The Light Stalker & Sibling Sobriquets
I’ve come to realize that my sister is a stalker. In her defense, she’s never been arrested for this bad behavior, or had a restraining order against her. But, when I watch her in action, I can see that she’s after something and she’ll stop at nothing to get it.
In reality, she’s a professional photographer. This means she has all kinds of equipment that probably costs the equivalent of a single-family home. It’s all this gear that serves as her accomplice, as she stalks the perfect lighting before shooting any subject.
She gets irked when I describe her profession this way. So like any good sibling, I add insult to injury and tell her I’m impressed that she added another individual to her arsenal! She calls this person her assistant. I call him her assassin. He’s often seen holding a reflector that resembles aluminum foil, sending light with laser precision toward any target. If you’re looking for a low-stress job, and have arms that can hold an aluminum reflector, this could be the gig for you.
I’m pretty sure that famous photographer guy, Ansel Adams, knew all about utilizing light to make the perfect photograph. I’m one hundred percent sure that using full name is hardly necessary. He’s that famous! It’s clear you made it in life when one word for recognition will do. Plus, with a name like Ansel, he was destined for a life in the arts. It just doesn’t get much artsier, so kudos to his parents.
This name thing got me thinking, so I Googled mine and discovered it means Lily. This is surprising as I struggle with the art of gardening, and my thumb is the furthest thing from the green. The closest it’s come is when a doctor, stitching a wound, mentioned gangrene as something to be avoided at all costs.
When it comes to this Mr. Ansel becoming an artist, it makes me realize there’s something to this name-to-profession phenomenon. I’m not kidding; there are real researchers who actually study this stuff. They came up with a name for it, which, disappointingly, is a wasted opportunity for humor. It’s called, nominative determinism. Boring, I know. But this scientific theory demonstrates that people are drawn to professions that match their surname.
I’m no scientist, but apparently it’s not ironic that Dr. Fang removed my wisdom teeth, and Ms. Wisdom was a professor I had way back in my college years. If you want to learn more about names, professions, and proctologists named Dr. Butts, you can do so here. S.J. Velasquez from the BBC wrote all about it. Even though his name doesn’t support the topic matter, the article is good for a chuckle and an informative read on the topic.
Along these same lines, I’ve been known to play what I call the doppelganger name game. This equates to a time-sucking activity that discovers who in the universe shares your same name. Google has helped me find all kinds of ghostly doubles that look nothing like me but share my namesake. Obviously, I have an unhealthy obsession with these types of things. But now that you’ve read about it, I’m willing to bet a Bitcoin you’ll Google your name and see who’s out there, living in a parallel universe, sharing your same signature.
I’ve found some pretty cool people doing similar things that I like to do! This lady, Suzanne Nelson (my maiden name), is a published author. This one, Suzanne McCormack is a television producer! Although, in fairness, she spells her name slightly differently. But I’m more than happy to hop on and ride her namesake coattails!
Regarding photography, while I love to think I’ve mastered a certain level of the art form, I’ll never be as apt as Ansel. My sister will concur. But I bet I can find somebody who shares my namesake who is! After all, it’s destined by the divine entity of a doppelganger.
