just called me to tell me that our Kia inspection is over and the car is ready to be picked up. Conversation goes as follows-
Ring ring
Me- Hello this is Katie.
Dude- HeytheKiasdone
Me- (after taking a milisecond to register what was said to me.) Oh, uh, okay, great. Thanks.
Dude- (Click)
Wise sage who saves his energy for more important conversations, or antisocial mechanic? You decide.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A Picture Can Say a 1,000 Tacky Things
Today’s life lesson- If you ever feel bad or down about yourself, check in on Awkward Family Photos. There is truly no end to the abuse of cameras. Any old Joe out there since photography was invented has thought himself a photographer. And their abuse of this artistic medium is now all on one convenient website.
Which brings me to my next thought- What do you think makes certain photographic trends popular? Is it that they really are great ideas and I am the one that doesn’t get it? OR, is it that the customers have poor taste and are just flaming the tacky photo fire?? Let’s ponder a few photography trends that I can’t get my head around…
Color Coding Families- Okay, I GET that if you’re all wearing the same color, you might think that it complements the photos because there is an association going on and everyone matches and the coloring is easy on the eye. This dude I briefly dated had a great example of this- a huge print in their living room showed he and his family, casually posed at the beach, ALL of them in white linen. The reason I hate this trend is this- 1- you look creepy, because unless you are a CHILD, you should not be dressing in the same outfit as your brother. 2- This actually makes the photo feel as unnatural as humanly possible. If you and your 40 year old brother showed up to a party in the same exact outfit, something tells me that you’d be a little, cough, weirded out and stay clear of eachother. That, or make it a photo op! Also, shouldn’t you all be allowed to express your own artistic outlooks on fashion? Why would you want someone to look back at said photo 50 years from now and go – wow, white linen was REALLY in fashion. But in a strange twist, I find matching outfits for little girls or boys adorable and charming. Even more-so if one outfit is slightly varied than the other? No words. I just squeak with the cuteness thrown at me.
Staging Graduates with their “Hobbies and Interests”- My husband was a victim of this trend. Granted, he was freakishly attractive at 18, so you really can’t say it’s a bad photo, but…he also has on a soccer windbreaker and is holding a soccer ball. Ok, so now I know he liked soccer. Duly noted. He also has a group photo of him and his bros with their guitars. So, if there is ever a nuclear fallout, at least the world would know that my guy took his hobbies seriously enough to constitute bringing them in for documentation. What about those poor saps who really don’t have a way of showing their interests?? I mean what would I have done? Held a book up like I just so happened to stumble upon a photographer as I pondered over Anna Karenina in the woods? Nope, I would probably be a “Tree Kid ” or maybe if I’m lucky, a “Railroad Tie Fence Kid”. You know exactly the poor saps I’m talkin about. The poor Tree Kid doesn’t even have a chance. I mean, what is that?? “ Hey, I am popping my head around this tree to scare you! P.S. I’m 18 and am old enough to vote and go to war. Tee hee hee” At least Railroad Tie Kid gets to look a little aloof and carefree by doing the side-lean on the fence. They got that going for them.
1980s Floating Head School Photo- Thank the LORD that my mother put her taste-foot down on 7 year old me. Go back in time with me to 1988 or so. Photos were taken of young classmates of mine, you know, your classic pose, showing the mid-torso and up, but then…there it is…this close up shot of a that same child’s head, just floating magically in the corner. Maybe the head is looking at its smaller self, maybe not. I’m not really sure if there is a message behind this kind of design, like, we are all our own gods, or maybe some dude in 1981 smoked a little too much while he was editing some photos and it grew like wild fire. I don’t know, but all I know is that I have my mother to thank for not being in possession of any of these creepy photos. She hated this trend. When I was a kid I couldn’t understand WHY she would shun such beauty. She even gave the smack-down to the laser beam back-drop and opted for the classic blue background. I remember even one instance where I was getting my holy communion photos and the photographer wanted to take some shots of me in this huge Basilica. It would have been me, but me praying in a pew with a upshot of this massive church behind me, me in the right-hand lower corner of the shot. My Mom wanted NOTHING to do with this idea. He was amazed at her scoff. The photographer, and me, didn’t get it. She did. So she told him. She wasn’t paying him because she wanted nice photos of a church, and moreover, a church she didn’t even belong to or have any affiliation with. She wanted shots of me, and ONLY me. Because apparently Big Cath will dare as she may with hair trends or clothing options, but she was, and is, a photographic purist. Bring on the kid, and only the kid. Nothing wrong with that.
Which brings me to my next thought- What do you think makes certain photographic trends popular? Is it that they really are great ideas and I am the one that doesn’t get it? OR, is it that the customers have poor taste and are just flaming the tacky photo fire?? Let’s ponder a few photography trends that I can’t get my head around…
Color Coding Families- Okay, I GET that if you’re all wearing the same color, you might think that it complements the photos because there is an association going on and everyone matches and the coloring is easy on the eye. This dude I briefly dated had a great example of this- a huge print in their living room showed he and his family, casually posed at the beach, ALL of them in white linen. The reason I hate this trend is this- 1- you look creepy, because unless you are a CHILD, you should not be dressing in the same outfit as your brother. 2- This actually makes the photo feel as unnatural as humanly possible. If you and your 40 year old brother showed up to a party in the same exact outfit, something tells me that you’d be a little, cough, weirded out and stay clear of eachother. That, or make it a photo op! Also, shouldn’t you all be allowed to express your own artistic outlooks on fashion? Why would you want someone to look back at said photo 50 years from now and go – wow, white linen was REALLY in fashion. But in a strange twist, I find matching outfits for little girls or boys adorable and charming. Even more-so if one outfit is slightly varied than the other? No words. I just squeak with the cuteness thrown at me.
Staging Graduates with their “Hobbies and Interests”- My husband was a victim of this trend. Granted, he was freakishly attractive at 18, so you really can’t say it’s a bad photo, but…he also has on a soccer windbreaker and is holding a soccer ball. Ok, so now I know he liked soccer. Duly noted. He also has a group photo of him and his bros with their guitars. So, if there is ever a nuclear fallout, at least the world would know that my guy took his hobbies seriously enough to constitute bringing them in for documentation. What about those poor saps who really don’t have a way of showing their interests?? I mean what would I have done? Held a book up like I just so happened to stumble upon a photographer as I pondered over Anna Karenina in the woods? Nope, I would probably be a “Tree Kid ” or maybe if I’m lucky, a “Railroad Tie Fence Kid”. You know exactly the poor saps I’m talkin about. The poor Tree Kid doesn’t even have a chance. I mean, what is that?? “ Hey, I am popping my head around this tree to scare you! P.S. I’m 18 and am old enough to vote and go to war. Tee hee hee” At least Railroad Tie Kid gets to look a little aloof and carefree by doing the side-lean on the fence. They got that going for them.
1980s Floating Head School Photo- Thank the LORD that my mother put her taste-foot down on 7 year old me. Go back in time with me to 1988 or so. Photos were taken of young classmates of mine, you know, your classic pose, showing the mid-torso and up, but then…there it is…this close up shot of a that same child’s head, just floating magically in the corner. Maybe the head is looking at its smaller self, maybe not. I’m not really sure if there is a message behind this kind of design, like, we are all our own gods, or maybe some dude in 1981 smoked a little too much while he was editing some photos and it grew like wild fire. I don’t know, but all I know is that I have my mother to thank for not being in possession of any of these creepy photos. She hated this trend. When I was a kid I couldn’t understand WHY she would shun such beauty. She even gave the smack-down to the laser beam back-drop and opted for the classic blue background. I remember even one instance where I was getting my holy communion photos and the photographer wanted to take some shots of me in this huge Basilica. It would have been me, but me praying in a pew with a upshot of this massive church behind me, me in the right-hand lower corner of the shot. My Mom wanted NOTHING to do with this idea. He was amazed at her scoff. The photographer, and me, didn’t get it. She did. So she told him. She wasn’t paying him because she wanted nice photos of a church, and moreover, a church she didn’t even belong to or have any affiliation with. She wanted shots of me, and ONLY me. Because apparently Big Cath will dare as she may with hair trends or clothing options, but she was, and is, a photographic purist. Bring on the kid, and only the kid. Nothing wrong with that.
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