If You Give Your Child A Camera…

…she’ll probably want some new lenses to go with it.

Okay. I’m not actually going to carry that whole thing out. Mainly because I can’t. And mainly because I’m stuck at the thought of (gah) having to buy lenses that are (gah) not for me.

Ah, but I’ve gotten side tracked before I’ve even started.

As I wrapped up year five of my 365 Project and began year six, The Princess expressed interest in giving it a try as well. I hemmed and hawed for logistics reasons and then? I handed over my entry level DSLR, the one that had been gathering dust for over a year, and let her have at it.

I set her up with a computer and gave her a crash course in Lightroom. We set up a Flickr account and set that up with some pretty persnickety privacy settings. I taught her how to upload her pictures, how to do some basic edits, and then watched the Flickr stream to see when she posted.

And though the computer has since died already (on day three, because OF COURSE IT HAS), she has, without fail, spent a great deal of time each day with the camera and the result has been really cool to see.

I’ve always felt that one of the best ways to get to know me is to look at the photographs I take. In them, you can see the world through my eyes. See things how I see things. See the things that catch my eye, make me hold my breath. The things that inspire wonder, the things that make me laugh. Angles, colors, places, moments.

And that’s what the experience has been like for me to go through The Princess’s photographs. Often times I’m surprised to find that she’s drawn to the same things I am. Sometimes, I giggle at what catches her eye. Occasionally, she writes a caption that makes me giggle at her wit. That picture up there? That’s one of hers. I love it.

So many people have warned that I’m getting closer to those years when she may grow silent, push me away, where we might butt heads, argue. “Just you wait,” people have said, warning that girls and moms tend to get off-kilter during these years.

I hope that doesn’t turn out to be the case, but it’s another reason why I treasure that photography is something we share, that her images are something she is showing me. I am still a part of her world and I can see what she is seeing and it means a great deal to me to have that insight into the way she is seeing her world, to see the things that matter to her.

And I think it’d be the case regardless of which avenue she used to express her creativity – her words if she were a writer, brushstrokes if she were a painter…

I am grateful for the avenues she has to be creative, to be expressive, and to allow me a glimpse of the way she sees the world.

About sarah

Sarah is a book nerd, a music lover, an endorphin junkie, a coffee addict. Oh, and a goof ball. She writes, she tweets, and she sings off key.

Comments

  1. How lovely that your daughter has developed an interest in photography. She will always have a way to help express herself. It’s great to see our kids from their own interests individual to them but also warming to know that they share one of ours, with their own unique perspective.

    As to growing up and butting heads, no one can know what the future will bring but so far my older girl is 18 and while we have had times when we has different opinions she and I get along really well.

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