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SAPCC #6 – Phobias

Phobias… My first thought was to look up phobias and find a few funny ones to capture. However, I was internet-less this weekend so I was forced to find my own phobias.

I don’t really fear anything in this picture. I just wanted to know what an “imaginary remodeling corp.” does. In a way, the fear could be that the economy will get so bad that we will all have to rely on imaginary things to bring us a sense of wealth and fulfillment.

I do have a fear of mediocrity so what better way to express it than to take a subpar photo of a store that sells “o.k” fruits & vegetables?

I do not have a fear of bridges but I know it is a real phobia for some. I didn’t get a good shot but I liked that in this smaller version, it appears as if the car in front of me is headed towards me. That would make me scared.

I also do not have a fear of black cats but, since I was too lazy to take a picture of a calendar highlighting a Friday the 13th and, since I was visiting my brother and his black cat, I thought I would further creep Pat out with this shot of a black cat.

Another phobia I do not have is the fear of electrical lines. This one is quite intimidating though.

I am now moving on to some of my phobias. I did not look up the true definition of “phobia,” but I equate it with irrational fears or weird fears… I am afraid of fire, dying & being maimed by a drunk driver but I think these are rational fears… maybe not that last one. The following, however, are some of my more irrational fears.

I am often afraid that a construction crane will drop something on me. This one is not too scary.

Ever since I saw the preview for the movie “Daylight,” I am afraid that whilst driving through a tunnel a massive gush of water will engulf me or there willbe a big fireball or accident & I will be forced to choose between running forward or turning around. I try to pay attention to which side I am closest to. I liked this shot because it was dirty and there is a weird reflection of that cab.

I HATE walking over subway grates like this. Even taking the picture scared me. I think I am going to fall through.

I am not afraid of the dark per se but I am afraid that someone will jump out of the darkness and kill me so I shot several different versions of myself as a shadow in the walkway. I couldn’t get the arms scary enough to make this my entry and I was afraid to bring a knife or fake gun outside because I hate the upstairs neighbors.

Ok, so heights are not a fear of mine, but I really liked this shot & did not want to put it in the beginning. This was a Citi building in Queens. I have a few other shots but this week’s need for an assistant was my inability to remember to adjust the white balance setting and change back to auto-focus. Just after taking this picture, the security guard shooed me away. Clearly I was not casing the joint. Dick. I really liked the reflections and symmetry.

Ok, my most irrational fear is that Big Papi will be hit by another car or shopping carts in a parking lot. I intentionally park away from other cars & remove all carts that may be near him. I am increasingly annoyed by the lazy people who do not return their carts to the proper receptacles. My last car was ruined by careless door opening and my mom’s car was attacked by carts on several occasions. There have been a few times when I felt the carts were after me so I thought it would be funny to set up a shot in which Big Papi was surrounded by mean shopping carts SOOOOO imagine my surprise when I went out to my car and saw this:

I was parked in a residential, suburban neighborhood that is about 18 blocks from the grocery store. I have never seen a shopping cart on our street before and I did not reposition the cart to be staring down Big Papi. To make matters worse, when we got back from the store, the cart had been moved into my parking spot! They are totally out to get me. I wished the light were better so this could have been my entry.

After all of that, my entry is really my ladder phobia. While it does not shout “phobia,” it is a reminder to me that if I had gotten over my fear of ladders like this one, I could have climbed onto the roof at my boyfriend’s job and taken some really cool pictures. I think the shadow in the walkway better expresses phobia but this is a better picture. Hmmmm… That always gets me. The better shot or the better representation of the theme? I like themes like this one.