For Canada’s 139th, Aaron and Karen braved the rainy weather and hosted a small gathering for a barbecue. By the time I arrived, several hours early from helping Trolley in the morning, I was tired, moody, and smelling rather fresh, so I decided to leave by the time people were supposed to arrive in the afternoon. Fortunately, Pat and Jen showed up early too, bringing with them a deck of Dutch Blitz. It was a game I had never played before, but grew addicted to quickly. The fast-paced, and convivial nature of the game lightened my mood, and by the second round I was feeling jovial. There were other games too — bullet chess, Trivial Pursuit (90’s Edition, which the guys won for the first time ever), Soul Calibur 2 — all of which I partook through the rest of the evening.
I had such a good time that I ended up staying the night because I missed my last bus. In the morning, we slowly rose with coffee and greasy food, eventually playing some more Dutch Blitz before I had to leave.
It’s hard to remember a time when I was so at ease in a large group, or when I laughed so much. Maybe we’ve finally cut out the intolerable people, the ones who rub me the wrong way with their simple presence. Maybe, as a sign of my growing confidence, I’m getting more comfortable around other people.
Or maybe it’s a combination of both.
wow, excellent pictures! you really have an eye for taking great photographs.
Aw, Jeff, that was a very sweet and kind comment! Thank you. :) The photos all look fantastic, I think, and it was definitely a fun time. Hope refurnishing is going well.
wish my photos had as good light exposure as yours.
the lighting in all your photos is fantastic!
Is that straight off the memory chip? or do you ‘fiddle’ with them?
cheers
A lovely Canada Day! and superb photos as usual. Captures the joy and comfort you talk of quite well.
Thanks to everyone for the great feedback!
As for the exposure, I find that Canon’s ETTL system takes care of it automatically. The lighting conditions weren’t too tricky, and I cheat by using a flash. I also fiddle with them in Photoshop, sometimes greatly, so it only makes it seem like I’m a better photographer. Here’s a clickable example (I’ll be making a little site later of all my photoshoppery): http://equivocality.com/images/misc/pita.html
Jeff, you capture the most awesome photographs of people! The “As elegant as a glass of wine” is absolutely beautiful. And as a fiddler in Photoshop myself, I know you still need to have a quality photo to begin with. Even PS has limitations LOL