"Family photo ... family photo ... !" If you've ever been on holiday in an all-inclusive hotel complex, you're bound to have heard the constant cries of the resident photographers, every time you're lazing by the pool or trying to walk into the restaurant. It turned into a bit of an in-joke for us, and we'd often walk into the restaurant the back way or split up into subgroups so that they wouldn't see us as a family and try to convince us to book a sunset photo package for after we'd eaten.
We all had cameras, and if we didn't have our cameras with us, someone invariably had their phone and could catch a quick snap on that, so it seemed pointless paying out for pictures that we could take ourselves.
Then, last year in Turkey, on what was (unbeknownst to us) to be our last ever family holiday before Madhouse Daddy died, we went on a jeep safari with Captain Animal - the guy on the left, who is the owner of the company and one of the drivers and guides. He was hilarious - dressing up in a zebra onesie in sweltering heat, wearing crazy green trainers with individual toes, stopping the convoy of jeeps in a wooded area and, along with the other drivers, pointing up in the trees to see how many local drivers would stop to see what they were pretending to look at ... The whole day was full of fun and laughter.
It was also full of photo opportunities and Captain Animal had a trusty photographer with him, taking numerous photos every time we stopped. It was a bit like being followed by a paparazzi but the good humour of the day kept us smiling.
We saw loads that day. Our first destination was Babadağ, formerly known as Mount Cragus, where we took in the great views and watched the paragliders.
There was even the option to paraglide down and be picked up by the jeeps at the bottom, but we headed over to the little cafe and ate a slice of chocolate cake for Sophie's birthday instead !
We all took variations of this photo, but the problem is, there is always someone missing from the photo. Sophie tried to take some group selfies but they never come out as well as when you are actually behind the camera seeing what the shot looks like.
The official photographer was very snap-happy, taking random shots throughout the day. The woman on the right was someone in our jeep. Madhouse Daddy is gazing wistfully into the distance, enjoying the views, Sophie is in the back and you can just see me and Juliette on the other side of the jeep.
After numerous other visits, including the abandoned town of Kayakoy and the Sea Turtle Rescue Center at Iztuzu beach near Dalyan, we finished off on a boat trip.
As well as a lovely refreshing breeze, this provided plenty of time and stunning backdrops for yet more photos.
Sophie's generally quite happy to pose for photos because she knows that she can use them on her blog and instagram accounts.
But as you've seen from my numerous blogposts featuring the kids, Juliette and Pierre don't always play along, with Juliette in particular sticking her tongue out or screwing up her eyes just as I take the photo !
When it's an official photgrapher and not mum asking for them to get in shot, it's a completely different story though !
As well as the uncomplaining cooperation from the kids, the official photographer also has the added bonus of endless inspiration for poses and angles to get unique pictures that you'd never think of taking yourself.
We had no idea that seven months later, Madhouse Daddy would no longer be with us, and I have no idea why, at the very last minute, I decided to shell out for the cd of photos from our day out in Fethiye.
I'm just very glad that I did, because these will be memories that we can treasure forever.
If I've inspired you to invest in some family portraits of your own but you don't know where to find a local photographer, Bidvine is a great place to start because, as a UK-based local services tech startup, whose biggest service is photography, it's a simple way to find professionals. And if you found my blogpost because you're going to Fethiye and want to find out more about Captain Animal and his jeep safaris, you need to head over here to his Trip Advisor page.
Disclosure : This is a collaborative post.
