Monday, September 1, 2014

Through the Eyes of a Child

by Dotti


As photographers, I think we sometimes get so focused on our subjects, the people, places or things we're going to photograph, that we forget other possibilities. When we're photographing children, it's easy to overlook what latent talent or what spark of interest they may possess. So my plea to you today is this: remember to share your love of photography with others, in particular, children.

All of the photos in the poster above were taken by my 7-year old granddaughter on an outing we took together. I loaded her up with my backup DSLR, a fresh battery, full memory card, and the camera set on auto. After a few basic tips about buttons and operation, we headed for a favorite place, Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

We spent hours together with our cameras in hand, every now and then she'd call me over to look at a photo on the display. When we got home, I downloaded her photo card to my computer but by that point, she'd lost interest in the project. However she had done some really good work and I wanted to reward that in some way and I wanted to plant a seed, hopeful that one day she might discover a passion for photography.

That's when the poster idea hit me. So with a bit of help from Lightroom, I created the poster you see above. The photos have just basic tweaks and I did crop them to 5 x 4 so I could make the poster dimensions work but what you see above depicts some of what my granddaughter saw that day.

So, let's not overlook the joy and challenge of sharing our passion with the children in our lives. There's just no telling what the results might be but it's worth taking a chance. What have you got to lose? Better yet, what might you ... and they ... gain?

The camera makes you forget you're there. It's not like you're hiding
but you forget, you are just looking so much.
                                                                               ~ Annie Leibovitz


The monthly theme for September is 'Photo Word Art'. There is a complete explanation of this theme under the monthly theme tab uptop. But here is a little bit of what Susan said about it:

This month we will be focusing on 'word art'... whether it is a photograph that 
you add words to, unique graffiti on a wall, chalk on a driveway or your everyday
 street sign.  It's whatever is speaking to you at that moment.  
In other words, photograph what speaks to you, share 
your messages with us and always remember to... 'follow your heart'.

8 comments:

terriporter said...

This has to just make your heart so happy! To share a passion with a child is so rewarding and she appears to have the "gift of seeing" required of a good photographer, surprising in one so young! I can foresee many years ahead of the two of you sharing a love for photography. Such a great idea to make a poster for her to remember the beginning of this passion!

Deanna said...

Wow, I think your love of photography has certainly been an influence on Cameron, you can see it in her images. Quite an eye for one so young. I can see her going far with this gift!!

Kim Stevens said...

Awesome...I think kids are just simpler in their approach to most everything in life. And whether she continues with it or not, it has planted the seed to not just looking at things but seeing them with a different perspective. She really did a great job on these!

Ida said...

She did an awesome job. I was particularly impressed with the Staircase shot but I loved the fact that she found such a wide variety of subjects to photograph.

Cathy said...

Wow, she did an outstanding job! Of course she has a great teacher. It is always so fun to see the world through the eyes of a child, all fresh and new. What a great grandmother you are!

Unknown said...

Your granddaughter took some pretty stunning images! I love that you created a poster with them. The new theme "word art" has inspired me!

kelly said...

well you know how much i love this collection. what a wonderful reminder to take off my 'photographer' glasses sometimes and look at the world like a child. beautiful.

stamper2 said...

So enjoyed this post Dottie! My Grandaughter had take a small camera of mine to 'play with" one day and I was amazed at what she captured! Such simple ideas! Through a child's eyes!
Love the little collection your Granddaughter captured!

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