Camera Gear and Character Development

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The Houseguest was due Thursday afternoon. The package from B&H arrived at 2:30 PM. Dutifully, I parked the unopened box of adventure in the studio and finished my last minute chores. The next two hours was about temptation. It took a will of iron, but I emerged from the struggle victorious. I am proud of myself.

You see, I knew that waiting inside that box was a Canon STE transmitter along with another light stand and umbrella bracket. Once I ripped through that cardboard, I would enter the next phase of my lighting education. It took stern reminders through the next two hours to resist reaching for the box opener. Why did I resist? I knew that once I opened that box, I would be long gone. The place would, once again, be a mess and I would be totally distracted until long after our guest left. I might not even have noticed her arrival, and that wouldn’t have made any points with The Husband.

So, I waited.

Delayed gratification builds character, right? It darn sure better do something good for me.

Houseguest

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Houseguest. Do you have any idea what terror that word instills in the heart of a woman who isn’t great with housework. You know, forgets the dusting on a regular basis? On Sunday evening, The Husband casually announced, “By the way, my niece is arriving on Thursday. She will be taking off sometime Friday.” Yikes. Not long enough to fully register how dysfunctional this place still is, but definitely long enough to see the dust and notice a couple of rooms that clearly look as though someone is in the midst of either moving in, or moving out.

But, I just dusted a week ago. How did the place get so dusty, so fast? Whine. As for the boxes and clutter in those couple of rooms, I want a big banner that stretches all the way across the living room reading, “It’s about my bad back.” But, that isn’t the whole story. The truth is, it’s also about those cameras.

Hmm. Maybe I should have just wored with what I'm good at and gone for a new style of decorating. I’ll have to work out the details later, but I’m getting images of frames (empty and with some with prints) stacked everywhere—leaning against every piece of furniture. Cameras and lenses on pretty much every flat surface. Prints of every possible size stuck on the sides of anything and everything. Stacks of cables, lens caps, printing paper, camera batteries strewn about—artfully, of course. I may call it Photographer’s Grunge Chic. Hey, why not turn part of the kitchen into a darkroom. That would produce tons of chaos. No, wait. I don’t have a film camera, much less film. Still, what’s to stop me from buying a few rolls of film and stringing it here and there for garland? The place wouldn’t be clean, but it would clearly explain the reason behind the dust and clutter. Feel free to toss in your submission for an alternative name, as well as your own variations of this style.

I’m not certain that The Husband will be on board for this. I think I’ll continue dusting and cleaning, just in case. See ya.