It all started with me sending a 'I haven't photographed anything in a few days and I'm feeling very sorry for myself' sort of text to my mate Jay. About 5 mins later (which is very unlike Jay's texting skills as he happens to be the most sporadic texter in the universe) he replied saying that he was free the next evening and hows about he takes me to a surprise location to take some photos? A few excited texts later and the plan was set.
Next evening he arrived a half hour early, to which was when the fun abuse/banter began for the evening. I was not ready and insisted he had his times wrong and that he was too early. Only when I checked my texts the next day I discovered that Jay was indeed on time and it was me who got the times wrong - but Jay is still blissfully unaware of this fact. At least until he reads this!
Anyway, off we went in his car. This time he had a fuller petrol tank than the last time we went on a photographic mission (to see what happened on that trip click here!) and I had absolutely no idea where we were headed. But it didn't really matter. We could have been going to the dingiest place on the planet and I would have been happy with the result. Those who know me well know how much photography work has taken over my life lately and not in the best way either. The learning curves have not been easy and I've tended to forget to let myself go and breathe. I forgot to be me. The happy me. But I can easily say that as soon as Jay arrived on my doorstep till the time I arrived back home a few hours later, I didn't once think about what was stressing me out.
So, where did we end up going? Sketrick Island in Strangford Lough! I had never been there before - I didn't even know it existed until we arrived and parked the car. Jay had been there in a restaurant the night before and watched the sun set and knew that he had to return with his camera. We decided that the beach part that used to have an old railed slipway and boat house to the right and a sailing club to our left was the best spot and we photographed seaweed and barnacles on rocks for a bit.
At least I did. I didn't pay too much attention to what Jay was doing, as when I'm with my camera everything else, not related to what I'm photographing tends to blur, so it was only when I looked up from my happy 'i've just been taking pictures' enduced state to find Jay, I'd discovered he'd put his camera away.
This in turn began the best banter of the evening. First of all, why on earth would he put his camera away, there was so much to photograph, what about the boat house and the old rail, as thats where I was next headed, but he explained that while i'd been absorbed in seaweed he'd been there and didn't see anything to photograph. I joyously proved that he was indeed wrong and if he had the right sort of scope of imagination (like mine, obviously) he would see it. This involved both of us working from the same camera, which meant taking the camera out of each others hands and saying something sarky along the lines of, 'you're crap', 'you call that a good photo?' and 'I'm so much better that you', (only ruder) punctuated with belly laughs.
I would show you more pictures from this part of the evening, but most of them were Jay's and er, they were, umm...betterthanmine. But still, I like to stand by the fact that had he not had me with my wonderfully unique, cute and fabulous vision standing beside him he would not have got the shots and thats that.
I told this to Jay a few days later when he unexpectedly dropped into the house in passing (personally I think he wanted to see his shots from my camera and point out how fantastic they were!) that when I arrived home that evening from photographing, I don't think my feet touched the ground. I had forgotten everything that was stressing me out and I remembered how to laugh. And not just my polite laugh, which I usually use throughout most days in one way or another, but my genuine belly laugh that is very loud, highly unattractive and I hadn't heard it in a while.
So although this post may seem like it's me just wanting to show photographs from an evening out photographing - what it really is, is a homage to the people around me at the moment who are reminding me to laugh. Really genuinely laugh. I really can't thank you enough for it.
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