Friends Met, Pictures Made

The weekend was a bust for me. There was a lot of potential but little opportunity.

I got stuck in Des Plaines, one of the hardest hit by the weekend’s rainfall, Saturday on my way to a football game that I had been anxiously awaiting to photograph.

My daughter was with me because I didn’t want to leave her at home without me all day and nobody could watch her in the stands as I shot. It was decided, at 5:30 am that morning that she would come and stand on the sidelines with me.

We never made it. The flooding in Des Plaines was incredible but I was in no position to photograph it, I had to worry about getting Kamille and I to a safer location. After trying several other northern routes we decided to come home, empty handed.

We spent nearly the entire day in the car, on the road.

Sunday we just lounged. Kam and I slept in a little, played some games, and decided to go bowling. The bowling never happened but something better did. On the way to Virden Ill. where I had been told there was a bowling ally we came across two girls and a puppy about to enter a creek. We stopped and I told Kam to stay in the car I would be be back in a minute.

I parked in the driveway of the home at an angle that Kam could see me. I grabbed my gear out of the trunk made a picture then walked up and started taking names.

I heard “Daddy!” from across the yard and Kam was standing outside of the car. I looked at her with that ‘get back in the car’ look my mom used to give me and then went back to taking names.

Pepper, the eight-month-old boxer takes off from beside me and I look up to see my daughter running across the yard in my direction. Pepper was going to meet her, however at eight-months, he probably weighs more than she does. He just wanted a kiss but Kam was scared and the mother of the girls apologized for the puppy, I apologized for Kam.

Well, of course now that she was out of the car she wanted to get into the water. To avoid conflict I just told her to stay out of my frame. Getting her out of the water was the hard part.




Ashtyn Freeman, 10, attempts to slow her 8-month-old boxer Pepper as she and Sydney March, 13, play in a creek caused by floodwaters in Auburn, Sunday. The area was dry Saturday night before hurricane Ike caused flooding in cities and farmland throughout the state.