Chapter 123 [Smallville Library—After School]
Clark walked up the front sidewalk toward the library's door. He wondered what he and Pete were doing there. He knew Peter had Expertise on his photographic speed dial. Still, for what they were doing at the Torch, they could just point and click on their subjects.
"I can think of other stuff I'd rather be doing too." Pete shrugged. "Chloe's not going to be satisfied until we see what he's got." He opened the door.
"Yeah I know." Clark followed his friend inside. They walked past the Circulation Desk and through the stacks. At the very back of the building, they found the presentation room. "Kind of hidden."
"They weren't thinking of public access in the midst of the excitement." Pete ignored two girls giving him the eye. He barreled ahead toward their assigned task.
Never thought I'd see the day. He's really into Sam. Clark looked around the area. He noticed a dozen townies he knew from the Talon or being around his parents. A blonde haired woman sat in the back. Gwen and Martha talked up front. Peter set his camera on the table. He had a stack of handouts beside him. He walked up to the ladies. "Hi, Mom, Miss Stacy."
"Hi, Clark! How was school?" Martha could see Boredom written across his face. "This should be really interesting, Clark. Give it a chance."
Clark nodded. He settled into the chair next to them.
"Hey, Mrs. Kent and Miss Stacy!" Peter sat down next to Clark. "Let's hope we'll win the next Pulitzer!"
"That's what I like to hear, Pete." Peter looked up from his preparations. "Let's see what I can offer." He finished with his camera and set it down on the counter. "Maybe you can take notes? Chloe wanted a write up."
"Yeah well. That we can do." Clark pulled his notebook out of his pack. He had a pen in hand.
Peter nodded. He smiled at his platinum-blonde-haired muse. Then he headed back to the front. "Good afternoon, everyone! Thanks for coming. I'm Peter Parker. I take news photos for the Daily Bugle in New York. I'm out here on an internship. Even so, I wanted to offer something on my career for you all. Great to be here." He sipped from a cup of water. "People think of photography as simply taking a picture. What goes into that?"
"The thing in the picture." A red headed woman stated.
"There's that. But is that the same for every picture? What affects that 'thing'?" Peter looked about the room.
"There's the angle." An elderly man piped up from the back.
"Then there's distance." An older woman chimed in. "Sorry. Distance to that subject."
"No need to be sorry. You're absolutely right." Peter nodded. "That'll tie into your equipment too."
Pete raised his hand. "How spread out are the subjects?"
"Yes! Very good, Pete." Peter nodded.
Martha raised her hand next. "Are we taking pictures for ourselves, family or, like you, for work? What's the purpose?"
"Are we scanning them? What's the resolution?" Clark interjected.
Peter arched an eyebrow. "You see, Clark? You have something to offer. Thank you." He turned to his handouts.
Clark shook his head. Embarrassment streaked his cheeks.
Peter took the handouts. "Okay, Everyone. Take one and pass the others along. I have extras. We should have plenty." He handed the pile to Martha to start with. Then he walked up to the board. "I was talking with a friend last night. He mentioned in terms of a writing book called The Elements of Style. I'm going into my own listing like that. We're going to look at photography that way. In turn, we'll talk about the photo's purpose or purposes. Then we'll go to camera types. Then we'll look at the elements of photo style. The advanced workshop will involve actual practice. Let me know if there are any questions." He looked around. Then he sipped on his water.
He saw the blonde-haired woman watching him in the back. For some reason, she made his Spider Sense tingle ever so slightly. Now what? Who's she? "First we'll talk about purpose. What are we using the camera for? Are you taking a picture to take one? Are you a hobbyist? Are you a nature photographer? Are you taking still shots or live action? All of these things determine the type of camera. You can use a disposable camera for any shot. Easy to get and use. Cheap. Problem is the quality isn't the greatest. Perhaps a really good camera on your phone? Again though, it's can vary widely by the phone or the subject's speed. You also need to focus on the subject. Keep that in mind."
With that, he went to perspective. He spoke of angles. He showed people how to sharpen their focus. He talked of differences in contrast between color and black and white film. He talked of keeping picture size manageable.
Then he spoke of speed—shutter speed and subject speed. He talked again about visualization. Anticipation had a few minutes' attention. He showed how to get pictures almost like a sniper with a machine gun getting off multiple shots.
"Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. It can also have a thousand moving parts and can last only a thousandth of a second. You have to conceptualize everything." Peter put his handout down. "Maybe we might want to try some shots if you brought a camera? That's okay if you didn't. I can answer your questions as well. I want to get everyone comfortable. Who's first?" Peter went off to help a Native American girl.
"Man, he sure does know this stuff cold!" Pete whispered to Clark.
"Yeah he does. Wow. No wonder Chloe had us take this workshop." Clark leaned close to Gwen. "Can you tell Mr. Parker I've got his notes. Think he'd mind if I take a couple of photos of him helping people for the article?"
"You might ask him but I'm sure it'll be okay. Thanks, Clark." Gwen smiled.
Clark walked across the room. He sized up Peter in his camera phone's lens. He waited until just the right second for Peter to be helping the girl in question. Then he snapped some photos.
"Nice, Clark." Peter nodded. "You all see what he did? He moved across the room to get a better shot rather than use a telephoto lens. He got the right angle. He made sure we were telling the story he wanted us to tell." He gave Clark a thumbs up. "Good job. I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure." Clark scratched his head. He noticed the blonde woman scribble a few more notes on a pad. What's her angle? With that, he headed back for the farm.
The woman in question sipped on a coffee. She observed Peter mentoring the audience. Then she saw him wrap it all up. She put her coat on and walked out the door.
After another twenty minutes, Peter walked back up toward the front. "As I said, Folks, we have plenty of time to work on these skills. You have my email. I'm available to talk. There are other workshops so check them out. Thanks for coming. Have a great day."
The remaining audience applauded him. Then they grabbed their coats and took off.
"Hope that was okay." Peter cleared his throat. Much as Clark did, the question of the mystery woman's identity still weighed on his mind.
"Okay? Peter, that was masterful! You should really have a MFA and a Ph D. in photography!" Martha declared. "I don't ever remember someone be so concise and yet so precise."
"She said it, Mr. P. You're my master photographer. I'm so proud of you." Gwen kissed his cheek. "This definitely deserves a cappuccino at the Talon. Then we're heading right home. You're getting your rest tonight. Then you're going to knock the socks off of those folks tomorrow!" Her eyes and smile washed any of Doubt's traces from his mind.
"With you there, never!" He rubbed her arm.
"Right answer, Man of Mine." She rested her head on his shoulder. For the first time, she could understand why he'd consider Journalism instead of Science. He was a master at both. He could support them at both. It was a real choice.
Whatever the next day brought, he would do what he could for her sake. That's all that mattered to her at least.
Beyond that, Chips would fall as they might….