DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE

Before I say anything about my morning as a paparazzo, can anybody tell me what "noise" means in photographic terms? To me it is something heard, usually unpleasant as in a burglar downstairs or the neighbour's kids shrieking in the swimming pool.

I went along to the hospital this morning with Himself to pick up the results of some tests he had. I sloped along the hallways taking shots and quickly dropped the camera to my side if anybody dressed in white or green appeared. I took care not to get anybody's face in focus. They're terrific shots if I do say so myself.

Then I wanted to stop at the river to photograph the water birds there because there is one that looks like an aquatic turkey. Only the ducks were there but oh, my goodness, there was so much else. There was the pretty girl with a pretty dog on a leash, she pretending she didn't know what the dog was doing. There was an old fellow with a white beard out in the river studying his reflection in the water. Then there was a girl in a bikini in the water while two men, one heavily tattooed stood on the bank in deep conversation. There was another woman, knee deep in the water who spotted the camera and struck a hands-on-hip pose. Not a pretty sight but anatomically interesting.

But it was these two grown men, acting like kids at a swimming hole, who won the day. It is a shallow river but they obviously knew where they could dive.

Sigh. I suppose it's better than a bad day when nothing is any good.