Continuing from my last post, today I’m sharing Willa’s photographs. This is what happens when you give a child a camera – once you’ve set it up and shown them the basics, they will run off and shoot everything their heart desires. This was true for me and both of my boys who are now accomplished photographers. I suppose it is a strong case of tree -> apple, apple, apple, but I believe it is such an unintimidating, fun, and free form of art that children naturally love it.
When You Give Me a Camera
I did my very first photowalk when I was about 4-5 years old. I saved up Bazooka Gum wrappers and sent them in for a camera. It took weeks to arrive in the mail but then I went out in my backyard and filled every frame within minutes. I remember it was a cloudy day and my dad suggested that I wait until there was better light but I did not care. I put my boots on and ran out the door, taking pictures of weeds, fences, you name it – just like I still do now. It took forever to get the prints back, but I absolutely loved it and from that day on dreamed of being a photographer.
When You Give Willa a Camera
She will be out the door in a flash and go to town. (See what I did there?) She had the best time trying to capture the dogs and got a lot of blurry dog butt images. Overall there were more blurry images than not, but most importantly she loved the process and loves every single image she shot.
She had a blast taking pictures while jumping on the trampoline. She was so curious to know what they would like like since she was moving so fast. Motion blur…
When you give a child a camera, there are definitely a lot of images of the sky. Straight up.
Like my boys, she is attracted to graphic and textural subjects. Composition with these is completely natural for her – none of these images are cropped.
We always need a good sewer.
And different points of view. Looking down the rock wall instead of up.
30 minutes and 168 images later, we came inside to cull and edit together. She loved learning these steps and seeing the whole process from shooting to presenting. She feels deeply that art is about process rather than product, and she relishes the freedom to create without boundaries.
I loved doing this with you, Willa! I am looking forward to our next photowalk together and teaching you more about photography. Good thing I have a lot of cameras to share! When you give a child a camera, magic happens. Try it!
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