slowly, his view shifted to the man he was questioning so much. He was surprised to find a boy his age - someone who was possibly too young to smoke. A floppy piece of black hair was tossed over his face, covering it partially. His thin lips parted, and for the first time, Erik actually witnessed the smoker take a drag. Before he could even think it over, he was taking pictures of the boy, fascinated by his unconventional looks and burning cig.
He didn't take into consideration the fact that he was only a few feet away. Instead, he continued to take his candid pictures, hoping that he wouldn't mind. He just seemed to be situated perfectly. For someone who wasn't even aware of being photographed, Erik found it hard for him to understand how posed he was. The sun was setting behind him, his smoke trail leading into a blue and orange horizon, trees and grass slowly becoming darker in the evening light. It was an amazing shot, actually inspirational in one way or another.
