Sunday, July 31, 2011

Infant Talk has Adult Ring

When I was a tiny tiny baby my parents decided I was cute enough to do the whole family-photo-thing and we all went out to a Studio and had our pictures taken. The photographer found me very expressive for just a few weeks old and used a handful of props he had laying around to capture – and then caption – a few priceless photos. He sold four of the best to the local paper and at just 7 weeks old my picture was published in the Reading Eagle!

A few years ago, while looking through old photo albums at my Grandmother’s house, I found an original proof of the pictures cut/pasted into the original newspaper copy and I scanned it for posterity.  It goes a little something like this:
Eric's first Mug Shots

You can click on the picture to see it in full-size. The captions – from Left to Right, Top to Bottom read:
  • Don’t know how Gloria Steinem stands these things. 
  • You better start talking turkey or the deal’s off. 
  • Someone is making a big profit from these rising gas prices. 
  • Take back this football and give me a cosmetics contract. (I was never a fan of this line.)
I decided that I’d like to have some photos of my own baby girl captured and captioned. I have no inclination to try and get them published in our local paper – mostly because there is none – but because I can just publish them here and have them potentially seen by many many more people. =]

Last week I setup a little “Studio” in the dining room complete with a lamp and shag-like rug. I was unable to find kid-sized glasses or a 60s retro phone so I improvised. With only maybe 20 minutes of shoot time before we went from Happy Baby to Angry Pterodactyl I started snapping shots and seeing what I could get accomplished in just one “session”. I got all that I wanted and more. Seems being an expressive baby runs in the family!
Allison Grace's First Mug Shots
Allison Grace - Ham Extraordinaire!
I only updated one caption because Ms. Steinem stopped wearing those glasses back in the 80s. I considered photo-shopping the pictures to correct little things like Heather’s hand in the football shot or the drool marks on the football but decided against it. Here is Allison as we see her and as the camera found here that morning. Here’s a few “outtake” shots that we couldn’t fit into the montage. Enjoy!
My share of the deficit is how much?
My share of the federal deficit is how much?
The AAMCO Commercial! Quick! Turn it off!
The AAMCO Commercial! Quick! Turn it off!
Wanna go see the Smurfs movie? Yeah, me neither.
Wanna go see the Smurfs movie? Yeah, me neither.
Cosmetics Contract?
Yeah, I made my money in Cosmetics but now I just play for the love of the game.
Glad the NFL Lockout was resolved!
Glad the NFL Lockout was resolved!