Leg Lamp and Legs, The Pizza Shack, Lamoni Iowa. December 23, 2018.

My favorite photo for this date was taken just a few hours ago.

It all started quite by accident.

I was at the Pizza Shack (in Lamoni Iowa) for lunch not long after the owner put up his leg lamp (as in the movie A Christmas Story) in a corner booth as part of his Christmas decorations. A Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies so I snapped a picture with my iPhone and posted it on Facebook.

A week or so later I was back in the evening, so I took a night photo of the leg lamp (it glows better at night) and posted that on Facebook too. And that was going to be it. No more leg lamp photos.

But my Facebook friends jokingly said “No more leg lamp photos. Please!” Which meant it became a thing. Every few days I posted a new, different, and hopefully creative photo of the leg lamp, and my friends all told me to seek professional help. They threatened to have an intervention.

The Pizza Shack with leg lamp in the window, Lamoni Iowa. December 23, 2018.

One day the owner of the Pizza Shack, said to me, “You know what would be a great idea?” I knew what he was thinking before he said it. I had been thinking about the same idea: Photograph real legs in fishnet hose next to the leg lamp. So I ordered fishnet hose and a dress with black fringe (size: small) and started looking for a model. The problem is, I know models in Ohio, but I do not know any models in southern Iowa since I just moved here, not even a volunteer model with no experience. I do know a couple of female college students but they are home for the holidays. Plus Lamoni is a small town (population 2,000+). So I put the word out with a few local friends and kept my fingers crossed.

With Christmas right around the corner, I had just about given up hope of finding someone, but one of my friends found a volunteer model at church this morning. We were introduced and we made plans. I stopped by the Pizza Shack to let them know today was the day. We did the shoot late in the afternoon (I wanted some blue, early evening light outside the windows). I brought the whole works: studio lights, umbrellas, and light stands, plus extras.

Imagine the surprised customers who came in to order pizza and discovered a full blown photo shoot going on. It wasn’t long before people had their phones out to record the goings on for themselves and to prove to their friends they really did see a photo shoot when they went to dinner. It sparked lots of conversations and curious people asked me questions as I went about the photo shoot.

As for the owner, he loves the photos. He can’t wait to have a big print to put on the wall.

Sunny and Melissa out for a walk in the snow. Columbus Ohio. December 23, 2017.

I know this looks like an ordinary photograph, but it is very special to us. Christmas a year ago was Sunny’s last Christmas with us. He didn’t quite make it to Christmas this year and we are still grieving his passing. So this photo is special. We were out for a walk in the snow and I ran a little ahead to get a photo of Sunny and my wife Melissa. This is my second favorite photo for today’s date.

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Series: Favorite Photos by Date – all about this series