Since you've been gone... -- Outtakes April 6, 2015

Are you ready to laugh?

Aleah chose a different shot for this week, but the weather wasn't cooperating.  So we adjusted to the color wheel you saw.  We've never had to take so many shots for a family picture, except perhaps chinagins.  David strapped the tripod out over the top of our tall orchard ladder.  We triggered the shutter with a wireless adapter on the camera that ties to an app on my phone.  We came in after our normal eight to ten shots, having taken the set down entirely to retrieve the camera and its precious SD card.

While we were taking the shot, there was a low blanket of clouds across the sky, probably at the same level the sun was skimming the horizon, so the light was scattered across and through the cover.  It didn't affect my eyes at all.  Nor Cambry's or Aleah's, on either side of me.  But David was groaning in pain the entire take that the light was hurting his eyes.  When we came in and pulled up the shots, there was not one shot where Dave didn't show agony in his expression or hands rubbing his eyes.  Josie and Parker too were obviously affected; in fact Josie was never looking at the camera (sky?).

So we went back out, setting up in the canyon between our house and the one to the east.  It didn't help much.  I laughed so hard at their moans (nice, huh?) remembering what I'd seen in the first set of shots, that I had to wipe tears from my eyes and my stomach was sore.  The irony was that by the time we were taking the second set of shots, the weather was calm and we could have taken the shot we'd originally planned.  But we soldiered on, generaled by the comfortable, convinced the very next picture would print success.

The second take gave us a usable picture AND plenty to laugh about.  Even as we said family prayer that night, I could hear a clenched-teeth growl in my mind.  So enjoy the outtakes.