Camera Shy

Image Source: Buchanan

Just before Christmas I bought a SLR Camera. I had promised myself that I would buy such a camera when the compensation case was completed. I saw it as a reward to myself for putting up with all the tough times I've had during the last four and a half years.

It was then that the lawyers told me it could be another two years before we reached some kind of settlement. This news came as quite a shock and I realised that waiting that long would just make me notice the time more. I also realised that if I bought the camera sooner It would add a new dimension to my life which could only be a good thing.

I used the camera a lot over the Christmas break, but during the recent spell of bad weather I had been avoiding going out and the camera had stayed in its case. Over the last weekend I could hear it calling to me and I decided to prise my son off his X-box and take him and the camera on a photo shoot.

The image above and the poem below, are both the results of an afternoon spent on a nearby beach. The best part of the experience was the very precious time I spent having fun with my son.

I hope you enjoy the poem.

Camera Shy

Carefully he lifted the camera from its case
and placed the broad strap around his neck.
He leant forward, retrieved the tripod
before he straightened and strode to a boulder
lying in the middle of the beach.
He then opened the tripod, secured the camera to it
ensuring that the lens faced the boulder.

Next he started collecting hand sized stones,
Each had two opposing flat surfaces
which allowed him to build a shy on the boulder.
Sitting in my wheelchair ten feet from the tower
I leant to one side and collected a handful of stones.
Meanwhile Marcus focused the camera on the shy
and selected the continuous shot sports mode.

We were ready and he began a countdown
Three – Two – One – Go,
simultaneously he pressed the shutter release
and I threw the stone at the shy – missing.
We tried again, and again, each attempt capturing
four almost identical images of the stone shy.
sometimes capturing a pebble as it passed the tower.

Then came the crack as the flying pebble
collided with the standing stones.
excitedly he pressed the view button to ensure
the image had been captured.
Tumbling from my chair I moved toward him
to inspect the results.

There on the display was an image of the collision,
The events of a fraction of a second
Suspended – there on the screen,
the rock had split into several pieces
and a cloud of stone dust hung
peppered with smaller gritty fragments

We smiled at each other and inspected the next image
which showed the shy as it disintegrated.
Quickly we moved toward the boulder
and began to build a new shy.
Both of us wore huge grins on our faces
as father and son shared a rare moment of fun together.

John Carré Buchanan
30 January 2013