Snap Happy (A Daniel Ricciardo story)

3: Staying Focused

EMILY

I sat in my hotel room, still wide awake, but for a whole new reason. I couldn't wait to upload the photos to my macbook for a proper look, and to start editing. Bloody hell Emily, first time you get your camera out in how many months, and you get Daniel frikkin Ricciardo in front of your lens!! I had always wanted to be around Formula One -  the sounds, the smells, the cars...the drivers of course (I'm only human after all). When I headed off down the photographic path it was always with that ambition in mind driving me forwards. Thruxton...Goodwood.... year after year Dad and I made our pilgrimages to as many racing events as we could manage, cameras in hand. It was all supposed to be practice for the main event, a bit of pre-season testing if you like. When I left home for University the chequered flag flew above my bed, the first thing I saw every morning and the last thing at night. A reminder, an incentive, and a symbol of hope. 

Reality was not supposed to get in the way.

I had met Jamie, a fellow photographer, and together we supported (and sometimes dragged) each other through the remainder of the course, but I could see early on that the talent pool was just too big and I was out of my depth. As one or two of our most talented and most confident classmates rose to the top and came to the attention of the big London agencies, we sank out of sight, too scared and too inexperienced to push ourselves forward. Returning to our parents' houses on opposite sides of the country we tried to balance a long-distance relationship with minimum wage jobs, before that too sunk, taking the rest of my dreams and my self-esteem with it.

SNAP OUT OF IT EM!

I dragged my mind back out of the past and concentrated on the images now flashing up on my screen. The guy sure was striking...from a purely photographic perspective of course... especially with the Monaco lights caressing the contours of his face, and the shadows exagerrating the line of his jaw and the sensual curve of his lips.... 

FOCUS DAMNIT!!

I continued scrolling through the pictures, finally stopping at the one that Daniel had taken of me. Not the most flattering image I'd ever seen, and it certainly wasn't going to win any awards: my hands were flailing wildly in the glare of the flash and my hair had fallen across my face, but something more stood out as I zoomed in closer. For that split second the life had crept back into my eyes, banishing the emptiness that stared back every time I looked in the mirror, hollow and cold. I looked slightly shocked yes, but the hint of a smile hovered at the corner of my lips. It was DEFINITELY there in the next one, the two of us, matching each other grin for grin, our smiles filling the screen. Whatever happened to me this week, this year, I knew that I would treasure that photo always, a reminder of the silver lining in the darkest clouds. 

'Send me the pictures' he'd said, as casual as that, as if I just happened to have 'Daniel Ricciardo" saved at the top of my contacts list. Then I had a brainwave: TWITTER! But what to say to him? Was he even expecting to hear from me or was he just being polite? Would he even look at the message? Surely he must get hundreds of tweets a day from adoring fans, he couldn't read them all.

 - spontaneous photo session with @danielricciardo today, here's a taster That should be ok right?

- @danielricciardo replied to one of your tweets: @emtayphoto ACE! *thumbs up*  what the....???

 - @danielricciardo is now following you .....GULP! 

- new direct message from @danielricciardo : here's my email, send them to me, got a few people who might be interested to see these. Sleep well :) ....HOLY FU.....!!

I quickly watermarked my photos (old habits die hard) and drafted an email:

- Hi! Glad you like them, really can't believe you agreed to it, who are you showing them to??. Thank you so much anyway, hope practice goes well, shouldn't you be asleep by now? 

- Wait and see ;) you didn't send the ones I took...? 

- Nobody wants to see pictures of me... night! I slammed the laptop shut in a panic. Glancing up at the mirror I gave myself a stern talking to. He's not interested in you Em, how could he be, even your name is ordinary.

DANIEL

- But maybe I want to see them. 

I hit send and then stared at the screen, willing her to reply. I refreshed the page over and over but to my disappointment no new messages appeared. I guess that made it twice in one night that I'd freaked her out. Pretty impressive huh. I didn't know why I was so intrigued by this girl, I knew virtually nothing about her besides her name, and the fact that she could use a camera.  I tried to resist the urge to read through her twitter account and see what she posted about and who she followed. Hell I didn't even know if she was even in Monaco for the Grand Prix, she never said, I just sorta assumed...

My good intentions collapsed and I clicked on her page. It was full of current drivers, former drivers, commentators, and the occasional photographer, artist and musician.  This was a good sign, surely she was here for the race and wasn't already packing for the plane home.

Final preparations for Monaco baby! F1 heaven here I come! Posted four days ago. She was staying!

I made a mental note to have a word with some of the media guys in the morning, pass her pictures around, maybe speak to Darren, one of the regular 'snappers' who was never far away during an F1 weekend, and pull a few strings. I knew I should be thinking about practice tomorrow, replaying races not faces. The car had shown some improvements in recent weeks but we were nowhere near where we needed to be and the challenging circuit would require all my concentration if I was going to be able to keep the car away from the hypnotic barriers. And as for Drew....Drew would have a fit if he knew I was still awake when we had a session in exactly...

FIVE HOURS!!!

I groaned - too little sleep, too many thoughts, and an irate personal trainer do NOT make for a good breakfast. I peeled my shirt over my head and lay down, my dreams filled with cameras and curls.