It’s the holiday season and it’s no surprise that the Weekly Photo Challenge presents a topical request. Krista challenges us to show our interpretation of “Gathering”. I don’t often include personal photos in my challenge responses, but this one I found to be particularly appropriate. It was the Christmas of 2011. Our son and daughter and their spouses were both visiting us, and we wanted a group photo to include on our Christmas card. Our 18-month old grandson would have none of it. The last thing he wanted to do was sit for a family portrait.

Grampy mounted the camera on a tripod and expected to get into the photo by using the Nikon wireless remote to snap the photo. My grandson loves gadgets, just like his grandpa and father. I gave him the wireless remote and he became the photographer for the evening. It wasn’t long before he discovered that when he pushed the button on the remote, the bright light across the room flashed. He captured many images, none perfect. It seemed too many other members of the family were busy watching the little photographer instead of looking at the camera. Truth is, I don’t remember which of the specific photos we used for that holiday card, but the one above is typical. Who knows, maybe someday a camera will find its way under the tree and he can truly become the budding photographer.

The original photo challenge can be found here.

From our holiday gathering to yours, best wishes for a great holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year to all my blog followers.

John Steiner