Acceptance In Advance

By Marilyn Armstrong on 09/14/2013 • ( 4 )

Getting an award. Accepting an award. Waking up the next day and realizing that the festivities are over and wondering if anyone even remembers the day before … then being pleasantly surprised to discover …yes, they do. It doesn’t hurt to have a lot of pictures posted of the event. It helps the remembering.

With Harvey Leonard (WCVB, Channel 5)

As a photographer, event photography has never been my strong suit. I don’t have the right equipment and in this case, yes, it does make a difference. The right lens, a good flash unit … they make a huge difference. You want a fast lens or a good strobe that recycles fast and has oomph. And bounce. A really good, fast camera … one that focuses quickly even in low light. I had the camera. I had a lens. A portrait lens. No flash.

Well. I have pretty good equipment, but it was never intended for this purpose because this stuff doesn’t come up all that often. And I can’t afford it. A small matter, but crucial.

When Garry was still working, it came up a lot more often. He hosted events. We were guests at events. Regularly. I used to actually own (and need) a separate formal wardrobe. Garry owned more than one tuxedo. That was then …. not at all now.

Here, in sleepy Uxbridge, fancy dress is anything clean that matches. Or minimally, doesn’t clash. Wearing earrings makes it formal. For men, a belt rather than a drawstring is formal wear. I am not exaggerating. Okay, maybe a little. But not much. It’s more than merely casual here.

The best moment – Garry and Anton, together.

It’s dress down time every day of the year, but especially on weekends. You should see what people wear going to church. Even the ministers don’t wear suits or ties. So far, never seen the pastor in shorts, but I’m sure it will come soon enough.