It’s The Little Things – April 18, 2011

Three-year-old Ali Smaili finds his world turned upside-down Wednesday afternoon during recess at the Shawnee Weekday Early Learning Center at Shawnee Community United Methodist Church on Shawnee Road. Jay Sowers - Photographer

It is common practice at The Lima News, and many papers I assume, for photographers to make daily ‘feature runs’. Cast out to weave our way through society, looking for anything that catches our eye. Some days this hunt can turn in to a simple search for anything: we cannot always find that next portfolio piece. Some days this simple task consumes nearly our entire day. Driving, scanning, driving, searching, driving,praying, begging, pleading, cursing and crying can all be expected. And then, the clouds break, the moment presents itself in front of you. You can bet there have been moments spotted and missed. As aggravating as this is, it offers us hope. On the day I caught little Ali Amaili playing during recess, I had been on the road nearly 3 hours. I had hit every red light in town, and I managed to get behind every driver in town who had no desire to approach the posted speed limit. On my way back to the office, with white flag in hand, I spotted a group of toddles bursting from their schoolhouse and on to an adjoining playground. There are now four skid marks on Shawnee Road left by my SUV in the hopes of capturing this moment. After meeting with school officials and making sure all of the children were okay to photograph, the clouds broke, the sun emerged and I had my chance. This photo is fun: I will not tout it as a earth-shattering, or even the best I’ve ever done. But it is a nice photo I feel: and maybe those treacherous miles paid off. Atleast they did this time.

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