Gotta Love Them Older Broads - The Beauty Pageant

For over twenty years I photographed the Miss North Miami Pageant, first for the city and then for the Chamber of Commerce when they took it over. It meant photographing head shots of all the girls for the program, then shooting the rehearsals so we could give publicity photos to the newspapers in the weeks leading up to the pageant. The night of the pageant I'd have to shoot all the girls during the "talent" part of the show to make sure I'd have pictures of the winner. Usually all the girls would buy some prints, so it was a real money maker for me. A number of them would call me months or years later to photograph their weddings.

When my kids were little they always seemed to enjoy going along on photo asignments with me. Here's my son Jonathan, a few months shy of turning six, proudly wearing his first real suit and tie at the Miss North Miami Pageant Coronation Ball. He had a great time that night, and all the girls wanted to dance with him.

The "older woman" thing seemed to stick, and a couple of years ago he married a girl a few years older than himself. Three weeks ago they had a baby girl, so I'm a grandpa now! Thanks, Jon and Deb.