Photography
Blaspheming Hooligans » Sun, Mar 25th 2007 10:59 pm
Earlier this week, I was reminded that I’d half-agreed to visit Sean in Kincardine. Immediately, my stomach began to eat itself while my brain compiled a list of “cons”: I’d be three hours away from home, staying with five others in a place built for two, and there would of course be drinking. Probably lots of the latter.
I swallowed hard, and finalized the plans. There was no looking back! In fact, after I’d taken the plunge, my anxiety pretty much disappeared. It came back in short, tiny bursts a couple times the night before, but was easily shooed away by reassuring myself that everything was packed and nothing could go wrong.
Now that I’m back, I can pretty much say that it went swimmingly. My only regret was not bringing a better blanket, though apparently, had I only listened to Sean and adjusted the heat on my room’s radiator, my towel-like sheet might have been sufficient. Next time…
This photo was sort of a mission for me. I spotted the church right as we arrived in town and told myself that I would get a photo of it before leaving this place.
When night fell, we decided that we needed a deck of playing cards (Sean, somehow, lacked this obvious necessity). So, with their sobriety in question, they all opted for a trip on foot to the corner store; my camera and tripod tagged along.
The walk was nice. The air was chilly, but a welcomed change from the heavy humidity of the overpopulated bungalow. And we were all grateful that it afforded Sean the opportunity to, um, “exhaust” his dinner while, coincidentally, expressing his doubt towards the validity of the Global Warming theory. I accidently slowed behind the pack for a brief, regrettable moment and I can say with absolute conviction that the gasses that I was exposed to were, without question, harmful to my health.
Somehow, I managed to make it to the store under the power of my own legs. I stepped inside for a moment, but noticed the clerk looking slightly antsy at the sight of my massive camera and tripod. Worried that he might suspect it was a weapon and open fire on me, I retreated outside where the girls and Ray were standing under the large “No Loitering” sign.
Ray and I stood in awe while Gloria and Denise performed drunken duets to songs on a shared MP3 player. Their volume had been increasing steadily since we left the house; a crescendo they somehow managed to maintain for the entire 40-minute excursion. Bravo, ladies.
While we made our way from the store to the church, Sean remarked on the “badness” of our “gang”: He, carrying a grocery bag with milk and cards; myself, dressed in a blazer while carrying a tripod and a camera; Steve, gleefully munching on his bag of candy while offering everyone a piece; and two girls, stumbling to the broken beat of their own voices while they sung (loudly) songs by the Spice Girls. Ray was, thankfully, wearing a black hooded sweater and so we were at least that intimidating. And, luckily, we were in Kincardine, where the only reported incident of gang violence was probably filed by a small elderly woman after having been frightened by a pack of hungry raccoons.
We made it to the church without conflict. I walked around in circles for a few seconds, trying to find the perfect shot, when someone pointed out that the moon was visible. Delighted, I setup my tripod and mounted my camera, with the lens pointing almost straight up at the sky. It was at this point that the girls stopped singing for a moment, only to ask if they were blocking my shot of the sky. A thoughtful question, were it not for the fact that they were standing a good 20 feet away from my upwardly-aimed lens. They shrugged at our laughter and sung even louder.
Eventually, after trying a few different perspectives, I got this shot — careful to include the image of “Big J” above the door. I took three exposures and promptly dismantled my camera and tripod with my nearly-numb bare hands, and we headed back.
By the way, the title of the post suggests something more sinister than the photo itself, and was inspired by the memory of Steve, by means of the large flood light, projecting himself onto the church’s front wall where he then proceeded to “shadow hump” its steeple.
1 Pete on Mon, Mar 26th 2007 3:43 pm
I’m shocked to learn you play cards.
Nice shot though.
2 Aaron on Mon, Mar 26th 2007 3:58 pm
We basically played “war” with six people. It then (d?)evolved into a drinking game…
3 Tyler on Tue, Mar 27th 2007 10:37 am
Ha! Yeah, that sounds like Steve.
4 Kevin on Thu, Mar 29th 2007 8:22 am
I’m surprised he had his pants on. Unless you failed to mention that interesting detail.
5 Aaron on Thu, Mar 29th 2007 9:52 am
I think we — and any Kincardiners who had a clear view of the church that night — can be grateful that it was probably too cold for him to remove his pants.
6 Kevin on Thu, Mar 29th 2007 11:38 am
Although the laugh would have made seeing his junk worth while.
7 Aaron on Thu, Mar 29th 2007 12:03 pm
He was pretty close to that light, man… The locals would have bore witness to a 2000-times magnified silhouette of a wang on their church. Though I guess that’s really not much further over the line than the humping…
Ok, happy thoughts now.