My Weekend as a Photo Minion, Me at Mid-South 2018

Adventures in Saddle Seat

This Week on the Blog
Over the Memorial Day weekend, we took a showcation at the Mid-South Spring Premiere. I wore enough different hats to fill five days of posts.

I worked the photographer’s booth, Monday
We brought Milton for schooling, Tuesday
I showed, Wednesday
I drove, Thursday
We slept in the trailer, Friday

Life as a Booth Babe
It was expected. This is our home show. All hands on deck. Two years ago I was the fly-by ribbon minion for a night [Show Report MSSP 2016: Volunteering].

It was a surprise. Casey McBride Photography needed a warm body in the booth while he took pictures in center ring. TPTB thought photography -> Katherine. I was flattered to be considered a photographer in any capacity.

It was simple. A trained monkey could do it. Every two classes, walk over to the side of the ring. Meet photographer. Take cards. Click this button. Load card here. Click that button. Wait. Check one of the monitors to be sure the photos loaded in the correct place. Lather, rinse, repeat. Photo experience was irrelevant.

It was confusing. Understandably, customers thought I was with the photographer. They kept asking questions. All I had was the price list, a handful of instructions, & Mr. McBride’s phone number. I would do an explanatory song and dance while I texted for an answer. Fortunately, Mr. M was responsive.

It was easy. Mr. McBride didn’t seem at all worried about how I was handling his business. As long as I recorded a phone number, he could sort out whatever hash I had made of the order.

It was hard. So many permutations. Does a mean b or c? Can he do x? Cue explanatory song and dance.

It was restful. On Thursday, I had all the time in the world to load photos, eat dinner, draw. Looking at photos was self-serve. No one was buying on the first night.

It was exhausting. Being! Perky! To! People! For! Hours! On! End! Or at least having to be ready to be perky. Even Saturday night wasn’t that busy. Apparently, a large part of his orders come via the website after the show. Some times months after [Show Photos CAA 2017]. However, even 1 or 2 customers an hour is more people than I usually see in a week. After show party? Show me the bed.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott