I had a photo shoot today. Yes, I said photo shoot. A buddy of mine who is a photography assistant for some high profile photographers in D/FW offered to help me out. The objective was to come away with some pics to use in promotional material for my guitar stuff. I think we got some good shots, but I'm a terrible model. I learned today that when I think I'm smiling, I actually look pissed. I will try and work on that. Anyways...
The day was winding down. We had been all over Dallas. Mostly to parts that I had never seen before, and I was born in this town. My photographer friend (whose name is Pez, whose actual name is David) informed me that we had 10 shots left to take before we could drop off the film to be developed. We decided to try and find a place near the developer to use up the remaining film. Unfortunately, the location we chose was a bit sketchy. We pulled off onto a side road leading to a construction site and some warehouses. We stopped a couple hundred yards away from the main road. I was happy to be away from the traffic. This whole thing made me self-conscience enough without hundreds of cars driving by. I soon realized that being out of direct view from the busy road may not have been such a good idea.
Along comes a car. Very slowly. One driver and one passenger. My heart rate increased a few bpm. They passed us by, but slowed down even more when they drove by Pez's car. They kept going until they got to the end of the street. U-turn. As they drove back by us I did my best to avoid eye-contact. Through the corner of my eye I caught a head nod, then a wave. They proceeded to the main road, turned right and headed away. Pez was excited about the lighting so we stayed a bit longer. Then, they returned. Pez and I were a good 75 yards from the car, so we decided our best bet was to play it cool. We started walking back towards Pez's Forerunner. They passed us even slower than the first time, then continued to the end of the road. Brake lights, and another U-turn. They arrived at the car the same time we did. This time they stopped, shut off the engine, and got out of their car. They walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk, staring at us the whole time. My heart was beating at least 200 bpm at this point. Pez unlocked the doors and calmly placed his camera in the backseat. The two guys were still at their trunk with their eyes on us. Pez and I jumped in our seats and slowly headed down the street. They got back in the car and drove the opposite direction.
They let us go without even saying a word. Very odd. Maybe they just wanted to scare us? However, most of the people who scare others usually find some enjoyment in the process. These guys looked pretty serious. Maybe we over-reacted? I don't think so. My best guess is that they were both new to this sort of thing. Robbery rookies. The situation was too perfect for experienced, guilt-free criminals to pass up.
I got to thinking later, what if they were an upstart Tejano band in need of some pics for their CD cover?
