My First Shoot

My first shoot happened quite unexpectedly.  It wasn't planned.  In fact, it ended up getting me in a lot of trouble.  It happened when I was six years old and I was visiting my Mamaw Reding.  You see, Mamaw Reding is my Grandmother by marriage, my step grandmother if you want to get all technical about it.  But  in my opinion, blood doesn't define who your family is, love does.  So to me, she was and always will be my Mamaw.  The only reason I am even mentioning it is because she became my Mamaw while she was still young and raising her own kids.  The youngest, Karen, was only four years older than me and I worshipped her.  I used to love to walk around her room and look at all her stuff.  Okay, the truth is, I loved to snoop.  On this particular trip, her room was even more of a draw because of the school science project she was working on.  It involved a maze, mice and timer.  I don't really remember what she was trying to prove or disprove; I just wanted to see the mice.  As I headed towards her room, Mamaw called out to me to just look at the mice NOT touch the mice!  And one thing I had learned was you don't disobey Mamaw.  While I had not felt the full wrath of one of her spankings, I had heard my Uncle Scott get them when he got in trouble.  Most of those for doing something that injured me like sending me down a steep street on my bike, with no shoes on to break my habit of putting my feet down to stop.  The sound effects of those beating made me vow NEVER to do anything to put myself on the receiving end of a Mamaw spanking.  So I did as I was told.  I didn't touch the mice.  I only looked at them.  That got boring pretty fast, though.  So I began checking out the rest of the science project.  There was a maze, a stopwatch, some mouse food and treats, a notebook and... a polaroid camera.  At that moment, everything else disappeared.  All I could see was that camera and all of the magic it held.  Mamaw never said anything about not touching the camera. In fact, she never mentioned it at all.  So surely there was no harm in me just holding it so I could get a better look at it.  As I examined the camera I fell under it's spell.  I lost all rational thinking.  I pointed it at the mice and pushed the button.  In response, it noisily spit out....a blank picture.  I remember looking at the picture and wondering what I had done wrong. ( Little did I know then, this scene would repeat itself countless times throughout my picture taking life...) But suddenly, the image began to emerge.  And it was a picture of mice! I was GOOD at this.  That is the last thing I remember. After that thought, I clearly went on a photography frenzy that only ended when I ran out of film.  When I snapped out of my spell, I found myself sitting on the floor surrounded by pictures of all the Barbies and stuffed animals I kept at Mamaw's house. I was in trouble.  Big trouble.  So I did the only thing that made sense to my six year old mind.  I hid the pictures, cleaned up my mess and acted like nothing had happened.  After a couple of hours had passed, I thought I was in the clear.  In fact, I'd almost forgotten about it until I heard Mamaw yelling my name from my Aunt's room.  As I entered the room she asked me if I had touched the camera.  I said no. She asked me if I was sure. I said yes.  It was only then that Mamaw produced the pile of pictures I had so carefully hidden under my Aunt's bed.  The jig was up.  I was caught and would have to take my punishment.  That was the day I got my first spanking from Mamaw Reding. And while it ended up being the last spanking I ever got from her, it was not the last time I would find myself falling under the spell of a camera. Yep, this camera started it all.  I guess it's true that you always remember your first...