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“What do you use to edit them?” he asks, after he’s looked at a few.
“What do you mean? I just point the camera, take the picture and, if I think it goes with the article, I send it in.”
“Some of these could be good, with a little bit of editing. May I?” he asks.
I can hardly refuse. He goes to the app store and downloads an app, then opens up one of the pictures I took in the Grand Bazaar. It’s a view down one of the thoroughfares, with shops and stalls on either side.
“OK,” he says. “Let me show you. The first thing I’m going to do is crop this. Have you heard of the rule of thirds?”
“No.” I’m starting to regret this already as it sounds like we’re going to set off down a nerdy rabbit hole.
“It’s quite simple,” he explains. “In your mind, imagine the picture is divided into three, both horizontally and vertically, like a grid. Got it?”
I look at the image and mentally try to overlay the grid lines.
“Yes,” I reply.
“OK, so the rule of thirds is that you should place the main focus of interest on one of the points where the gridlines intersect. So, in this picture, we’ve got a chap walking away from us, wearing a pink shirt. I’m going to crop the picture so that he’s in the bottom right third.” He fiddles with the app for a moment. “See?”
I look at what he’s done and have to admit that it has really improved the picture.
“Now we can adjust the colouring and so on. There are lots of things you can adjust, and they’re all on sliders, so you can just play with them until it looks the way you want.” He demonstrates, and within a few seconds the picture is unrecognisable as one of mine.
“That’s extraordinary!” I tell him.
“It’s not bad, is it? You can get some pretty impressive pictures with a phone these days. There are still some significant shortcomings compared to a DSLR, but….”
“A what?”
“DSLR. It stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex,” he explains. Seeing the look of utter incomprehension on my face he opens his rucksack to reveal not one but two full-sized cameras, lots of different lenses and various other bits of paraphernalia.
“Like this,” he says, fishing one of the cameras out and handing it to me.
“Good grief! Why do you need so much stuff to take pictures? Actually, don’t tell me, I’ll just trust that you do. I’ll stick with my iPhone, thanks. Much less obtrusive, for one thing.”
“Fair enough,” he replies, taking the camera and putting it back in the bag. “Do use that app though, it will make a big difference.”
The next morning, we have breakfast early, before it’s properly light, so we can pack our bags and check out before Toby is due at ski school. When I hand over the voucher to cover the bill, the receptionist is evidently totally bemused, and asks us to wait while she carries out a whispered conversation on the phone. A smartly dressed man appears a few minutes later.
“Bonjour Monsieur, bonjour Mademoiselle,” he says to us, shaking our hands. “I am Alain, the day manager. This is very new for us, not to know who is coming and when. I trust you enjoyed your stay?”
“Very much, thank you,” I reply. “The room was very comfortable, and we have been well looked after. Is it OK if we leave our baggage here and collect it later?”
“Mais bien sur!” He waves the concierge over. “I will take care of l’addition – the bill – for you. Is there anything else we can do?”
“No, that’s great. Merci, Alain,” I reply.
“In that case, I will wish you an enjoyable day, and I look forward to the review. Au revoir!”
The concierge takes our bags and issues us with tickets to present when we want to collect them. As we go to retrieve our skis and boots, I notice that Toby is even quieter than usual.
“Is everything OK?” I ask him.
“I’m not really sure skiing is my thing,” he replies. “I didn’t enjoy it yesterday and my legs are pretty stiff this morning, despite the massage. I have to confess I’m not brimming over with excitement at the prospect of a repeat performance today.”
“It’ll be better today, trust me. While you were asleep, your brain has probably been whirring away, working out what it needs to do.”
“I hope you’re right,” he replies, “otherwise this is going to be a dismal experience.”
