Ella Claire, Smiles, Sony and Times Square

Close to Mommy, originally uploaded by Shirley Buxton.

A few hours earlier, after a week’s separation, 15-month Ella Claire had been reunited with her mom. She had such a determination to stay close to Mama, that when Shawnna sat down at the bar to have breakfast, Ella tucked herself into a place just inches from her mom’s feet. When I saw her and bent down to take a picture she flashed this smile.

Aren’t smiles wonderful. They carry the fragrance of magic and moonbeams and a sprinkling of star. Rivulets of healing run from a face so radiated, fairly oozing with joy and faith. A fistful of sunshine glitters over the promising flash of rainbow.

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Many a traffic snarl has been uncurled by the flashing of an apologetic smile. Hardened men crumble and frustrated mothers capitulate when a testy face, of a sudden, is smeared with a toothless grin. White flags wave. Armistice is called.

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Now Sony has launched a “Smiles Photo Contest” with the winners’ pictures being shown on Times Square. I’m submitting Ella’s picture, although I think it has little chance of winning, for it’s really not a great picture. The balance is poor and Shawnna’s feet are too shadowed, but it does show a riveting smile.

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I’m posting the contest information here, thinking you may have an outstanding picture to share. There’s no submission cost, so see what you can find in your files. Let us all know if you submit a photo so we can be pulling for you.

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Let’s flash some smiles around our part of the world today–courageous, infectious and encouraging ones.

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I’m smiling right now. Jerry just climbed on a stool and held a mirror so that I could see the two blue robin eggs that are in the nest on our deck. 🙂 I’ll show you pictures later.

SONY LAUNCHES ‘EVERYDAY SMILES’ PHOTO CONTEST ON REUTERS.COM
	Winning Pictures to Be Featured on Digital Billboards in New York’s Times Square Sony Electronics and Reuters Media have teamed up to launch the “Everyday Smiles” photo contest on Reuters.com. Aspiring U.S. photographers are invited to submit photos of themselves, their friends and their families smiling now through June 16. The winning photos will be displayed on the Times Square digital billboards, part of Reuters Media’s publishing platform, in the heart of New York’s Times Square. The photo submission program promotes Sony’s Smile Shutter™ technology in its latest Cyber-shot® digital cameras. When the smile shutter feature is activated, the camera automatically captures a smile without your having to press the shutter. The result is snapshots with natural-looking smiles and expressions. This new contest follows the “Take Your Best Shot” citizen photojournalism campaign that the two companies launched last year, attracting more than 1,000 entries. Entries for the Everyday Smiles contest must be received between now and June 16, 2008 and submitted online at http://www.reuters.com/smiles. Instructions for submission, along with the official contest rules, are available online at: http://www.reuters.com/youWitnessTermsOfUse.