Through the Eyes of Children

I found some pictures the other day that I had never seen. Earlier this summer I let the kids experiment with an old digital camera. They took over 700 pictures in two weeks before getting tired of it. It was really fun to watch them experiment with different objects and angles and light. They learned several things:

• You can't take a picture in dark lighting unless you can hold the camera REALLY still
• It's hard to get babies to sit
• Riding a bike with one hand and trying to hold the camera in the other DOESN'T work
• Pictures from the inside of a car rarely turn out
• If you forget to recharge the camera, it's not ready when you need it

Overall, these proved to be valuable lessons that could only be taught by doing. Of the hundreds of pictures they took, very few (percentage-wise) turned out to be really good. Most were really bad, unflattering shots of me, self-portraits, pictures of their favorite toys, very dark pictures, or very blurry. But they got better toward the end of the two weeks. Here are some of my favorites:

Baby Elmo: finally a baby that will sit still!


Self Portrait of Yogi


Bella


Yogi and Little Red and Special Baby (the doll's actual name :)


A bug (Yes - they brought it in the house!!!)


Bella


Grandma's Roses

Little Red sleeping (Ahhhhh!)

Little Red (as a binky toting Tigger Pirate??)

It will be pretty funny for them to see these in a few years. It was definitely worth all the time I spent loading their creations on to the computer. If for nothing else, they now have a better appreciation for what it's like to be behind the lens!