At Amy’s (The World is a Book) recent post Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Catching People Unaware, she asked if I would re-post the story I wrote about taking photos of a lady at a Chinese grocery store. I didn’t know how to re-post and was going to get instruction from her, but I forgot to do it. Amy was kind to remind me and tell me what I need to do, so here is the story again. Hope you’ll like it. (Thanks, Amy.)
A Happy Day — Originally Posted on September 13, 2014
She works at a Chinese grocery store in the city. Every time we walked into the store, she welcomed us with a big sweet smile. During the 12 days that MN State Fair was on, the owner of the store decided to make some money by letting people park their cars at the store’s parking space for a fee. She was in charge of directing the traffic and collecting money. It was a hot day when we got there. She wore a hat, her hand holding a big cup of cold drink. She was cheerful. I asked her if I could take a picture of her. She said yes.
A Sweet Lady
Today, we went to the store to buy some Chinese vegetables. She said hi, but she wasn’t as cheerful as before. I passed an envelope, which contained her pictures, to her.
“For me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
She opened the envelope and saw her two pictures. She held both pictures in front of her, started giggling. She couldn’t take her eyes off those pictures; she kept giggling.
“I look pretty good,” she said, laughing.
While we were selecting vegetables, I turned and peeked at her. She was still looking at her pictures, still giggling. A minute or two later, she placed her pictures back to the envelope, and almost immediately, she took them out again. She stared at those photos, laughing.
When we finally reached the cashier table to pay for the grocery, she smiled at me, thanked me again and again. While we were leaving the store, she shouted behind us, “Thank you!”
I turned; she blew me a kiss.
I was dancing in the clouds the whole day.
That must be why I like taking pictures.
HHC Blog 
Great story! The photo and story made me smile again. 🙂
Thank you so much, Helen!!
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Thanks, Amy. It’s good to read that story again. The story keeps me on the right track. Thank you!!!
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I’m in love with the story and the photo all over again. 🙂 Thanks to you!!
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And that is a perfect reason to love photography. Great photo too!! 🙂
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Thanks, Cee. Now I feel it’s a calling… 😉
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What a beautiful lady with a sweet heart and life source. You captured her beauty perfectly and great shot.
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Thanks, Ruth. Facing camera, apparently, is quite natural for her. She is full of fun.
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a delightful story and a delightful smile!
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Thank you! 😉
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I cannot stop smiling. And that is what your photography does to people. Helen, get with that Meals on Wheels person. You will be such a bright spot to so many people!
I had to go back and look at her picture again. I just love it!
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Lois, I volunteered at that lunch meal place last Sat. and enjoyed every minute of it. I am going back to take a couple of photos this Sat. Can’t wait. I’ll write more after Sat. Thanks for all of your support, my dear friend.
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yay!!
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Oh my, such a sweet face and I am happy that you made this lady happy. It’s a photo that I will not get tired looking at. Good for you, Helen.!
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Thanks, Perpetua. This experience has helped me to figure out what I really want to do. I think I have found my calling (in photographing 😉
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In that case, be a member of NatGeo Yourshot. It’s fun!
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Great photos there!!! (Facebook, right?) Thanks for the info. I will spend more time to look around.
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Looking at her again. So glad you posted her photo. So delightful to look at and let know that I said so.
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I will tell her 😉 Thank you!
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How delightful, Helen ! 😀
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Thank you, M-R. Not sure if you knew… I was confused with what to do (in photographing) for a while. Now I am happy. 😉
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All I recall is that your opinion of your work wasn’t nearly high enough; so if you’re happy now, I will assume you know better ! [grin]
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That’s a great story!
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Thanks, Dawn. She was fun to take photo of. Have a great day!
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You too Helen!
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A wonderful story and photo, too. This shows how we can bring joy into other people’s lives with photography.
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Thanks, Carol. This was the second time I did this. I had taken a photo of a lady at a donut shop and gave the photo to her later. And she was thrilled too. I am convinced that I can make a little different for some people’s lives. And that’s a good feeling.
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I “emptied my cache” in an attempt to make my computer go faster, as it really slowed down when I installed new updates as they told me. So, I lost my little snail “gravatar” — so this Carol is me, the snail search person! Now, I guess I have to go back to wordpress.
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Carol, you can be anywhere; just let me know how to follow you 😉
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I’m so glad you re-posted this story Helen….because otherwise I would’ve missed it. I’m also glad you were able to see the joy your photography brings to others. You are such a kind and generous person…..not to mention a fabulous photographer!!
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Thanks, Tree. It’s interesting that at this stage of life, I finally figured out what to do with my life. I guess it’s better late than never 😉 And I do have to credit so many wonderful people I met here (You are one of them, you know that, right?) who’ve inspire me constantly!
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It’s never too late to find our gifts….especially when we use the generously….as you do 😉
You are kind to say I am an inspiration….you and your constant drive to learn and improve are an inspiration to me!
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Well I too am glad I got to see this photo and post! Good stuff!!
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Thanks, Angeline. I appreciate your comment. (Sorry it took me a while to reply… WordPress, sometime, doesn’t work the way I thought it does.)
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This is the 2nd time I’ve read this story and it still makes me smile! 🙂
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Thanks, Joanne. Your comment makes me smile 😉
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It’s a wonderful story. I’m smiling. 🙂
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Thank you, Lignum. The question is how could I repeat this experience so I can bring happiness to more people?
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wonderful – and I did not read it the first time – so I am always glad for a reshare – and this ending…
“I was dancing in the clouds the whole day.
That must be why I like taking pictures.”
so awesome.
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Thank you, Y. I was trilled to see that you have taken a lot of street photos. I am so glad I found your blog… I am sure I will learn a lot from you. Looking forward to seeing more! Thanks again.
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well I am looking forward to following yours too – and I have so much to learn – and I like the way you followed up with sharing some printed copies – I hope to do that too – and actually printed out some for Mark this morning – and well, I might have a few questions for you later on (if you do not mind) but really learning so much still – and right now this is an area I love. have a nice day and nice to connect
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Yes, it’s nice to connect. I’ll answer any question that I could answer. I like to share what I have learned with others, hoping to cut other people’s learning time. I have to tell you this though… I don’t know why… some people think I know more than I actually do, which makes me a little nervous 😉 I am a beginner, who is still trying to know how her camera works 😉
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well okay, no pressure – so I might just pick your brain then – ha! and better to under promise – right? rather than over promise and under deliver – 🙂
but I do know that when we share it really is just plain old fashioned wisdom – rather than “reinventing the wheel”
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