Through an increasingly common, though still unusual, turn of events facilitated by twitter*, I agreed to take some photos today at Turl Street Kitchen, a social enterprise cafe set up in Oxford, on the off chance they may be accepted for a piece about them in Vogue. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes. Vogue. Stop laughing.

After a bit of a misunderstanding (I thought it was a group staff photo), I loitered there for 10 minutes this morning snapping customers, staff and space. The deadline was today, but as I was running a (slightly chaotic) focus group this afternoon, I didn’t get home till almost too late to look at the photos. There were a few quite goodish ones I hurriedly edited and sent to TSK. I got an email an hour later saying ‘lovely pics will get back to you in an hour’, then an email saying ‘they’re looking at the stool pic. Will keep you posted’.

O.M.G. They?? Vogue? Looking at my stool pic?????? Really??????

I looked at the stool pic I’d sent them. It was a bit fuzzy round the edges. I went back to the original photos. There was a much sharper photo I’d overlooked. A bit like I didn’t have enough shop vouchers at the end of the focus group earlier and wondered if I’d given someone two by mistake. It was tucked in among some paperwork. So careless.

I added the (heaps) better stool pic to my submission (is that the term?) but it was probably too late. I don’t suppose these big Vogue guns go back to look late entries. My almost hugely special-funtastic photographic moment dashed.

Finding the ‘missing’ voucher was important to the focus group participants though. Important to their sense of integrity. Much more so than a sharp photo of stools.

Vogue can wait.

*thanks to @abiccles for her thoughtful retweeting