Tweet of the Week #108: Perfectly Failed Pictures

Point and shoot. Taking pictures at the perfect time couldn’t be easier, right? Well, the reality is that professional photographers train for years to actively “wait'” for that brief moment of perfection. 

The rest of us mostly end up with photo fails. But a picture gone wrong can be perfect in a different way. At least good enough for a laugh.

That’s the story behind the trending hashtag #全日本失敗写真協会, or “failed photograph association of all Japan,” encouraging people to share pictures taken at the wrong time. Photos get ruined for several reasons— shaky hands, incorrect settings, bad angles or an unfortunate movement—but scrolling back can reveal surprising results!

Timing Fails

https://twitter.com/misono_bbb/status/1332910638054555649

これ以外（いがい）ないでしょ笑（わら） これが見納（みおさ）めよ

“There’s no other (better) than this lol. Look at this.”

#全日本失敗写真協会
友達の猫があくびしてたので可愛いと思って撮ったらアントニオ猪木みたいな猫撮れた pic.twitter.com/86ogw02Zs6

— ほりぴよくん (@kiainohatopoppo) November 25, 2020

友達（ともだち）の猫（ねこ）があくびしてたので可愛（かわい）いと思（おも）って撮（と）ったらアントニオ猪木（いのき）みたいな猫撮れた

“I took a picture thinking my friend’s cat yawning was cute but took a picture of a cat looking like Antonio Inoki”*

*Antonio Inoki, a professional Japanese wrestler, is famously known not only for his career achievements but also for his ‘incredible’ chin.

#全日本失敗写真協会

くろねこは、普通のねこより
たくさん目があるから
素晴らしい。 pic.twitter.com/Ls1EXKCdoi

— くすの とひろ（絵本・彫刻作家） (@KusunoTohiro) November 25, 2020

“Compared to regular cats, black cats have a lot of eyes, so they’re awesome.”

Panorama Fails

Taking panoramic pictures is super hard, and most of the time, you end up shooting some weirdly warped scenes and creatures who’d fit perfectly in Japanese horror movies.

iPhoneのパノラマ撮影によって吹き飛んだ友人の首
#全日本失敗写真協会 pic.twitter.com/LYMPOS4I6T

— ᗰ̤̮ しとばむꪔ̤̮ˊˎ˗ (@musitoban) November 24, 2020

iPhoneのパノラマ撮影（さつえい）によって吹（ふ）き飛（と）んだ友人（ゆうじん）の首（くび）

“My friend’s neck blown away as I took a picture with the iPhone’s panorama mode.”

https://twitter.com/RAStyle85/status/1331493855095521283?s=20

パノラマ撮影で撮った町内会（ちょうないかい）の花見（はなみ）と多足生物（たそくせいぶつ）になった父（ちち）

“Panoramic picture of the neighborhood association hanami and my father, who became a multi-legged creature.”

It’s all about the angle.

A picture is worth a thousand words. In Japan, a lot of those words are probably やばい (terrible, cool) and 面白（おもしろ）い (funny).

https://twitter.com/wakaponsan/status/1333167386145419265?s=20

えっ何（なに）これ

ヤバすぎるアングルで撮れてしまった

“What is this?!

I was able to shoot at an angle that’s too hilarious.”

https://twitter.com/tantomisto/status/1331981992338997250?s=20

横（よこ）撮りしてしまったせいで 生首（なまくび）取ったどー！になってしまった。 ごめんなさい。CIMA選手（せんしゅ）

“Because I took a sideways shot, it ended up looking like he’s holding CIMA’s freshly severed head. I’m sorry CIMA!.”*

*CIMA is professional wrestler Nobuhiko Oshima’s ring name.

Is it magic?

Adding studio-quality lighting effects to your pic, smartphones’ portrait mode (you know, the artificial bokeh) tends to cut off some background elements, giving birth to some more awesome pictures!

#全日本失敗写真協会
ポートレートモードにしたらフォークが消されてしまったこれを貼る時が来たようだな？ pic.twitter.com/5MQLFtLJJY

— ふぇるねこ@巣移転予定 (@kujyou_neko) November 26, 2020

ポートレートモードにしたらフォークが消（け）されてしまったこれを貼（は）る時（とき）が来（き）たようだな？

“When I used the portrait mode, the fork disappeared, I guess it’s time to share this [picture]?”

How to use the verb しまう (shimau)

Photo: iStock

We’ve seen in our Tweet of the Week #16 that the verb しまう (shimau) and its casual form ちゃう (chau), expresses regret in having done an unintentional action, often ending with an unsatisfactory result.

• フォクが消（け）されてしまった = the fork got erased (unintentionally).
• 生首（なまくび）取（と）ったどー！になってしまった = it ended up (unintentionally) looking like he’s holding (CIMA’s) freshly severed head (unsatisfactory result)!
• ヤバすぎるアングルで撮（と）れてしまった = I took (unintentionally) a picture with a really hilarious angle.

Note that しまう can also mean ‘to finish something completely.’

These pictures are perfect illustrations underlying how しまう translates as having done something by accident. But you should note that しまう can also mean “to finish something completely.”

• 宿題（しゅくだい）をしてしまいましたよ = I finished my homework.

Unfortunately, distinguishing which nuance is intended can be difficult. According to Japanese grammar books, the first clue lies in distinguishing between volitional verbs (the speaker is active) and non-volitional verbs (the speaker is passive). Whenever the verb is non-volitional, the speaker can’t help the situation.

しまう is often coupled with volitional verbs such as 食（た）べる (to eat).

But the distinction isn’t always that clear with volitional verbs. For instance, しまう is often coupled with volitional verbs such as 食（た）べる (to eat) or 言（い）う (to tell):

• ケーキーを食べてしまいました = I ate the cake completely (and there’s no cake left).
• ケーキーを食べてしまいました = I ate the cake completely (my body acted on its own and I couldn’t help myself).
• 秘密（ひみつ）を言ってしまいました = I told the secret (it’s out—there’s no judgment).
• 秘密を言ってしまいました = I told the secret (I couldn’t help myself. I regret it).

In such a case, the context of the conversation will be your second clue. The speaker’s tone or what follows will tell you whether the statement is a matter of fact or a regret.

Vocabulary

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