[Leica] How would you photographically portray....

[Jim Hemenway <Jim@hemenway.com>]

Phong wrote:

 > Anyway, I think I will give up on this topic on the LUG.
 > I tried a few times to have a meaningful discussion on
 > how to photographically portray such things as sex, lust,
 > temptation, desire, etc. in an artistic way, and failed.

It's next to impossible Phong, but as an exercise, how would you 
photographically portray the following?

- --------------------------

Let’s say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine.  He 
asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A 
few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy 
themselves They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while 
neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to 
Elaine, and, without really thinking, she  says it aloud:
“Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for 
exactly six months?”

And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very 
loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him 
that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; 
maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation that 
he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of 
relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d 
have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way 
we are, moving steadily toward ... I mean, where are we going? Are we 
just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we 
heading toward marriage? Toward children?  Toward a lifetime together? 
Am I ready for that level of commitment?
Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: ... so that means it was... let’s see....
February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car 
at the dealer’s, which means ... lemme check the odometer ...
Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: He’s upset. I can see it on his face.  Maybe I’m 
reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our 
relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed— even 
before I sensed it—that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet 
that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own 
feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I’m gonna have them look at the transmission 
again. I don’t care what those morons say, it’s still not shifting 
right.  And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this 
time.  What cold weather? It’s 87 degrees out, and this thing is 
shifting like a darn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves 
$600.

And Elaine is thinking: He’s angry. And I don’t blame him.  I’d be 
angry, too.  I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t 
help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They’ll probably say it’s only a 90-day warranty. 
  That’s exactly what they’re gonna say, the scumballs.

And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a 
knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next 
to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I 
truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person 
who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty?  I’ll give them a 
darn warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their ....

“Roger,” Elaine says aloud.

“What?” says Roger, startled.

“Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning 
to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have ...
Oh my, I feel so ...” (She breaks down, sobbing.)

“What?” says Roger.

“I’m such a fool,” Elaine sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I 
really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”

“There’s no horse?” says Roger.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Elaine says.

“No!” says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

“It’s just that ... It’s that I ... I need some time,” Elaine says.
(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, 
tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that 
he thinks might work.)

“Yes,” he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

“Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?” she says.

“What way?” says Roger.

“That way about time,” says Elaine.

“Oh,” says Roger. “Yes.”

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to 
become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it 
involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

“Thank you, Roger,” she says.

“Thank you,” says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured 
soul, and weeps until dawn.

Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the 
TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match 
between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of.  A tiny voice in the far 
recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back 
there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever 
understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about 
it. (This is also Roger’s policy regarding world hunger.)

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of 
them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours.
In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and 
everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every 
word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every 
possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off 
and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite 
conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend 
of his and Elaine’s, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

“Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?”

- -----------------------------------

Didn't Salome run in the same race as Sea Biscuit?

Jim, "ask me anything about love and lust" Hemenway


Phong wrote:
> 
> I am not sure what you mean by transcending lust, as opposed
> to love, joy, courage, etc.  Lust would make a fascinating
> subject.  Salome, anyone ?  I bet one of the classical
> painters have done Salome before.
> 
> Anyway, I think I will give up on this topic on the LUG.
> I tried a few times to have a meaningful discussion on 
> how to photographically portray such things as sex, lust, 
> temptation, desire, etc. in an artistic way, and failed.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> - Phong

- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html