Fw: [MC74 and Friends] My entry for Valentine week and the story behind it :-)

 

My dear twin BiTi and other fellows "Pho' nhom\ en herbe" and Forum friends,

I am so relieved that I finally got a photo for Valentine.
While it appears so easy to come up with anything related with the theme of Valentine, it was not that easy for me, so I found out as I went hunting for the perfect photo op.

How I sympathized with the paparazzi while I spent my precious one hour lunch over the course of the last two weeks roaming around in Grand Central train station and the streets near by, with the hope to catch a fleeting moment of tenderness with my camera!

The first day I walked around in Grand Central, browsing at the shops and quickly took a picture of a mannequin with a heart as a face (photo no. 1). I self congratulated: so easy, job done! ... Until I showed it to my son, expecting his seal of approval, which never came. Instead, he told me that I should try a bit harder.
To soften the blow, he said "Mom, my teacher would probably like your photo, but personally, I think it lacked the feeling that you would like it to project. You need people in your picture".
-"Easier said than done!  And how would I do that? Where would I find people who are in love and would allow me to take a picture of them?" I asked him.
-"Well, Mom, just walk around, you will find people. As long as you act normal and don't look creepy, people are ok with it. Walk from Port Authority to your office in the morning. Or go to Central Park during the day..."
-"Tro*i\ da^'t! Chu*o*ng tu*o*ng? me. ra?nh lam ' ha?  Thi\ gio\ da^u ma\ me. di bo^. ta\ ta\ buoi^? sa'ng tre^n du*o*\ng to*i' so*? , vo*i' lai. vong\  vong\ ngoai\  Central Park de^? chup. hinh\?".....
.....
So, for the next many days, I kept going to Grand Central, the only place within walking distance from my office, where I hope to find lots of couples, tourists, and people kissing goodbye to each other.
I was very nervous about taking pictures of people, afraid that they would give me dirty looks or worse yell at me for stalking them. So I could not act normal.
I also had a feeling that the cops in Grand Central noticed me, strange woman in a black coat, carrying a big bag, walking around every day at the same time, looking so suspicious.
This made me feel even more nervous. Which made me act even more creepy!
I was so nervous that my index finger froze when I needed to press the button of my camera quickly. I kept fumbling, and missing the shots. Also the lighting in Grand Central was bad, and my camera also acted up.
All the shots came out very blurred.

Desperate, last week, I took all my courage and approached this young loving couple who tried taking a picture together by putting their camera on the counter of a ticket booth, and offered my help. Afterward I asked their permission to take their picture with my camera. I explained to them that it was for my special Valentine project. They happily agreed.
I was so excited that I did not set the camera properly, so the only picture I took of them did not come out nicely!
I was ready to give up and just submit my first picture.

Then I decided to give it one last shot. There was a picture of a big heart at the corner of the street near Grand Central. It would be nice if I could get a picture of a couple walking by. So I camped  there at my lunch time for three days straight, right next to a stand belonging to this man who sold books. He  probably thought that I tried to make a move on him, but was too shy to do it. He kept giving me these worried glances!
 
I spotted a few couples, but they quickly avoided my camera as soon as they saw me (sigh).
I was about to give up for real. Last Friday, I thought to myself that this would be my last day trying.  It was my lucky day! I finally got the photo op.
 It was not a great shot, but here it is, photo no. 2 , the fruit of my patience.
 The title of my entry is : Sweet, tangy, hot: the flavors of LOVE.

 Now I can totally relax and enjoy looking at the other "pho' nhom"s' entries :-)

Em Ci

PS:May be one day I could become a paparazzi, for now I am perfectly happy shooting du*a hau^' and all other non animated subjects :-) 
_