Maxwell 58: What Will Anna Do? Plus Anna Marie Gives Birth

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

Inquiring minds want to know, if Sarah went to the beach did she have a swim suit?  A modest one-piece most likely -- but still a suit that showed her body shape and legs, not to mention her upper chest. Eye traps!!!!

Dare we hope?  Perhaps one of her SILs went shopping with her?  I'll bet Kory thought she looked fabulous and sexy.

Compare that photo to all the old ones of Sarah in multiple layers of clothing and a long skirt  --all to hid her body. Photos with a sad wan smile that never reached her eyes.

If i didn't know that radiant woman was Sarah, I wouldn't realize it was her based on the old photos.

And -- do my eyes deceive me, but does Sarah have a tan? 

 

[Melissa1977]

On 8/13/2023 at 1:19 PM, moreorlessnu said:

If this is just the natural healthy size of her body when someone else isn't restricting her food, I hate to think how malnourished and deprived she was all those years. 

It's not unusual that slim people put some natural weight after 40. Anyway, we don't know how Sarah is eating now. Maybe she is just enjoying the food her parents banned for years and she put some weight because of that (frankly, if it's the case, good for her!). 

This said, even if Maxwells controlled  Sarah's food (and I'm sure they did) she wasn't  malnourished. That is a very heavy word that simply doesn't match any of the Maxwell sisters. Sarah looked fine. She looks fine now too. 

 

[hoipolloi]

4 hours ago, theologygeek said:

She takes better pictures than her brother does.  His are terrible.  Hers are beautiful. 

I wonder if she has a bunch of stupid rules for prospective clients to follow.

Her photos *are* much better than his.

[theologygeek]

6 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

I wonder if she has a bunch of stupid rules for prospective clients to follow.

Her photos *are* much better than his.

I don't know, but my guess is that she doesn't.  She seems to be coming out of her shell and is not wound up as tight as her brother is.  

[chilis]

Had an experience this morning that I started to mention to my husband, then realized he would think I'm even crazier than he already knows.

This week I (a solidly middle aged woman) have fallen down the Bama Rush rabbit hole. I do not know why but resistance is futile.  In the past couple weeks I have also been re-visiting the old Maxwell threads and falling down that rabbit hole.  

This morning I was switching back and forth between the two, trying to process the cognitive dissonance, and picturing Steve's reaction to the Bama Rush phenomenon.  Man, I wish I could see it. 

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

If Anna is returning to ABC on campus, shouldn't that be soon?  Also if Mary is planning to take online classes, would we hear about it?  Would we hear what Anna's plans are?

Please, please please dear Rufus,  let Kory and his sisters be influencing Anna and Mary to finish college as the prelude to their futures.

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

If Anna is returning to ABC on campus, shouldn't that be soon?

Certainly by the end of the month, if not sooner.

[Maggie Mae]

I feel the need to share this photo that Christopher took and highlighted as one of his best works. I'm not even a photographer but it's probably one of my least favorite photos out of all of his, and I just have questions: 

Why is everyone so far away? Why take a photo of the back of the couple's heads? Why not move the megaphone and the water bottle? Did the Alaskans who attended an outdoor wedding in Florida survive the heat, bugs, and humidity? Why one balloon? What is the focus of this photo? 

There are so many photos like this one but I think it's a good example of how Christopher might not even like photography. He might just like the technology that goes along with it, or he was ordered into it and never really considered anything else. 

Sarah's work is great though, and it's obvious from her captions that despite being told she was a writer, she's really not. She could consider using an AI tool for the captions, just to mix it up. And not be afraid of identifying people as "This is my brother's family and I loved this photo shoot because ...."

 

 

Spoiler

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

I usually don't want to be rude, but in this case ....... That photo is awful. Very amateur, not professional at all.  It's not even a well done candid shot.

Christopher has no feel for composition, no eye for what makes a good a shot, no sense of lighting.  It's as if he doesn't care At. Al.l how the photos turn out.

I cannot imagine the couples who hire him are in any pleased with the photos.

[Maggie Mae]

I am NOT a good photographer at all, so I don't want to be too mean.

I think one of his biggest struggles is editing. Like here: https://christophermaxwell.com/photos/moses-and-rebecca-wedding/ Some of the portraits are pretty cute, and people who know these people would like them. Others I can kind of see what he's trying to do, artistically, but he's just not quite there, it just feels off. 

Some of the worst photos are the ones that are featured or larger on the page. Some would be better with a crop. I have a coworker who won a couple of photography awards and she told me once that she is just really good at cropping. And I started to do the same and it made so many photos look better. That and taking the time to look at everything - where the sun is, where shadows are, squinting, what's in the background, the angle, etc. I'm still terrible at it and my photos never look how I want them too, but that's me.  

Way back in the Jurassic Period, I took a photojournalist class as part of my Journalism degree. We talked a lot about when to edit/photoshop and when photos are just documenting an event/occasion. Christopher never had that luxury, to go to school, learn interesting things, have a discussion about when it's OK to photoshop out that redness, when it's OK to move the empty water bottle or dress, and when it's important to take the photo of the crowd.   

I'm really happy for Sarah, she looks amazing in that photo and that guy is pretty good looking. 

[hoipolloi]

5 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

We talked a lot about when to edit/photoshop and when photos are just documenting an event/occasion. Christopher never had that luxury, to go to school, learn interesting things, have a discussion about when it's OK to photoshop out that redness, when it's OK to move the empty water bottle or dress, and when it's important to take the photo of the crowd.   

All this. I also took several photography classes, enjoyed them, and learned things. I learned that you need to develop an eye for taking the photos, which may mean that you shoot 25 - 100 images and get one or a few that are basically OK. I also learned that editing, preferably with Photoshop, is a necessity. All professionals process their photos once they weed out the rejects. Finally, I learned that it is really helpful to have useful criticism, especially from good photographers. 

Re:  Photoshop. It certainly isnʻt the only photo-editing program out there but it does have a lot of the necessary and nice-to-have functions, even in Photoshop Elements, which according to my teachers has about 90-95% of what's in the professional version. I use Macs and the photo-editing capabilities of Apple Photos, which is free with Mac OS, are pretty good and allow fine-tuning of images.

[Bethy]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:54 AM, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

If Anna is returning to ABC on campus, shouldn't that be soon? 

I checked to see if there are any sports Anna could conceivably be doing (unless she is too old to be eligible) but they don't have a cross country team which, with her anti-sports childhood, is the only thing she's possibly got skill set for. So I don't think we could possibly start seeing her on their social media before next week. I'm not sure how much earlier the new student arrive vs. returning students. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I like this picture because I like to think of Samuel as an attentive husband. Who will get down and fix her dress so the picture is perfect. All Steve would focus on is eye traps. Sam is focusing on helping Anna. 

[Brittany15]

I think that photo also shows a level of comfort with each other. 

[marmalade]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I like this picture because I like to think of Samuel as an attentive husband. Who will get down and fix her dress so the picture is perfect. All Steve would focus on is eye traps. Sam is focusing on helping Anna. 

Sam didn't marry Anna. 😃

[JermajestyDuggar]

6 hours ago, marmalade said:

Sam didn't marry Anna. 😃

Sorry I keep doing that for some reason. I have always known which is which. But for some reason I mix their names up. Actually, I think I just call both of them Anna. Probably because there are so many Anna Maxwells. 

[MamaJunebug]

On 8/24/2023 at 12:46 AM, Bethy said:

they don't have a cross country team which, with her anti-sports childhood, is the only thing she's possibly got skill set for.

Actually her family history of forced marches  daily running probably gave her enough stamina that she could develop skills for basketball, volleyball or racquet sports pretty easily!

[theologygeek]

On 8/21/2023 at 10:54 AM, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

If Anna is returning to ABC on campus, shouldn't that be soon?  Also if Mary is planning to take online classes, would we hear about it?  Would we hear what Anna's plans are?

Please, please please dear Rufus,  let Kory and his sisters be influencing Anna and Mary to finish college as the prelude to their futures.

More pictures on the school's facebook page.  No sign of Anna yet.  If she is back home doing online classes with Mary, that is just beyond sad.  She looked so happy at school.  Well at least she got a little taste of freedom.  

[Xan]

I fear that the only reason both girls were allowed to attend is because they could do it together and Steve thought he could count on them to tattle if one stepped out of line.  If Mary isn't going back, he might have refused to allow Anna to attend.  We don't know who is paying the tuition and fees.  If it's Steve, Anna won't be attending.  Plus, two of the girls are now married.  Steve is still hoping to have one daughter who will tend to him and Teri and keep them out of a nursing home.

[Margarita]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:23 PM, Giraffe said:

One of the benefits I've experienced after walking away from religion ("it's not a religion; it's a relationship!" Same difference) has been getting to know people without the pressure of seeing them as a salvation project. I'm currently at a job that I like with people I mostly like. It's been lovely not having the anxiety of wanting to fit in while also fighting the guilt of "I need to tell these people the gospel!!!"

I was inadvertently rude to one of my coworkers yesterday. I simply apologized at a convenient time and we laughed about it because she hadn't even realized I was talking to her! If I think of that interaction when I was still a believer it would have turned into such a ball of chaotic anxiety in my head. What if me being rude to her was the one thing that completely turned her off to Christ? What if anyone else heard me? Was she just being nice when she said she didn't see me as rude? 

While I realize a lot of that can be chalked up to "welcome to the anxiety asshole that lives rent-free in my brain," the lack of "what is god telling me to do in this situation" now is glorious!

This sounds like such freedom. I'm happy for you. 

[Sops2]

Anna liked the most recent post of ABC admissions on Instagram.

A bit sad if she's not there, but if Steve said No.. 

There are no posts at all on her instagram account

[theologygeek]

3 hours ago, Xan said:

I fear that the only reason both girls were allowed to attend is because they could do it together and Steve thought he could count on them to tattle if one stepped out of line.  If Mary isn't going back, he might have refused to allow Anna to attend.  We don't know who is paying the tuition and fees.  If it's Steve, Anna won't be attending.  Plus, two of the girls are now married.  Steve is still hoping to have one daughter who will tend to him and Teri and keep them out of a nursing home.

How do you even go back to the same house and wear clothes that your parents have criticized in the past?  Hopefully she's living with Gigi or something.  I really hope she didn't go back to that same house and same life  

[JermajestyDuggar]

She’s been spotted! 

[Jana814]

I hope Anna went back to school. 

[theologygeek]

41 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She’s been spotted! 

Omg Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!  You go Anna!