They Paid Me; Does that Make Me a Professional?

It was December 2013. Back before I had my Big Dog Lens (70-200 mm). Back before I met Chuck. Back before I had much experience with a camera. 

I had big plans...my first ever family photo shoot for a dear friend. First EVER.

A photo shoot? You're thinking, "But Denise, you're not a professional photographer." Well, I know, but whenever anyone asked me what I would be if I weren't a teacher, I always knew the answer. A professional photographer. 

Friday afternoon, I went to visit with a couple of friends who are middle school teachers during their lunch break. Both were busily attaching pompoms they had made to black hats.

"What in the world?" I asked.  They were making the hats "cuter" for the sixth grade to wear during the middle school's annual Christmas program. They couldn't have the kids wear just any old boring hat, so they were laboriously making them FESTIVE. I like festive, too; I'm just too lazy to sew 135 pompoms on knit hats. 

During our conversation, Sisi mentioned the only gift her mother wanted was a family portrait from her. Kimberly suggested I take their pictures, if I weren't busy the next day. 

"I wouldn't mind doing it...but what if they're crappy?"  We all laughed, and then Sisi convinced me to give it a try. The pictures would be better than nothing, and really, it's all her mother wanted.  

"I'll even pay you," she said, and after a moment, she added, "But not if they're crappy!"

"I'm sure I can get you at least ONE good picture for your mom," I said as I left. I was pretty sure. 

We had so much fun. I was a little worried. Their sweet baby is little, and the weather was cold. We tromped through the snow to a shed. We tromped through the snow to some snow-covered pines. The big kids were good sports, and the baby even laughed. Poor husband was missing a big college football game, but even he managed to smile a little. We knew it was time to go when the little one's nose was as red as a cherry.

We spent a little over an hour in the late afternoon sun, and we managed to get a couple of decent shots.

I learned some important things in my cramming before the session, and during the shoot, and after we were done while I was editing. A friend shared that an ISO of 200 would give me good saturation of color; it was perfect! Another photographer friend suggested shooting in the shade. Letting the baby play with something, say, her daddy's toothbrush, kept her happy. Prying it from her fingers turned out to not be a good idea, so we let her keep it. You can hardly see it in most of the shots! After it was all said and done, and we were reviewing the pictures, I realized I have much to learn about taking a group's pictures. Posing groups is a challenge.



When we piled back into the car, I looked over at Mr. Dad, and said, "See?  That wasn't so bad."

He started the Suburban, looked at me with a deadpan expression, and said, "Well, it wasn't horrible." I'll take it!

All's well that ends well.  The family has a picture for Grandma Mary Dell, her only request for Christmas.  I can now say I am a professional photographer. Well, at least I was one, for a day, and that made me very happy.  

The Early Bird Catches the Fox

Memories of the Summer of 2013

This is the only photo taken by me in this piece. Photo credits go to Kayla for the rest of the pictures.

Our ten-year-old granddaughter Kayla was visiting from Mississippi. She's a delightful, sun-kissed child full of curiosity and manners.  

"Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Yes, please. No, thank you."  Her soft words fall from her lips like honey. We share a love of mornings and reading. Spending time with her reminded me of pleasant schooldays as a teacher visiting with fifth graders who congregated in my classroom before the bell rang each morning.

Kayla told me about swim meets, best friends, mean girls, group texts, her little brother and sisters, and Gulfport. At night before bed, I read Ruby Holler to her. During our early morning walks, we talked about the book and the characters. 

On one of our walks, we saw a fox out in the pasture by the canal. Later that morning, her Grandpa reported they had seen a family of foxes when driving out of our subdivision in Clearfield. One of the very best parts of our location is that while all things city are within two miles of home, our neighborhood bordered a marshland of cattails and Russian olive trees where foxes, ducks, and raccoons make their home in the sanctuary set aside by the city.

Kayla and I wanted to see the mama fox and her babies. "Let's go out at 1:30 in the morning, so we don't miss them!" she squealed.  I reminded her it would be pretty dark at that hour. "I can see really well.  I won't mind," she assured me. Finally, reasoning with her worked, and we decided we would leave at six and hope for the best. Her Grandpa thought we were crazy.

"Why are you getting up so early?  What makes you think they'll even be there?" he asked us.  Kayla and I just smiled at each other. Morning people don't mind getting up early, especially if there is something fun to anticipate!

I barely nudged her the next morning, and she bolted out of bed. "Foxes," I whispered.  I didn't have to say anything else. After attaching my telephoto lens, I gave her my new camera to wear around her neck. We were out the door in a matter of moments. We whispered excitedly as we walked to the edge of the animal sanctuary behind our house in northern Utah. The ground is thick with trees and cattails. I knew from experience there are raccoons and foxes, but who knows what else has made this little haven its home?

In my adult life, I have spent more hours than I care to count looking for wild animals. My first husband and sons are outdoorsmen. They trap; they fish; they hunt; they call coyotes. My children are so much better at spotting animals than I.  I have learned that to be successful, you have to look for what's different. Look for the stillness in the movement. Look for the movement in the stillness. Look for the brown against the green...or the furry texture against the smooth.  After awhile, it becomes a habit.

Kayla and I were rewarded for our patience. A mother fox and her pups peeked out of the woods. They even took tentative steps to the outer edge of the trees to take a look at us. Kayla snapped many pictures; I just hoped a few would be clear enough to send some home with her. While we were watching the foxes, I detected movement in my peripheral vision.

I couldn't believe it! DEER!  Two mule deer bucks, their horns covered in velvet, were crossing the parking lot of the condominiums behind us, making their way to the empty field.  I had no idea deer lived behind our home.  The bucks generously paused for pictures before they stepped into the camouflage of the trees.  Our morning was off to a great start!

Kayla captured some great shots.  After awhile we headed to the canal in search of the duck family we had seen on earlier walks.

A mother duck with seven ducklings entertained us for awhile and then some older ducks came swimming past. The older ones took turns bobbing underwater looking for some morsels in the mud of the ditch bank.  We had fed bread to the ducklings the day before. The mother duck was very protective of her little ones, charging at any of the older ducks who dared come too close.

The deer were such a surprise.  The  ducks were fun to watch, but I'm sure that the memory that will stay with us the longest is the pure delight we felt in spending time at the edge of the woods with the foxes.  It had been two years since I'd seen them.  Until the day we spotted the lone fox in the field, I'd all but given up on seeing them again.  The city is growing, and I'm sure the little family feels that its home is getting smaller.  It's so nice that Clearfield provides an animal sanctuary as a natural habitat for the creatures who choose to make their home here.  And it is such a blessing to be able to watch them at a distance.