Time Lapse
By Modular Blues
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Kagome enjoyed taking pictures. Being the unofficially designated photographer at all the parties and family gatherings, she had developed a special instinct. The kind of fine-tuned instinct that hovers around the boundary of consciousness. A slight turn of the neck, a curving motion of the lips, a reflective glimmer of the eyes, Kagome learned to capture them all at just the right moment. Friends often say that she could and should be a professional photographer, but she found home in teaching middle school art classes and inspiring the youngsters when she could.
Sesshoumaru also enjoyed taking pictures. High-speed photography. Snapshots that divide a conventional moment into microseconds or even nanoseconds. Laws of physics and lots of practice enabled him to create the illusion of freezing time and slowing it down, so each image becomes amplified in impact. He always felt a thrill the moment he pressed the trigger. It's like delving into nature's secrets and exposing them to human eyes, almost voyeuristic.
Kagome looked outside the window. An overcast Saturday morning is a good time to visit the bookstore. She was bored and decided to check out whatever new books that awaited perusal. Taking a bus, her preferred mode of public transportation, she headed to the main branch of R&T.
Sesshoumaru was visiting his usual internet message board when a new thread caught his attention. Meister Edgardt, the pioneer of strobe photography, had published a new book on strobe techniques in science. Sesshoumaru was never one to idolize others, but he considered Edgardt to be one of a kind in this field. He would have to get a copy of the book for his upcoming projects. Grabbing his coat, he was out the door in a flash.
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Kagome stood in front of the building directory and found the arts and science section to be on the fifth floor. She vaguely recalled the photography books being there. She took an elevator up and soon located the shelves. Let's see… ooh, Luigi Donitello's new collection…
Sesshoumaru noticed that the bookstore's layout had not changed since he was here six months ago, except for the new artificial bouquets for decoration. He quickly located the photography section. Hmm, there's someone else there too. Probably a recreational type. He scanned up and down the array of books and spotted the book. He took it out and flipped to the table of contents. Ahh, this is what I'm looking for. He nodded to himself.
Kagome was studying a photo when she detected a presence a few feet next to her. She turned slightly and observed the newcomer in her peripheral vision. The first thing she saw was the long and gleaming silver hair. Is that real? Someone has an idiosyncratic fashion sense. Classy outfit too. Like the displays at… She caught herself and returned to her book.
Half an hour later, Kagome decided on two. The silver-haired stranger was still engrossed in the same one he started with. She went in search of a restroom on the seventh floor. Then she got in the elevator and pressed the "G" button. Two dings later, the car stopped and in strolled the same guy at the photography section. Both seemed mildly surprised at the coincidence.
They stood on opposite sides of the elevator as they descended to the fourth floor ten seconds later. And to the third floor… twenty seconds later. Sesshoumaru frowned slightly and Kagome was beginning to get fidgety. The elevator bumped to a halt before the second floor.
Oh this is just WONDERFUL. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. Please hurry up and get it moving and don't you dare snap the cable.
Kagome was momentarily panicked that the car was going to plunge toward the basement. When it turned out that it simply stopped and nothing seemed to be breaking, she let out a relieved sigh.
They waited patiently for the elevator to start again. Kagome started reading the posters in the elevator. A minute ticked by. Sesshoumaru jammed his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes. Great. I have work to do and so happens to be stuck in the damn elevator.
He inhaled. There's a light floral scent in the air. Very… soothing. He turned and opened his eyes to look at his fellow trapped-in-elevator victim, who's trying to preoccupy herself.
Another minute inched away. Kagome stared at the posters, which just announced discount offers at the café on the first floor. Oh I need a strawberry smoothie like right now. She blinked and found the man looking at her. She returned his gaze with an okay-this-is-great-guess-we-should-call-maintenance look. He shrugged and pressed the button that connected to the emergency phone. A voice cracked at the other end. "R&T maintenance crew."
"Hello? There're two people stuck in elevator C-2." Sesshoumaru half-shouted into the receiver.
"We're so sorry sir, there appeared to be a… slight malfunction. Please stay calm and the maintenance crew will fix it in… about fifteen minutes." Click.
Sesshoumaru glared at the phone. Fifteen minutes in an elevator.
Kagome muttered, "Just our luck huh?"
He raised one eyebrow, "You could say that again."
Half a minute of silence.
Kagome ventured, "Um, how was your bookstore visit... before this, I mean."
Sesshoumaru turned and observed her. Sigh, making conversation once again. "It was good. I got the book I was looking for." He took out his Edgardt book and started reading.
"Me too." Well I guess that ice-breaker was worth a try. Kagome decided to read her books too, so she took out the one that she didn't look over as much. As she was turning a page, she couldn't resist peeking at the cover of the book that he was reading. Something like "Strobe Photography in Science."
Sesshoumaru noticed her furtive glance and smirked ever so slightly. Curious little bird. He turned a page and shifted the book's position more vertically for convenience. And you can stop squinting now.
At that very instant, he caught the title of her book as well. "Chiaroscuro in photography." Now that's intriguing. What's his name... Donitello's trademark technique.
He sensed his thoughts straying from the book. Maybe because the oxygen level was dropping. And her scent is getting more concentrated in the enclosed space. Please get me out of here soon...
They glanced at their respective watches at the same time. Five more minutes. If they're on time. Urgh.
Kagome's thoughts started wandering too. Strobe photography... like the splashing milk droplets and the bullet through the apple.
"I wonder whatstrobe photography is like," she said aloud before she realized she did.
"A technical adventure with an artistic touch," said Sesshoumaru without looking up from his book. "And I see you're studying Donitello's techniques?"
"Yes, I've been experimenting with them digitally, but it's just a hobby."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."
A pause.
"So I guess you're a strobe photographer?"
"Apparently."
"I've always wanted to learn what it's about. Like the inner workings and the technical details." Kagome was earnest.
"Really." Sesshoumaru remarked nonchalantly. He took a second to formulate a response. "Some research labs ask me to take these pictures for them. Physicists and chemists with their fluid dynamics experiments."
Kagome nodded and reflected over what he said. Like those really neat animations on science feature TV series.
A crackle from the elevator phone interrupted her thoughts. "Um, sorry it took awhile, but the elevator should work fine now. Thank you for your patience." Click.
When they came out, the store manager apologized over and over, even more profusely when he met Sesshoumaru's icicle stare. At least we got our books for free. Heh. Gotta tell that to the Old Master and catch up with him sometime.
For no apparent reason, Sesshoumaru extracted a business card with his homepage address and gave it to Kagome. Then he prompted turned and left, leaving her wondering about this curious character.
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A week later, Kagome sent him a link to her homepage and asked to visit his studio. Sesshoumaru read the email with growing amusement and something else he couldn't quite fathom. I've gotten soft. And she seemed genuinely interested. Yeah, how to refuse someone who's genuinely interested… He recalled his first job with Meister Edgardt back in his college days.
He woke up that morning and still couldn't believe that he agreed to let her visit. Nobody had ever set foot in his studio/lab since five years ago when his father and half-brother came over.
The doorbell rang and he answered in his usual nonchalance. Kagome was a little hesitant but nonetheless excited. She glanced around, appreciating the simple elegance of his apartment. She noticed a baby-grand Bösendorfer piano resting against the living room wall. The ebony cover glimmered under the light. That is such a gorgeous piano. Wish I could have one of these…
Sesshoumaru walked a bit more slowly than usual. This place feels different today. More… anticipatory. He turned and found Kagome gaping at his Bösendorfer. Amusing.
They traversed the living room and entered the studio/lab, shrouded in semidarkness. Kagome had never seen so many cameras and computers in one place. CCD's and infrareds and other ones that she didn't recognize were connected to the computer mainframes. They seemed to glow with the marvels within. She walked around and made a mental note of the general setup. This is really heavy-duty stuff.
On one of the monitors, a colorful animation of a hummingbird's flight unfolded in slow motion. That's some screensaver, Kagome stared at the brilliant hues and level of details. On a kickass digital processor too.
Sesshoumaru examined his equipment and made sure everything was in working order. He smirked to himself as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. No doubt smitten by my state-of-the-art machines.
He picked up his hat, tucked his hair in and pressed it into his head. A bucket hat? I was expecting a beret. It doesn't quite go with the shirt he's wearing… Kagome stifled a grin when he caught her staring.
Sometimes one has to sacrifice an impeccable fashion sense for a greater purpose. Sesshoumaru used to wear the olive-colored hat when he was fishing with his father. Oh those were the times. The hat was like… an amulet to help him concentrate and enter a zen state, whether it's fishing or strobe photography.
He put on a pair of latex gloves, took a bottle of glycerin from the shelf, and measured out some quantities with a graduated cylinder. "I'm photographing water droplets with different viscosities, so adding glycerin here makes the water more viscous." Gosh I sound like a grad student giving lab tours, he rolled his eyes.
"What concentrations are you using?" Kagome grabbed a revolving chair nearby and watched the pouring motions.
Sesshoumaru paused at looked at her with curiosity. Hmm, not afraid to ask questions. "Ten to seventy percent by volume, with ten percent increments. And careful not to move around too much around the sensitive equipment." He stared at her firmly but with no reproach.
"Oh sorry." Kagome blushed. She was getting a little too excited.
Sesshoumaru finished preparing the solutions. He peeled off his gloves and began setting up the photographic equipment. A switch here, a knob turn there, and making sure the target is in focus. He liked to play some excerpts from Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody" in his head when he's adjusting the focal length. The trance-inducing rhythms would settle him into a hypnotic groove.
"Water drops are tricky to shoot because they're transparent and can refract light." He turned around. Rather like your eyes, his mind wandered as he mentally slapped himself to the task at hand. His expressions, or lack thereof, betrayed none of his thoughts.
He continued, "So I use this stroboscope that generate flashes, and I can time this to synchronize with how fast the drops are falling." He mounted the equipment so the light source was beneath the drops. "This way enough light can pass through." He looked at Kagome impassively.
Kagome watched him setting up the equipment in fluent dexterity. And his lean, long fingers. I bet he still plays the piano… He seemed so rapt in concentration, even meditative. She dared not to make a sound, for fear it might break the perfect smoothness of the moment. His eyes, partially covered by the hat, were like ageless crystals of amber. His hands worked in tandem with them like a well-oiled machine, yet with such grace.
Sesshoumaru was setting up each solution to drip from micropipette tips and timing the flashes with how fast the drops fell. He turned one of the camera's knobs to adjust the shutter settings. He felt her gaze from a few feet away and tried to empty his mind of stray thoughts, for he could not be distracted right now. Every detail had to be accurate and precise. Though he was a little disturbed that his practiced routine was taking longer than before.
Then he realized the strobe lights were dimmer than usual. Either because they were having a brown-out or the computers were taking a lot of electricity. Probably the latter since the computers seemed to run fine. Oh the timing.
"What's wrong?" asked Kagome when her reverie was intruded by an exasperated groan.
"There seems to be a brown-out and the strobe lights aren't bright enough."
Kagome thought for a brief moment, "Maybe this would help." She took out her keychain and threaded the small flashlight out. "I mean, this could provide additional steady light, and we can adjust the contrasts on the computer afterwards... right?"
Sesshoumaru pondered this. Guess can't hurt to try. "We have to anchor the light source though." He pulled out a drawer with
Erlenmeyer flasks of various sizes and found one that the flashlight fit snugly into. Kagome took the flask and placed it underneath the strobe light.
Sesshoumaru typed away in front of the computer screen. "Could you move the flashlight a bit to the left? Good." A few more mouse clicks and the system was a go.
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The actual shooting took no longer than a few minutes. Afterwards, they viewed the clips from the monitor and adjusted the contrast to make the droplets show up better. The way the droplets rippled the water surface and bounced out in concentric circles reminded Kagome of figure skating or synchronized swimming. The slow motion was beautifully symmetric and never ceased to amaze her. She could stare at this forever and never be bored.
Sesshoumaru was noting his observations of how the concentrations affected the splash patterns. Good old fluid dynamics. He could almost hear Prof. Edgardt's penetrating yet calming voice explaining the Navier-Stokes equations. It was such a headache deriving them, and maybe that's why he remembered them as a jumble of symbols at the present moment.
Kagome suddenly asked, "What if I'd like throw a rubber ball against the wall and record the moment of impact?"
"You could…" Sesshoumaru trailed off.
"Could I try it now?" She grinned.
"No." He tried not to laugh out loud. "Not today at least."
"Okay." Kagome decided that she had enough excitement for the day anyway. "But one of these days."
"Indeed."
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A few days later, Kagome found a package for her at the front desk of her apartment. It felt weighty and substantial – and it was from Sesshoumaru. She rushed upstairs and opened it. It's a copy of the new strobe photography book he got at the bookstore. Inside there was a note:
Prof. Edgardt just sent me a copy with his signature, which I intend to keep for myself. Thus I present my other copy to you. Hope you enjoy.
Kagome beamed. She knew she was going to have lots of fun with this.
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