harley davidson heritage softail
new year. new day.
started well so far. for some bizarre reason, i thought i had january second off, same as we had the day after xmas off the week before. and i was enjoying it; slept in until nine, had breakfast, watched some inane youtube videos, and was about to start working on some pictures.
then i went back to the bedroom to get my ipad and phone. picking up the phone, noticed i'd missed an hour old text message from one of my coworkers asking if i was ok. wtf?
texted her back asking what/why? ten minutes later she responded asking if i was coming in or taking the day off. i'd missed a telecon, and no one had heard from me.
so after pleading idiocy, told her i'd be there by noon. first time i'd ever ever screwed up like that in all the years i've been working.
then i get to the office, and by one o'clock, i'm being asked/told i need to do a photo-shoot of someone for a press release—and they'll be there at two.
i haven't touched a camera in three months. hadn't set up the lighting equipment in three months or more. my brain is not thinking clearly. i looked at some old notes, then texted my better half for what camera settings i should use because he is a tech and camera geek, and dragged the equipment out of the closet.
asked if the other designer could come help me set up. he usually does the videos, and had used everything recently. he was out to lunch, but would be there soon.
so i set stuff up from memory, and it was mostly fine. only the camera was set up for video, and i had to surf through the menus, to make sure everything was good for a portrait. but it was still set for video, blinking standby.
the other guy shows up, i explain it isn't doing what i want, and that i haven't touched a camera for a while, and i'm sort of already having a weird day. he walks over and turns the dial on the camera from movie to manual. omg. duh, so basic.
manual setting wasn't working for me, lights weren't bright enough, didn't want to crank up the iso and add noise. flipped to aperture, like i'm used to shooting cars.
by then, i realize i've left my ipad in my car, because my day is already screwed up, and i have ten minutes before the person is supposed to be there. got there and back with a few minutes to spare. and i have to pee. no time, don't think about it.
then, i hadn't had lunch, so i start feeling dizzy. i think now, it was mostly nerves. suck it up, it will be over soon.
next, i hear the guy will be half an hour late. whew. more time to worry, but at least i can go take a leak.
when they finally do show up, it takes all of five minutes, got the shot, and they were gone. all that for a quick shot. and it turned out all right. i even managed to seem cheerful, to undercut how uncomfortable i was with humor. told them about my day so far, and got a smile from them, so it worked. i'm an idiot, nice to meet you.
so i guess, when i do go out to a car show again, i will be ok. muscle memory will kick in, not to worry. just got to get my eyes refocused, and get my head back in the game.
shot this bike in late november, at the latin gents/dukes toy drive. i think it might be with the majestics club, or maybe it was just parked near their pop-up. mostly, i think i liked the paint job, as it was otherwise, just a harley.