Reach for the sky !!!

I had a family session this past Sunday and the topic of weapons came up and it reminded me of a story.In 1987 I spent a month in The Peoples Republic of China with Kodak as an ambassador for them. Our group traveled throughout the country meeting with Professional Photographers and discussing our work and techniques. While there I met Joe Young from Saskatoon, Canada, and we hit it off well. As it turned out he was former Chairman of the Board of Kentucky Fried Chicken Canada and he invited me to Saskatoon after we returned to do Family portraits for him. It was fun and I produced some really fine work for him, he was pleased. While I was there his son Gordie and I were talking and as it turned out he was into marshal arts. He had some friends that he trained with and wanted to be photographed with them. Rather than go to the gym and do the ol' standing around lifting weights shot, I suggested that they dress kind of roughly and we go to the train station and do some "tough" shots. That lit him up and we set the appointment.

Joe and I drove to the appointed spot the next day to meet the guys. There were a couple of pretty tough looking guys standing around about half a block away from the appointed spot and I ask Joe if these guys were part of the group. He said he didn't know, he had never met any of them, adding that they sure looked rough. In a minute or two Gordie drove up and a gal and guy hopped out of his car and waved at the other two guys we were wondering about. They walked over. We had the round of introductions and I got my equipment ready. Just before we started to go to the location by the boxcars a guy walked up, dressed in a Mountie uniform. We all stopped and he asked" Do any of you have a gun ?" One of the guys said "Well yes", and reached behind his back. At that immediate instant a very loud voice from behind us shouted " HOLD IT !!!!".

It is really amazing how immediate reactions can become. I instinctively reached for the skies and froze. In what seemed like an eternity I noticed that I was not alone in trying to touch the clouds. Another Mountie was behind us, GUN DRAWN !!! POINTED AT US !!!! The first Mountie was in slow motion as he walked around and pulled a gun from the jeans of one of the guys. It seemed as though the guy with the gun said in a voice coming from a slowly played 45 record..."iiiiitttttttssss aaaaaa sssstttttaaaaarrrrrrrtttttttttiiiinnnggg ppiissttollll."

The mountie pulled it out, examined it, and noted that it WAS a starters pistol, we could put our arms down. Then came the twenty questions.....What's going on.....everyone looked at me.
I'm a photographer from the States and we are photographing for a Record album cover. Seemed logical......to me. "Why the gun,"he said. I went into a long story about reality in appearance
but wanting to be safe....blah blah blah. I was then dressed down for not calling the authorities and letting them know what we were doing. I profusely apologized promising not to ever let it happen again. We were then left alone.

The guys looked at each other and the QUESTION came up...How'd they know? After some discussion we put the story together.The two guys that were early had gone into a bar and asked for a drink of water....as none of them drank alcohol. Evidently, as the guy reached for his billfold, he moved his shirt which wasn't tucked in, and the bartender saw the gun. He said the water was free so the guys left........and the Bartender called the cops thinking he had averted a robbery.

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH..... the life of photography........it's just a movie....