Zona

The last Tucson post is dedicated to Maddy

My mom opened her email to find a panicked message from my baby sister. She is the official team mother for her kids' soccer team and she was crying out for my help.

The photographer who was supposed to take the team shots had double booked and dropped them. This, after he had doubled his initial estimate for the work. She wanted me to show her how to take the pics with her digital camera.

Well, of course I am her big brother and I have a big fancy (expensive) camera so I knew what I was going to do. The park was not too far from the house and I hoped that Walgreens would have a memory card that my camera uses. It did.

So I show up at the park and we round up the kids one at a time in front of the hedge I use for a backdrop. clik clik clik clik clik.

OF COURSE they're not all there so we wait around and they trickle in clik clik clik.

After a while we have now decided that anybody who is going to show up has shown up and we go for the team shot. It goes something like this,

"Okay, girls in front taking a knee, boys in back. You move here, no here, here means right here. Move closer. Girls don't sit on your feet. Up. Girls don't move, boys slide right a half step. No, right. Look at the camera. Coaches please be quiet. (My bro-in-law is making rabbit ears on my head as I'm doing all this) Kids, pay attention to me. Look at me. clik clik clik. Okay coaches get in there. Just a bit closer. Kids, look at the camera. Chin up Graham. Hands down at your sides boys. clik clik clik clik clik".

DONE!

I take the memory card out of my camera and hand it to my grateful baby sister. She has long been a fan of my photographs of my kids and other people and has often asked why I don't do it for a living. I look at her and say,

"NOW you know why I don't do this for a living."

She nods and gives me a big thank you hug.

Just consider this as comment on your post about the two demon sisters from hell you shot Maddy. I feel your pain.