Mac that just came in.”
Colin placed a protective arm around Lizette’s shoulder.
“Can we see it?”
“Sure. I have a guy in the back who can show it to you.” He
opened a door behind him and yelled, “Hey, Jim. Can you show this guy the Mac?”
A voice called back, “Sure. Send him in.”
Colin looked conflicted about leaving Lizette’s side.
Another thing that annoyed her. She pushed his shoulder. “Go. I’ll be fine here
for five minutes.”
He must have received the tone of her message since he let
go of her and walked around the counter to enter the back room.
As soon as Colin was out of sight, the guy behind the
counter handed her a business card and said, “Hey, if you ever have any
questions about the equipment that your boyfriend can’t answer, give me a call.
Unless you’re afraid to. He seems like the jealous type.”
“Of course I’m not afraid.” The very idea! Lizette
glanced at the card. It showed the name of the shop and “Hank Peterson,
Proprietor” . She thought his title sounded pretentious for a pawnshop owner,
but whatever… She tucked the card in her pocket.
“You know,” he said, “you might want to call me anyway. I
can teach you a few things that will impress him.”
“Hmmm…I’ll think about it. Thank you.” He probably wasn’t as
interested in teaching her how to use a computer as he was in getting into her
pants, but she knew how to handle men.
* * * * *
Back at Lizette’s apartment, Colin helped her set up her new
computer and printer in the bedroom and a makeshift studio in the living room.
She had him push furniture around into three different configurations and he
seemed about to protest when she decided the layout met her needs.
Her round dinette and two straight-back chairs found a
corner in the kitchen to occupy. Her overstuffed chair and sofa came away from
the wall and faced the TV, which was now on the opposite side of the room from
where it had been. He said it was less of an eyesore since it was no longer the
first thing a person saw when they walked in. Eyesore, indeed. Now the
first thing a person saw upon entering was a big empty space.
“And where will you keep your camera equipment?” Colin
asked.
“Where I always do. In my closet.”
“Okay. If you want professional results, you’ll need some
special lights. They’re usually very large and bright. You need to be able to
set them up and move them around to either eliminate shadows or cast the
shadows you want.”
She sighed and her face crumpled. “More money. You’ve
already spent too much.”
“Photography can be expensive. Professional photographers
spend thousands on all kinds of gizmos and props. Different cameras and lenses
to capture different images. Whole darkrooms. You don’t need to go that route.
Lighting is basic, though.”
When she didn’t respond, he jumped in front of the long,
white wall and stood about a foot away from it.
“Do you see the shadows I’m casting against this wall?”
“Yes, but, so what? Everything casts shadows. That’s why I
decided to replace my lace curtains with solid ones. The shadows looked like
spiders. Shadows are part of nature but I prefer spiders outside.”
“Do you have a magazine around? Maybe a fashion magazine?”
She sighed and reached under her coffee table where she
found the current copy of Vogue .
She tossed it to him.
Colin took the magazine and thumbed through it. “Here we go.”
He handed it to her open to a page with an anorexic model standing in long
shadows. The ad was for shoes and the only part not in shadow were the
beautiful stilettos.
“What does that prove?”
Colin took the magazine back and pointed to the shadows.
“Here, the photographer wanted to show shadows and he accomplished that with
his lighting. Suppose you want to show shadows like that to convey a certain
mood or accent one thing while obscuring another.”
“Okay, I understand. But how much will professional lights
cost? I
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