By Scott Shephard

Back in October, Brian, Katie, Glenyce, Irene and Mary Deb came to Watertown and stayed for the better part of a week. It was a chance for them to get away from their home and routines for a while. In the era of COVID-19 and remote teaching and learning, the regular routines of semi-quarantined home life can be taxing. For at least 4 of the 5 young Shephards, I think it was a good change for them. (Mary Deb seemed fairly oblivious to the complex demands of rearranged life in 2020.)

For Deb and me it was a good chance to get some greatly needed quality time with our grandkids. For me it was also a chance to get a few new photos. To be honest, even before COVID, I had gotten a little lazy about taking photos of my favorite subjects.

The photo you’re looking at today was really just a test shot and Glenyce happened to be nearby. I was setting up to take school photos which wouldn’t otherwise have happened this year, given that school in the Twin Cities was occurring remotely.

I had one light set up in front of a simple backdrop and I took a couple of snapshots of Glenyce. At one point, I told Glenyce to turn slightly and maybe put her hands in her pockets. I got a couple photos of her smiling broadly but I wanted something else. I asked Glenyce if she knew about Mona Lisa. She said she did. I then said, “Give me her smile.” She was a bit baffled and I showed her the famous painting on my iPhone. And you are seeing the result.

I’m not sure if this is really a Mona Lisa smile but I like the look I got. Is it the “real” Glenyce? Well, Glenyce, like any seven year old, has a thousand faces. But the one you are seeing here was fleeting. I had seen it before. But I had never captured it. That’s what happens when when you have a camera handy. And a good subject . . . .

Canon 5DIII 1/125 sec f/10 100 ISO