Saturday October 24, 2009–Judy Bozovich cleans the mud off of the Alton High School band member's shoes before they take the field for their performance in the 38th Annual Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival at the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday. "Somebody has to do it" said Bozovich who has a son in the band. Forty-six High bands performed during the day. David Carson dcarson@post-dispatch.com

I was searching for photos backstage at the 38th Annual Greater St. Louis Marching Band Festival in the Edward Jones Dome last Saturday when stumbled on this scene.  Maybe its because I’m a parent, but this woman’s dedication summed up for just how seriously these kids and parents take their performance.

I had shot lots of pictures of marching trumpet players, twirling flags and gyrating drum majors.  And those pictures are ok, you can see them here. But those image are expected and don’t really tell you anything about the people other than they are in a band. What I like about the picture of mom is it takes you behind the scenes and shows you something totally unexpected.

I also like this image because while many people are interested in band competitions, there are countless moms out there just like this woman who everyday perform these small, often unnoticed acts of love for their children.  So this image becomes more about a mother’s love and her willingness to do anything to help her children succeed and less about just a single band competition.