It could have been worse. Well, some of it could have.

A friend and former photography teacher to treated me to lunch in exchange for reading the first several pages of his novel. (It just keeps getting better and it may be time for him to submit it.)

Because it was an all-you-can-eat salad bar that featured soft tacos, various pastas, soups, ice cream and cake (oh, and actual salad) I did as much damage to the salad bar and my diet/lifestyle change as I could.

I also got a couple contacts from him for people to read my current work in progress.

After that, we went to the Olympus Gallery which is a kind of porn shop for people interested in Olympus cameras. My friend turned out to be their most effective salesman and convinced me that getting one the cameras used might be a good idea, especially as the value is dropping thanks to a new version coming out. (Luckily there were no used versions around.)

While we were there, we saw a small exhibition off to the side that seemed to be staffed with women dressed in flowing robes and/or togas. We were both immediately impressed (with the photographs, not the women, although, well, more on that later) and spent a lot more time studying the photographs than we’d planned.

The photographer has a fantasy style that involves lots of costumes, make up and smoke machines that let him print the photos on large sheets of paper that look like paintings. We were trying to figure out how he spliced in all the models so seamlessly but later, when we spoke with him he assured us that everything was taken in one shot with no heavy post processing.

Eventually we realized that all the women in robes/togas were models who appeared in a number of the photographs, including one that was the center piece and that explained why they were dressed the way they were. (Note: we met the one on the far left and the one center left who appears to be wiping a tear.) Even with the robes/togas, they looked much different without all the stylized make up and bank of Profoto lights. Also, because it was the last day of the show, other models showed up to get pictures of themselves next to their pictures.

Eventually I got home and She Who Must Be Obeyed asked how my day was and I said it was good. She asked what I did all afternoon and I said “Looked at models, um, of cameras.”

Which is not, technically, a lie.