I was walking around doing some yard work when I saw that John had found my camera lying on the bench, taken it out of its case, and was handling it. I walked over to him and got not much more than "John . . ." out of my mouth when the boy asked, "Can I have permission?" I've been working on the concept of his getting my permission, so I was tickled to have him actually ask me for it this time. I paused and remembered that I just watched a documentary about a photographer who taught ghetto children the art of photography and I remembered my general Montessori principles, so I decided that I would grant my permission.
We started with a lesson on how John should never set down the camera on its viewfinder because that would damage it. Our second lesson was on how to hold the camera. Our third lesson was on how not to push down on the flash. ("What's a flash?" Explanation followed.) Then I showed him the on/off button, how he needed to have the camera's cord wrapped twice around his wrist and why (so it wouldn't fall on the ground), and lastly the button to push to take a photo. Honestly, I had John's rapt interest. He was not jumping around like a wild preschooler boy. Then he set off about the yard taking photographs and they were really quite good! He kept talking for the rest of the day about how he got to take pictures. Below are some of his more striking shots.
(That dark dot is a bit of leaf stuck beneath Mary's nose, nothing more icky.)
(That dark dot is a bit of leaf stuck beneath Mary's nose, nothing more icky.)
That picture of you is particularly good--I like how photographer John used an angled shot for a neat perspective. :-)
ReplyDeleteHe has a good eye for composition! I'm impressed.
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