HSWW, Asst 5 | Media Studies, Task 3 - Write about a picture perfect moment | Word Count: 800

IPC #529 - [Colour] Copper

364 #162 - Incredulous


o . o . o


Sky, Stone & Skin

Mary often found that photography wasn't so much about capturing a moment or a scene, or any of the other things people said. Freezing a moment in time. She often scoffed at that one. Wherever she was, when something caught her eye, Mary had these almost… out of body experiences. She could see what she wanted to photograph, she could see the photograph in her mind, and clicking the camera shutter was like a writer extracting a story from their brain and putting it on paper. It was already there, she just had to breathe life into it.

The most frustrating thing of all though, was when she had a picture in her mind that she couldn't execute. Sometimes she hadn't brought her camera with her - she always kicked herself on those occasions. Sometimes it was a vantage point she couldn't get to - she would try to get as close as she could, but it wasn't quite the same. Most of the photos that lived only in her mind, however, were the photos that had her in them.

The problem was that Mary loved candid pictures most of all, and the moment you asked someone to take the photo, they became staged. But she could still see them in her mind, and she so longed to have them in reality. Those picture perfect moments.

She thought about that as she sat atop Kata Tjuta, basking in the sunset glow. Everything was copper, like the very air was on fire. In her mind she could see her silhouette against the bronze sky, the smooth sandstone glowing beneath her feet. The contrast would be beautiful, the small details elevating it even beyond. The way a strand of her hair lifted on the slight breeze.

Footsteps tapped next to her, muffled by the packed dirt. Mary turned to see Fabian standing beside her, his blue eyes scanning the horizon. She wanted to laugh as the glow of the sunset and the sandstone around them reflected in his hair and beard, turning them a bright copper. His skin had taken on a bronze cast as well, quite different from his usual freckled demeanor.

"You happy?" Fabian asked, looking at Mary with a shy smile. It was the first smile he had ever given her - timid, uncertain. She rarely saw that smile anymore, not after nearly three years together.

"Of course," Mary replied, leaning in to him and resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm in a beautiful place with you, what more could I want?"

"Well, I was thinking about that," he started nervously, rubbing his thumb across her knee, "and I was wondering if you might want a husband?"

Mary looked up at him in surprise.

Fabian dropped to his knee and pulled out a little velvet box, cracking it open so that the diamond ring inside shone in the golden sunset.

"I love you, Mary," he said, his smile twitching a little with nerves, "simple as that. I love you with all my heart, and I don't ever want to be without you. And I really hope that you feel the same way."

"Of course I do," she answered, grinning from ear to ear, and she saw a similar smile break out on his face at his words.

Fabian vaulted up to kiss her, peppering little pecks across her lips and cheeks and nose. Mary laughed and grabbed his face so she could kiss him soundly, properly. He pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers for a brief moment.

"Wait here for a second," he said, scurrying away bizarrely.

Fabian had been setting up their tent before he'd come over, and he returned to it now, parting the flaps to the darkness inside. Moments later, he returned, Mary's camera in hand.

"I know you don't like other people touching your equipment," he began, his expression a little bit sheepish, "but I asked Marlene to teach me how to set it up so I could do it properly. I knew you wouldn't want to miss this moment."

Mary stood there, completely incredulous and surprised as he handed her the camera. Switching it on, Mary flipped to the 'Play' screen, and clicked through the pictures. She stood silhouetted against the sky, then she and Fabian stood together, then he knelt in front of her, then they were embracing. Perfect moments, all captured just for her.

"How?" she asked, her voice tense with emotion.

Fabian held up his right hand, opening the fingers to show Mary's little remote trigger.

"Marlene taught me how to use this too."

Ecstatic, Mary wrapped her arms around Fabian again, squeezing him tightly to show her gratitude. It was the perfect proposal with her perfect man, and she had the pictures to prove it.