Shot of the Shooter

Shot of the Shooter

sea gull

I tend to like shooting birds … with my camera, I mean. I seem to have better luck with them more than anything. I have lousy luck shooting my cat; she won’t sit still for it. And I feel self-conscious shooting people, like I’m intruding on their privacy or something.

H.E., on the other hand, loves shooting people. He has tricks, that one. We went to the beach once, and he took a million shots of people while they were unaware. He’d set the shot up first, then look away, as if to talk with me, and meantime his finger remains on that button, click-clicking away. Clicking away until the people lose their self-consciousness and fall back into being themselves. That, and he has an uncanny sense of what would look good in black and white. Me, I’m into blues and greens and golds, with maybe splashes of reds. He’s good, whatever lenses he uses, especially the wide, and me … I prefer the zoom.

He has a ton of shots of me by now, and while they’re really not his best shots, he loves them. All because some dumpy-looking girl is in them. Fool. My favorite is the one of me, crouching at a bridge while trying to take a picture of a bird (typical). But did he send me that one? Noooo. He sent me this one instead.

He took it with his wide angle lens set wide, so I look somewhat short and squat. That, and I’m at my heaviest right now, after having gorged on Maryland seafood, holiday feasts, and months and years of absolutely no exercise. I’m also wearing jeans that are a size or two too big for me, and they haven’t been washed in ages, so they’re even more loose than normal. I’ve got a couple of big bags on me, so I look a little shapeless; on my left is my camera bag, with plenty of room yet for more equipment I don’t have, and on my right is my new purse.

The purse is the biggest I’ve ever had. I’ve always had small purses. Tiny. Enough width to house a checkbook and no wider. But I needed a new purse, and H.E. thought this one with its casual denim and easy style would be perfect for me. So he got it, and I’ve been using it ever since. He got me the denim jacket, too. The hoodie underneath is from my mom. Really, about the only thing I’m wearing that I picked out myself are those awful-looking jeans. People get me cute stuff, and they fit great on me. I get myself something, and it’s ill-fitting or baggy.

The godawful hair bun thing atop my head? That’s what fascinated the ferret. It’s really just my very long braid tightly wrapped around itself three or four times. Left hanging from the top of my head, it goes down to my butt. Outside of the braid entirely, the hair goes down to below my knees when wet.

So you see? Dumpy-looking. Especially compared to the locals here. I’m taking a picture of the Huntington Beach pier in that shot, and Huntington Beach is full of tanned blondes with perfect bodies, fashionable clothes, and expensive gas-guzzling cars. As soon as I feel more comfortable shooting people, I’ll post a few photos as proof. The only people shots I’ve posted so far were of Mexicans playing soccer at an open park. They’re here in Huntington Beach, too, but they’re usually working on the landscaping or on cars. When I got my new car a few months ago, all the stations set on the radio were Spanish-speaking.

More on that later, but for now, here you are … a shot of the shooter.

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6 thoughts on “Shot of the Shooter

  1. Hey April! You are much, much too hard on yourself in regard to your jeans. My gosh, you look fine….and I’m not just saying that either…you really do look fine. At least as much as you can tell from that photo. : )

    Your hair bun does look pretty massive. Do you normally wear it in this bun or a braid? You’ll have to share a braid picture at some point.

    Where is Huntington Beach? Obviously California, but not sure where on the coast–between LA and San Diego?

    I can think of one photo I took on a trip to NYC of my brother taking a picture, basically me taking a picture of him taking a picture.

  2. Thanks, Drew. 🙂

    H.E. is always telling me I’m too hard on myself. Then again, he’s convinced I’m a hottie, so I never believe him, lol.

    As for the braid/bun, it’s always in a braid, but I sometimes end up sitting on it and getting my head caught, so I’m constantly wrapping the braid around itself so that it’s in a bun as well.

    By the way, HB is in OC — Orange County — which is in between Los Angeles and San Diego.

  3. Well, I don’t have much to go on but the backside but I don’t think you have much to worry about. You certainly don’t look fat.

    There is a lady that I sometimes sit near at basketball games that has really long hair and always wears it in a braid. She will like fasten the bottom of the braid to the middle. So it looks like her hair is mid-back but part of the braid is like double-braid. I’m guessing it’s a little past butt length.

    It’s a little weird that your hair in a braid is butt length and when it’s loose it goes all the way down to your knees….and I guess below your knees when it’s wet? Your hair actually reaches your knee caps when it’s down? That’s pretty impressive! Your co-workers/friends probably don’t even realize how long your hair really is.

    Is Huntington anywhere close to Carlsbad or San Juan Capistrano? I’ve been to those place on a vacation a long time ago.

  4. Yep on the hair, and no, many of them don’t realize how long my hair is.

    As for Huntington, it’s north of both Carlsbad and San Juan Capistrano. I used to live just east of Carlsbad, in Vista, and I used to drive through San Juan Capistrano everyday on my way to and from work. 🙂

  5. Perhaps some day you will reward us with a photo of your hair down in all it’s glory – it sounds stunning!

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