Oh, What the Heck

Some of us are better photographers than others. Some of us really suck, even with the finest equipment and lighting. Some of us get sparklingly perfect shots with a cell phone camera. Some of us know all sorts of image editing tricks. Some of us are brilliant at framing a shot, choosing blissful focal planes and dreamy shadows. Some of us don't even deserve to use a disposable camera.
I'm somewhere in the middle of all that. I occasionally get a beautiful picture, but when that happens, it's usually luck. I know what kind of lighting works best for me, and I'm having some success with focus. I've taken some real stinkers: blurry, dark, poorly framed, indecipherable. And I've taken some so-so pictures that were slightly redeemable by fooling around with saturation, straightness, exposure, etc., in the editing software.
I'll gladly publish my pretty pictures, and I'm only slightly embarrassed by my average shots. I'm still learning.
But who in their right mind would deliberately publish an Ugly Photo? On purpose? Really ugly?
Well, I got talked into this by Rachael from Fresh Approach Cooking. She proposed a one-off event she's calling "My Blog Went Up in Flames" (read about it at Food Blog S'cool), where entries will be judged on General Unappetizingness, among other criteria.
I may not already be a winner, but by my standards, I had a doozie to submit.
Once I mailed off my entry, I was suddenly free of shame. My ugly photo is out there, and will probably be posted on Rachael's site sometime next week.
So, I decided to OWN my unappetizingness, my lousy lighting, my — well, face it, my mystery meat.
Voilà, le preview, along with the description I sent to Rachael.
Hi Rachael:
Too funny. I happened to take this picture just four days ago. It's Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room of the senior community where my parents live, and there wasn't a green vegetable to be found in the entire buffet line. You are looking at (clockwise, from "noon") a hunk of roasted turkey the carver couldn't be bothered to slice thinly; a pockmarked chunk of sweet potato (I suspect a raisin was embedded in that scary hole); creamed carrots with an overdose of dried thyme -- actually the only herbal flavors on the whole plate; and a scoop of mashed potatoes drowning in a sploosh of decidedly non-turkey gravy (onion was the predominant flavor).
OK, title. Let's go with "Preznit Giv Me Turkee." (References: here and here).
Lighting: Oh, just say "ambient old folks home."
Backstory: See above.
Appetizingness: You judge. I brought sandwich baggies in my purse, in case there was something good to smuggle home. They remain pristine, unused.
No way was I going to blog this mess. But I sure hope you will.
Thanks!!
xx
cc
Yes, well, obviously I have now blogged this mess.
Please enjoy the rest of your day.