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My son and I went for a visit to the St. Louis Zoo this afternoon. While we were walking back to the car on yet another gorgeous autumn afternoon, I spotted this couple in the distance amongst a group of trees.

They were being photographed. There had been a wedding at the Art Museum that was breaking up just we arrived, so I assumed that this couple – that did not look like the bride and groom – were associated with the group and were making use of the wedding photographer for a few extra shots.

Something about the scene prompted me to snap a couple of shots; there was a sense of photographing the photographed here. The couple were posing, but for the camera whose flash unit you can see in the lower right corner. Here was I with yet another angle, this time unprepared.

I wondered if they had seen me, but I was a long way away using a zoom. When I got home and uploaded the image to my computer, I was struck by the expression on the man's face. Here he was, being kissed and photographed. He looks happy, but with just enough ambivalence to suggest mixed feelings about the scene. Was it his idea to photographed? Was he being rushed by his girlfriend, perhaps herself with romantic feelings about marrying that maybe he did not share? Was he simply a bit embarassed, or tired, or wondering if he was going to be late for the reception?

Who knows. But I like images such as these that prompt such imaginings.