11th English : With the Photographer
Unit 4.3 > With the Photographer
Warm Up
1. What are the occasions when photographs are taken?
- birthday parties
- Valedictory functions
- Wedding ceremony
- Tours
- Graduation Day
- Cultural programmes
- Inaugural functions
- School Annual Day
2. Why are photographs taken?
- to freeze our favourite moments
- For official purposes like passport, driving licence, voters’ ID
- To show them to others
- To relive the past experience
- An evidence
GLOSSARY
- drooping – bending
- unwarrantable – illegal, wrongful
- pursuits – quest
- frantic – mad, desperate
- grave – serious
- boundless – limitless
- ceased – stopped
- trifle – bit
- staggering – shaking or vibrating
- animation – excitement
- beckoned – called
- superficies – surface / outer face
- withering scorn – disapproving hatred
- depict – show, give a picture of
- reconcile – to comfort and heal
- emboss – cause to bulge out
- bauble – a thing of no value
1. Based on your understanding of the story, answer the following questions in two or three sentences each.
a. Why did the author go to the photo studio?
The author went to the photo studio to get him photographed.
b. Describe the photographer.
The photographer was a man with a bend on his back. He wore a gray suit and he had dim eyes.
c. Bring out the significance of what Leacock was reading at the photographer’s.
He read some very old magazines like ‘Ladies Companion’, ‘The Girls’ Magazine’ and ‘The Infants Journal’. All the magazines were old numbers and they had no connection with him.
d. Why did Leacock assume that the photographer was praying?
The photographer entered into the black cloth which covered the camera and then he was very quiet there. So he thought he was praying.
e. How did the inner room get light?
The inner room received the sunlight that filtered through a sheet of factory cotton. It was hung against a frosted skylight.
f. Why did the photographer take a long time to photograph Leacock?
The photographer thought that Leacock’s face was quite wrong and he wanted to get a good photo out of it. He tried to make lot of adjustments. So the photographer took a long time to photograph Leacock.
g. What angered the author?
The photographer asked him to adjust all the parts of body like ears, eyes, hands, face etc. Finally he said that still he did not like his face. This angered the author.
h. Why did the photographer feel happy after taking the photograph?
The photographer was happy after taking the photograph because he could click the camera at the right time with animation.
i. Why did Leacock visit the studio on Saturday?
Leacock visited the studio on Saturday because the photographer had asked him to come back on Saturday to see the proof of his photo.
j. How did the author react on seeing his photograph?
The photo did not resemble him. So he asked ‘Is it me?’ He showed his unhappiness to the photographer.
k. What changes had the photographer effected on Leacock’s face in the picture?
The photographer had made changes in the eyes, eyebrows and the mouth.
l. What was the human side of the photographer?
The photographer suggested some ideas to make his photo look better. That was the human side of the photographer.
m. Why was the photographer proud to receive Leacock on Saturday?
He was proud to receive Leacock on Saturday because he was about to show the photo in which he had used his talents and knowledge to change certain parts to make it look better.
n. What was the only similarity between Leacock’s face and the photograph?
Only the ears in the photograph had similarity with his face.
2. Based on your understanding of the lesson, complete the sentences given below to make a summary of the story ‘With the Photographer’ in a paragraph.
a. The narrator went to the photographer to _____________.
Ans : get his photograph taken
b. The photographer made the author wait for _____________.
Ans : one hour
c. While waiting in the studio the narrator kept reading _____________.
Ans : some old magazines
d. The photographer told him to ________.
Ans : come inside
e. The narrator got angry because ________.
Ans : the photographer was going on criticising his face.
f. The photographer was pleased after __________.
Ans : the photograph had been taken
g. He was called on Saturday to _________.
Ans : see the proof of the photograph
h. On seeing the photograph the narrator ___________.
Ans : was upset
i. The photographer had made changes _____________.
Ans : on his eyes, eyebrows and mouth.
j. The photograph did not look like __________.
Ans : the narrator
k. The narrator was frustrated as _________.
Ans : the photographer had made many changes to make the photo look better
l. He left the studio saying ___________.
Ans : that the photo was a worthless bauble
3. Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 100 – 150 words.
a. Stephen Leacock’s visit to the photo studio turns out to be an annoying experience for him. Discuss citing relevant instances from the story.
Leacock in a photo studio – get his photo taken – kept the camera – serious look – commented on his face – instructed him – irritated Leacock – to get up – clicked the camera – made many changes – keep photo for him
Stephen Leacock describes his experiences in a photo studio where he wanted to get his photograph taken. The photographer was a drooping man who looked like a scientist. Leacock waited for one hour and he was called inside. He kept the camera in the middle of the room and had a look at Leacock. He gave a serious look at him and said that his face was not good and Leacock accepted it. He came out of the camera and adjusted Leacock’s head and hand. Even then he was not satisfied. He asked Leacock to open his mouth and then close it. He said that the ears were not good and gave lot of instructions which irritated Leacock. Then Leacock angrily said that he was living with his face so far and he loved it. As he was about to get up the photographer clicked and the photo was taken. When he went to the studio again to see the proof, he was shocked to see that many changes had been made to make the photo look better. Leacock came out of the studio angrily asking the photographer to keep the photo for him, as it was a worthless bauble.
b. “To me it is a worthless bauble.” Why did the photographer’s touch of technical expertise appear a worthless bauble to Leacock?
Leacock in a photo studio – get his photo taken – kept the camera – serious look – adjusted face – not satisfied – commented on face – irritated – about to get up – clicked the camera – changed a lot – looked better – no resemblance to him – explained changes – angry Leacock – keep the photo for the photographer
Stephen Leacock describes his experiences in a photo studio where he wanted his photograph taken. The photographer was a drooping man who looked like a scientist. Leacock waited for one hour and he was called inside. He kept the camera in the middle of the room and had a look at Leacock. He gave a serious look at him and said that his face was not good and Leacock accepted it. He came out of the camera and adjusted Leacock’s head and hand. Even then he was not satisfied. He gave lot of instructions to adjust his ears, eyes and mouth. Leacock was irritated and said that he was happy to live with this face. As he was about to get up the photographer clicked and the photo was taken. When he went to the studio again to see the proof, he was shocked to see that many changes had been made to make the photo look better. The photo did not resemble Leacock. The photographer explained that he had changed his eyes, eyebrows and mouth were retouched to get a better look. He said that he used modern technology to do such changes. Since it did not resemble him, it had no value for him. So it was a worthless bauble to Leacock. He asked the photographer to keep it for himself and his friends.
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