Lake Living Magazine needed a cover photograph which combined elements of two articles for the summer issue: classic cars and their owners and local ice cream shops. Definitely summertime themes, both. So Laurie (LL's publisher) selected the shop: the Mosquito ice cream shop in Raymond. Perry (writer) supplied one of the models: her niece Lily. Travis (owner of the Mosquito with his wife Darcy) supplied the step ladder and the ice cream (sustenance). I "supplied" the cars: Gordon and Sue's 1972 Corvette and 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass. And Gordon and Sue supplied the other model: Samson (he is the furry one).

There were thoughts of having more cars from other friends and acquaintances, but weather and scheduling prohibited that. Everyone was generous with their time and we ended up with one of those perfectly clear days and just enough time to make it for the publishing deadline.

We arranged the cars, putting the Vette on the left to catch the late afternoon sun and to have Lily's face lit. Then Lily interacted with Samson and us as onlookers while I clicked away. When it looked like we had a setup that would work, we asked for the ice cream. Real ice cream here, not a prop.

Lily, Samson. Samson, Lily.

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Rearranging the cars.

Getting acquainted.

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Are we ready for the ice cream yet?

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Someone is ready.

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Share?

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Eventually Lily lost track of which side belonged to whom.

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A drip on the car.

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All gone. That must mean the photos are over too.

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There were over 150 images to choose from. Four made it to the final selection list. Those four are amongst the images above. We'll see which one makes it to the cover.

On the technical side, all images were made using the Nikon D600 with the 35-70 f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor. A Nikon SB700 Speedlight was used as fill-flash for a few images. The step ladder was green fiberglass. Or blue.