Sunday, August 17, 2008

Flattery

will get you everywhere with me...


Yesterday was Sunday and I was basically been hanging out around the house. I made some brownies, done some laundry, answered emails, etc. Nothing really.


I am about to move so I started going through my room to start packing the small things - things I can have packed for a couple of weeks and not miss. Pictures are a part of this category for me. I love having pictures of my family, friends and animals around me - reminding me of good times and special events. I've gotten in the habit of taking special pictures and getting them enlarged to an 8x10 prints. As I was going through a stack of pictures, I found 2 old pictures of my sisters and I on different family trips. I had wanted to blow them up and I needed to get it done before my mom noticed the pictures missing. Plus I had a picture of my nephew from his baptism last week that I wanted to print as well.

So I head to Wally World - not my favorite place - to get my prints made. (In a few months, our store will have the machines which produce prints and I am so excited!) I stand and wait forever... (WARNING: rant to follow: People, come on! If there are three people waiting for the machines, and you have over 350 pictures from your trip to Italy, offer to wait!!! You're going to be there forever anyway and I am not a patient lady.) So, once it was my turn, I made prints from our pictures and then pulled out my camera for my memory card to print the picture of William. I do my thing and then go to the counter to pay.

I hand over my prints for the Wallygirl to ring up and put in a folder. She stops at the picture I took of William - she studies it for a few moments. Here's the picture in question.





It's a good picture (if I may say so myself), and I had zoomed in on William, enlarged it, and changed it to print in sepia. It had turned out really well. The people waiting to use the machine after me had also seen it and ooed and awed over it. I was super excited.


So I'm waiting on the Wallygirl to finish packaging up my pictures and after studying my picture of William, she looks up at me and says, "Is this a professional shot?"


I shake my head and say "no". She looks back at me meeting my eye and says, "You took this?"

"Yeah, it's my nephew" I answer her, thinking she's just going gaga over a cute baby picture.


"You sure? 'Cause it looks like a professional pic," Now I'm beginning to hear the edge in her voice and I look back at her.


"Yes." I say firmly, opening my purse. "I have one on my camera if you need to verify it."


"Oh, no. I just have to ask." She turns away, packages my prints and rings me up. I pay and leave the store, smarting from her implication that I was 'stealing' my picture.

I get home, frame the pictures and place them around my room. I was still a little prickly in mind to what the Wallygirl had said until I really look at the picture - it looks great and could be mistaken for a professional picture. So, I'm going to take it as a compliment. It's the first time any of my pictures have been mistaken for "professional" shots. Which makes me one step closer to the job of my dreams.

So, if any of you need a photographer - I am available!

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