No offense to any other parents out there, but my (our) daughter is the most adorable little girl in the world. Being a naturally-inquisitive child, as well as one who looks up to her father, she is continually interested in anything that I am doing. And photography is not an exception. Last weekend she was digging through an old camera bag of mine and, much to her delight, found my nearly-antique Pentax K1000. She began asking questions about it, and then came the oh-so-familiar question, “Daddy, can I have it?”
Granted, I never use the camera anymore, but I’m still not looking to transfer ownership to a three-year-old. So I opted for the next best solution: loaning the camera to her. I went over the basics for manually advancing the “film” (no way in heck am I purchasing or developing real 35mm film), adjusting the shutter speed, and focusing the telephoto lens. It was honestly one of the most adorable things I have ever seen! So she went around with this camera, nearly half her size, snapping “pictures” of everything and everyone. We went out in the afternoon, and she toted the camera around her neck, capturing little moments that she found of value and interest.
Just so you know, I have since taught her how to properly hold the camera so that she doesn’t look like such a bloody amateur.
