ring and photographs

I am driving in a tiny town. The roads are so skinny that even though they aren't one-way they should be. I stop at a red light in the middle of what seems like will be a clear ribbon of road. On either side of the road is an old stone house. Close to the road. The area reminds me of the English countryside. The car is on a slight incline and I pull past the traffic light dangling from above. It is almost night and the road is glistening after rain. I can't see the traffic light anymore, but a car is approaching from the opposite direction. I continue through the light to make way for the other car. I drive on.

in the next scene I am sitting on a stool with other people who I don't recognize. I am participating in a competition for photographers. The teacher/consultant comes to our table and begins to discuss the first event. As she begins talking my friend, DB, pulls up a stool across from me and distracts me. I miss her speech entirely. She comes over to me first and asks if she can pick my venture. I get the feeling that she thinks I'm physically incapable of completing the task. She suggests that I write about my color choice. I prefer to photograph I tell her. She shows me a spinning display case with various jewelry in numerous colors. She tells me to pick a warm color. I sense that she believes I don't know what "warm" means. I choose a ring that is a slate-ish color. It is subdued and beautiful. She holds it up to the light to show me how complex the coloring is: there are specks of pristine white and hints of coral -- but the majority of the ring slips between slate and gray, and blue. Very soft. She offers me her ring as inspiration. As she hands it to me it drops to the floor under the stool next to me. As I bend my body to reach for it another contestant comes over (he's a guy from high school) as I reach for the ring he places his hand on my bare right shoulder. He mentions how soft my skin is and keeps his hand there. The placement of his hand prevents me from reaching the ring. Before I know it we are picking among the other contestants for our models.

I choose five women. Each woman has long, stark black hair and they are wearing soft purplish-bluish colors. I like the contrasts. I set them up around a large dining table and they begin posing. I ask them to carry on, drinking and eating, naturally. I stalk around the table taking photographs as they enjoy themselves.

I'm nervous because the camera is awkward in hand and I'm not sure that I've pulled off artistic and professional-looking shots.