Say cheese!!

I was reminded recently of when Gabe first discovered the concept of posing for the camera. In October 2006, we'd gone for a train ride at Roaring Camp. As we reached the mid-point of the ride, the train came to a halt and we exited into a lovely redwood cathedral area. I remember trying to get him to pose for a picture inside the hollow base of a tree. Here's one of those pictures:


Then, he stopped to watch a family of children assembling for a group photo and wanted to join in. I got him to stop by promising he could watch. When they were ready, the photographer shouted the inevitable, "Say cheese!" Everyone dutifully mouthed the time-honored tradition in unison, which is what, I think, truly charmed my son.

He demanded to know what the heck was going on. After I explained the concept of saying "cheese" for the camera, he posed over, and over, and over, and over, and over...of course, saying "cheese" each and every time. Witness the grin:


Now, if I ask him to smile for the camera, he slaps on the cheesiest grin in creation and caps it with shouting through his teeth, "cheese!" He'll hold the pose until the camera has clearly done its business and then want to see himself on the preview screen. Imagine his total confusion on the rare days I whip out my old film Nikon.