Better still is when the parents respect your work enough to entrust (aka, hire) you to capture those special moments in their child's life. One such family is the Davies. I have shot, with no exaggeration, thousands of photos of Wyatt Davies. This all started when I just happen to shoot a First Flight Middle School soccer game. Nobody asked me to school the game, I just was there. I quickly noticed that Wyatt (didn't know his name then) was one of the more athletic and talented players so I took quite a few photos of Wyatt that day. At another game I happened by chance to start taking to Wyatt's parents, Sheila and Daryl as they sat on the sideline cheering the team on. And as they say, the rest is history. I got some more photos of Wyatt playing soccer and then shot many games of him playing basketball. I thought Wyatt was a very talented guard playing basketball but I learned that he decided to focus on soccer (füßball).
SO, you may ask, what the heck does this have to do with your RTW trip? Good question, let me explain. After a very nice day in Munich yesterday, that of course included hours at the Hofbräuhaus and taking photos on the Marienplatz, I took an ICE (high speed rail) train to Köln (Cologne) to take Wyatt out to eat dinner tonight and to catch his game tomorrow. By that I mean, Wyatt, 16, is living in Cologne to attend a soccer training academy. You see, Wyatt got very, very good at playing soccer and with some incredible determination, he's decided to see just how far he can rise playing the sport. Added to the mix are two outrageously supportive parents (not sure I could let my 16 year old take on such an adventure - respect). Hence, I'm here just to see him, feed him, and take some photos. You know, a full service photographer.
I let Wyatt decide where he wanted to eat. He offered up his favorite restaurant - a Korean Restaurant that he and his teammates/house mates eat at "all the time." Hey, that's what the kid wanted so off we go on a "20 minute hike" that seemed to me and and my knee more like an assault on Mt. Everest. The place was packed and after a considerable wait, we grabbed the first available table outside. Our dinner together was not a time to take a lot of photos but more of a time to hear about how he was doing and some chatter about soccer. All my suspicions were confirmed by the end of the meal - Wyatt has become a polite, young man that loves the game of soccer and yet, thinks about and misses his family and home back on the OBX a lot. I had a very nice time and felt honored that he would agree to hang out with an old dude like me.
BTW the Korean food was excellent.
I really look forward to seeing and photographing his play tomorrow - for that is what I do.
Bis zum nächsten Mal, be safe, be kind and peace out Leute.
