The Bench Racers Journal

[Terry Bentley]

Chapter 36

Before dinner, I rode my bicycle up to the Skillerns drug store. They had just called and informed me the pictures had been developed. So come get them. Now I can use pictures to enhance this story. Hope you enjoy them. I will go back and add some of these as I figure where they need to go.

Before, I would just mail the film to Kodak directly, but sometimes would take forever. Thru Skillerns, it usually takes less than a week. Amazing how fast they get stuff done these days. There is also no postage this way. It costs forty two cents with tax and I am a happy camper.

The first few batches had a lot of fuzzies and at odd angles, but lately they are looking more like a professional job. I mean really, how hard can it be to take good pictures? Hold the camera steady, look thru the view finder and say cheese. Then push down the shutter release. For pictures of the karts progress, I probably dont even have to say cheese.

When I first started taking pictures....Well they were not that good. Actually I wouldnt call them pictures.  I didnt understand what was going wrong. Except the picture didnt look like what I had envisioned in my head. Of the first two rolls of film, there was really only one picture that turned out. Well, turned out like a picture. It was taken completely by accident.

Thanksgiving last fall was a nice crisp and cool day. We were all together at moms parents house. The house that my grandfather had built by himself. He had recently declared the house was now completely finished. We were doing Thanksgiving with a lot of family, friends and neighbors. Some had worked at the sign shop, and here with family too.

I had been carrying my camera around, and planned to take a picture of everyone gathered today. There was only one shot left on the film, so had to make it good. I was holding the camera and practicing how to keep it steady for the perfect picture. Walking across the front yard, wasnt really paying attention and had stumbled.

My finger was on the shutter release just like when actual picture would be taken. Well as I tripped up, accidentally depressed the shutter. I was so mad at myself. Almost to the point of ruining the whole day. This was the last picture on my only roll of film. Little did I know how well this one picture turned out.



Later at Christmas time several of the family had asked how my picture taking was coming along. I showed them some of the ones I tried to make perfect. But none of them really were anything special or had potential. But everyone kept telling me how good one particular picture was. Really the only picture anyone commented on.

They thought it showed how natural looking and not posed like so many do. It showed great promise and to keep up with it. Stick with the casual approach and not try to make them perfect. Because a picture rarely ends that way.

So the only decent picture is one taken completely by accident. The day was still early and people were just starting to arrive. My plan had been for a group shot. At least that was the intended picture. I wasnt even trying to focus on something. Just practicing holding the camera correctly. I tripped up while walking and accidentally snapped the shot. Bah!