Instant weight loss

click photo to enlarge

My newspaper tells me that the two most common new year's resolutions are to stop smoking and to lose weight. You can call me an old cynic if you like, but it seems to me that if you can't stop smoking in June why should you think it's more likely to happen in January? And, apparently, the statistics bear that out - virtually all attempts to stop smoking based on a new year's resolution fail. Are new year attempts to lose weight any more successful? Well, you can see why people are motivated at this time of year. Apparently it's not unusual, in the affluent West, to consume 7,000 calories on Christmas day! Clearly that's one reason new gym memberships soar in January. However, by the end of February many of the newly signed-up are falling by the wayside, and by April the treadmill and weights are a distant memory. So, the answer to new year resolutions seems to be don't make a promise that you haven't a chance of keeping. Better still, don't bother!

On the other hand, if you really want to look slimmer you could stand in front of a convex window on the corner of a building, like I did with my wife. The effect is instant elongation - the weight (whether you've got it to lose or not) just melts away! Better yet, cars become a more manageable size, and you find yourself with a smile on your face doing silly things with your arms. How's that for a brief, instant, painless and effortless feeling of well-being! I took this shot in front of a swimming pool on the promenade at Blackpool, Lancashire. I used a wide zoom lens at 42mm (35mm equivalent), with the camera set to Aperture Priority (f8 at 1/320 sec), ISO 400, with -1.7EV.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen