Relaxing is a relative term. In some cultures, when one tires of walking, trotting is the logical way to rejuvenate one’s self. That make’s sense to me. A repetitive action can get tedious and boring and very un-relaxing. This not only holds for higher frequency activities like folding letters to stuff into envelopes, one after another, after another, but also for lower frequency occurrences, such as doing the same thing day in and day out.

My wife, Joy and I broke our normal routine the other day (not to say we’re in a rut or anything like that).  She was the creative director of a photo shoot for cover image to the invitation to the pool party her cousin puts on every year for the rest of the girl cousins. We went to Joy’s cousin’s house early in the morning to begin.

While Joy was setting up the shot and her cousin was dipping her toe in the morning cold pool water, I was busy looking up pictures on the Internet.  By the time I found the perfect image, Joy’s cousin was up to her waist in the cold , her hands lifted over her head in a position that suggested she was trying to be taller.  Joy found the perfect spot in the pool, with the sun in the right position, and it was time for me to go to work.

I was ready to shoot an entire roll of film (throwback to another era), but since I was using my phone (who would have thought…?) I only burned up a few billion digits in images. Then it was off to the computer and photoshop.

Below is the result of our energetic relaxation session. It was a great change of pace.

Mermaid Pool Party
Photo by Jack Davis, Directed by Joy Davis