Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 10, 2007 22:45:27 GMT
Continued from; Cole’s Territory: Apartment Complex: The Parking Garage
Iris had learned all of the back ways- at least, the back ways according to Los Angeles standards- so it didn’t take long for the sisters to find themselves across town out in front of Blackwood Park. This particular park had a minimum of lights, but had a fountain that was very easy recognizable. The lack of lighting made Iris a little more wary than she might have normally been, but after rooting around for a moment, she came up with a stiletto heeled shoe that she kept in the car just in case it was needed. It went into her large purse, out of sight but easy to grab should it be needed.
Pulling her camera from its case, she popped the lens cap off. She knew that there were a couple of lights near the fountain which would illuminate it enough for the photo, and, if she was judging the moon’s position correctly, she would be able to get both it and the fountain in the shot.
“You can come with me on this one if you want,” Iris offered, pushing open her door and climbing out, swinging her bag’s strap over her shoulder. In a place like this, she’d be more comfortable having her sister in sight.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 10, 2007 22:55:13 GMT
“Ok, I’ll come with you into the scary dark instead of waiting alone in the scary dark. I guess it is one up from the car…” Poppy slid out of her seat, absently patting at her hair as she did so. One of the disadvantage of long hair was the way she would sometimes be convinced that there was a spider on her face or back of her neck. She was never quite sure as to why people would get these phantom feelings, but she sometimes suspected long hair was the cause.
“So what does the Boss Man want you to get shots of?” she asked Iris, closing the door to the car. “What is there in Blackwood that is so special?” To her, Blackwood was the same as any other park in the city, including the few they had driven past on the way to reach this one.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 10, 2007 23:01:21 GMT
“I’m supposed to be getting pictures of Los Angeles on the full moon,” Iris told her, locking the car before she started to lead the way to where she was going. “They’re supposed to be non-touristy but obviously LA. So, I was thinking that maybe I should get a couple of shots of the big fountain here. If I’ve got it figured out right, I can line up some shots to get both the fountain- which is unique and very easily identifiable as being in LA- and the moon.”
She gave a little shrug. “After we’re finished here, I thought I’d head over to the church and get some photos of it. From there, I’ll figure out where to go next.”
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 10, 2007 23:17:10 GMT
“Your boss wants weird things. I mean, I get why he doesn’t want tourist shots, anyone can take some tourist shots. But way would you want to photograph Los Angeles on the full moon? Oh well… it’s his newspaper after all.” Poppy shrugged as she trailed after Iris, keeping up a random stream of talking as they went, if only to fill out the empty spaces around them.
“I like the church. It has a very cool stained glass window. If of course, we’re talking about the same church… the one near us.” Poppy wasn’t religious and rarely went to church, but she found that The Church of Our Lady had a peacefulness about it that made her feel safe and happy. Plus, it had a pretty window.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 10, 2007 23:29:36 GMT
“Well, it’s just in case we have a slow day. If it comes down to it, Mr. Davenport wants to do a local interest piece and since it’s the full moon, it makes sense. Besides, it gets us out of the apartments.” She turned around so that she was walking backwards and snapped a picture of Poppy; Iris always took one random shot before she really got to work, just to make sure the camera was set and ready to go.
“That’s the one,” Iris said in response to Poppy’s comments about the church as she turned around again. “It really is a beautiful place.” Iris, like her sister, wasn’t particularly religious, but sometimes she liked to go to the Catholic service, though, more often, she liked to go when it was quiet (and she had the time) and simply sit.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 10, 2007 23:53:46 GMT
Poppy pulled a face as Iris took her photo. The young woman didn’t think she photographed well – it didn’t matter how good the person behind the camera was, Poppy always seemed to be blinking, looking away, had her mouth open, squinting, hair in her face, whatever. Her body seemed to have a hatred of the camera, and the only time she had ever found a photo of herself she even half liked had been during her dancing days when she had been a shimmer of light and sparkle on a dimly lit stage.
She increased her speed, catching up with Iris and walking beside her as they crossed through the park, the fountain coming up in front of them. “It’s an impressive fountain as well,” Poppy remarked, liking the large stone basin at once. It had style.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 11, 2007 0:08:12 GMT
Iris gave a nod. “It really is. It’s just a shame it’s so creepy around here at night. It’s a little better during the day, though not by too much.” The lights around the fountain illuminated it perfectly and she couldn’t help but smile when she saw that she had guessed the moon’s position correctly. She thought that she would be able to get the fountain in the moon in the same shot and maybe even have some decent ones come from it.
One things about Iris was that she wasn’t completely confident in her abilities as a photographer. Oh, she knew she was at least decent since she had a job with the Sun- Alan Davenport wasn’t the sort to keep someone around who couldn’t do the job- but she wasn’t completely sure that the quality of her photos was ever what it should be.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 11, 2007 1:38:22 GMT
“Maybe the creepy angle is what you should be emphasising?” Poppy suggested, trying her best to be helpful. “He wanted night time shots, of the moon right? So… creepy, night, its all connected isn’t it? Everything’s connected according to this book I was reading today. It was interesting.” Poppy looked around as she spoke, rubbing her hands together lightly. It really was a creepy, creepy place and she wasn’t sure she liked the park, even when you took into account the imposing fountain – or perhaps she didn’t because she took it into account.
“Come on sis, take your shots and let’s go. This place is… weird. Well, to someone with an imagination like mine, it is weird. The sort of place that could be a doorway between worlds and if you blink and look away, you might see something out of the corner of your eye that shouldn’t be…” she gave a self-conscious laugh and shook her head. “Ignore me, I’m just being dramatic now. But yes, photos.”
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 11, 2007 2:41:30 GMT
Iris gave a shake of her head and raised her camera, taking a few steps to the left and focusing the lens until she had what she thought was an okay shot before snapping a photo. “Well, it is a little creepy out here. Not as bad as you just made it out to be- I’ll never deny that you’ve got an overactive imagination- but creepy enough that I’m glad you came with me.”
Iris took several more photos quickly, making sure to pay attention to the sounds around her. The last thing she wanted was for someone to manage to sneak up on them. A soft breeze picked up and Iris gave a little sigh, hanging the camera strap around her neck in order to pull out her elastic band and put her hair into a ponytail. With that done, she took up the camera again and moved a few more feet to her left, taking a couple of more pictures.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 11, 2007 16:59:29 GMT
“It’s a good thing I do have an active imagination – I wouldn’t get very far studying English or wanting to write novels for a living if I didn’t have any imagination. All my plots would end ‘Rocks Fall. Everyone Dies’,” Poppy replied, making air quotes with her fingers around the last four words as she spoke. “And I’m glad I came too. Unless we get killed. Then I’ll get mad at you for letting me come.” She smiled at Iris, making it impossible to tell how serious she was actually being.
The young woman looked around them as Iris took her photos, knowing that her sister would want – and need – to concentrate in order to get the best shots possible for the paper. It made sense that her boss would only accept the best and even Poppy had to accept that her chatting away while Iris was trying to take shots might be somewhat distracting.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 11, 2007 17:13:32 GMT
“Good in some situations, bad in others,” Iris commented in regard to Poppy’s imagination as she lined up a shot. “Out here? Bad. Definitely, definitely bad.” She took a few more shots of the fountain before deciding that she had enough of it. As pretty as the moonlight on the water was, there were other things to get photos of tonight and much nicer places to be. “Ready to get out of here?”
Iris had learned how to have a conversation and take pictures at the same time. It was one of those things that a photographer with a newspaper naturally learned to do. It was a necessity in way, really and Iris knew how to handle distractions while doing her job at the same time. She supposed it could almost be labeled a talent.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 11, 2007 23:25:05 GMT
“I thought you would never ask,” Poppy replied, bounding up to Iris and slipping her arm though her sisters. She grinned brightly, apparently now unconcerned about the creepy nature of the park or all the things that lurked in the dark and her imagination. “The church next then? Or is there somewhere else between here and there that you can think of? So we don’t have to double back…”
Poppy was fairly confident that if she needed to, Iris could walk and talk, take photos and talk, read and walk, what ever. She was a woman after all, which meant she could multi task with the best of them. Poppy just felt that her annoying younger sister habits were best saved when Iris wasn’t working on official work. She knew she would not be pleased if Iris tried to mess up her own work – just as she knew such a thing would never happen.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 11, 2007 23:32:59 GMT
Iris returned the grin and gave a nod as she and her sister started back for the car. “Church is next. It’s a nice, obviously LA spot and besides, if I happen to spot a place between here and there, I’ll just pull over and take some shots. Easy enough. If I think of another place on this side of the city that I want to get some photos at later, I’ll drop you off at the building and then come back. There’s no sense in me dragging you back and forth as I think of new places.”
The high heels she was wearing sounded out on the concrete walkway as they made their way back through the dimly lit park. If anyone wanted to cause trouble, she would put up a hell of a fight to take care of her sister and she didn’t care what she had to do to make sure Poppy was safe.
|
|
Poppy
Human
Student/Librarian
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Posts: 119
|
Post by Poppy on Jan 12, 2007 0:03:05 GMT
“One thing religion has going for it, lots of pretty buildings.” Poppy put her free hand in her deep coat pocket as they walked, partly to keep her fingers warm and partly to grasp the small vial in said pocket. She believed in carrying some kind of means to protect yourself and when you were a petit, lightweight like herself, the choices were pretty much limited to pepper spray.
From what she had seen on television, it made a mess of someone’s face – and television wouldn’t lie to her – but she had been lucky enough never to have to actually use it. The dark blue car came into sight in front of them and she smiled, letting out a tiny relieved breath at it.
|
|
Iris
Human
Photographer: LA Sun
Posts: 126
|
Post by Iris on Jan 12, 2007 0:09:12 GMT
“People find peace in religion,” Iris said thoughtfully before giving a little grin. “The pretty buildings don’t hurt anything, though.” Her own free hand was on her camera and while it wouldn’t do much as a weapon should one be needed, she felt better for it.
When her car came into view, she felt herself relax slightly. Not by much, but it was still something. As soon as they reached it, she let go of her camera and took her arm from Poppy, unlocking the passenger door and seeing to it that her sister was safely inside before going around to the driver’s side and getting behind the wheel, closing and locking the door behind her. She wasn’t a paranoid person by nature, but sometimes, she just couldn’t help it.
Continued at: Cole’s Territory; Church of Our Lady- Main Entrance with Poppy
|
|