This photo, taken 28 years ago, has always been a favorite of mine, not because of any photographic excellence, but because I remember the personality, even as other memories fade.
This little girl (I'm not even sure of that because of the snow suit) was obviously not happy about shoveling the walk-- but she had resigned herself to the fact that it was going to happen. The shovel was bigger than she was tall, the snow drifts nearly as high. But as I drove down the York street, I saw her sitting there, comtemplating her next shovelful.
But she was a cutie. And she sparkled when I spoke with her.
As I drove away, she was right back at it.
We occasionally take this kind of picture when, while cruising through town, we see a possible photo. But whenever I take pictures of children, I give them my Daily Record business card so they can show Mom and Dad who was taking their picture. Parents are understandably concerned when they run home and say someone was taking their photo. With a business card, they have a telephone number, email address and business address that parents can use to check credentials.
Even with that, parents have called the police to warn someone is taking their kid's picture. I stick around and talk with police to be sure they know what's going on. It's best to talk with parents before taking the picture, but sometimes, it's just not possible.
And if parents don't want the picture in the paper, it's not published. In fact, I deleted a Christmas blog entry because a parent didn't want her daughter's last name on the internet. Given her concern, I deleted not only the last name, but the entire entry.
Leave a comment