The buzzer sounded obnoxiously. She followed the instructions of her boss and hurriedly excused herself to find her way to the locker rooms.
She flashed her nametag to the guard, who'd been informed about what she was doing. She pushed into the room cautiously. Her first take? It stunk. It really stunk. Her second take? It was messy; too messy to be mistaken for anything else but a guys'.
She took a fold-out chair, and sat there, waiting for the game to end. Her nametag bounced again, catching the light. She looked down and studied it.
A life on a card; Ellery Washington, 27, assistant chief photographer.
How boring.
A couple minutes later, although it felt like an eternity, the team came bustling into the locker room. They didn't notice the stink. They stunk more that the room itself.
They all looked happy. She guessed they won.
"You guys won?" She asked, refocusing her camera, taking a few practice shots, and cleaning her lens quickly.
One nodded as the rest of them piled in and sat down in their appropriate locker.
She took that as her time to introduce herself and her purpose.
"Hi, I'm Ellery Washington. I work in the photography unit for your team. They're doing a segment on what goes on in your locker room after a game for the new program. I was assigned to this segment. So, go on, do whatever you guys do. Don't be shy; the whole point is to act normal." She said, realizing her last statement wasn't quiet true.
"Or…however you act." She said. They laughed, and she turned a slight shade pinker than she normally was.
"You can do anything…just one mandatory picture they asked me to take. I need one before you guys changed out of your uniforms and one when you guys change back into street clothes…like, the suits and stuff? I guess that's not really street clothes, but you guys know what I'm talking about," She laughed.
"Wait, so what should we do, just make a formation like a professional picture?" One player asked.
"Um, yeah, and this is a professional picture. I got my degree just like any other photographer, just so you know." She informed him. Hockey players disgusted her.
They quickly formed three lines, a sea of blue jerseys. The two goalies got down in front on their sides and all of them smiled widely. She took a few shots, one silly, one smiling, and one of them all with a thumbs-up sign.
They started taking off their jerseys, washing themselves off and fanning each other. Some were talking and others sitting there aimlessly.
"Music?" One asked.
"Use this playlist!" Another said, handing the guy his iPod. He plugged it into the iHome sitting in an empty locker and rock music began blasting from the device.
She got some pretty good shots. They liked to dance around, act silly. The more she smiled, the more they did. They thought they were doing their job right if she liked it. Ellery made sure not to get any embarrassing shots of guys changing in and out of their clothes.
She got pictures of guys talking to the media, guys laughing and joking around, guys doing absolutely nothing, and guys eating. You name it, the Buffalo Sabres were doing it.
