A Good Eye.

He has a good eye
I decided to live a little dangerously and let my son take a few pictures with the new camera. (I was weak in the knees and various other places *VAGINA* while he was holding it. Ah!) He’s always telling me things like “this would make such a great pictures, Mom!” But, until tonight, I’ve been too chicken to hand over the camera.
While we were out for a walk tonight, he saw these sunflowers and told me I should take some shots of them up against the mountains. I took a deep breath, removed the camera strap from around my neck, handed it to him and said “you take one.”
I wish I had captured the smile on his face because it was beautiful.
“Are you serious, Mom? You’ll let me take a picture with your new camera?”
“Yes. I’m serious.”
(It was a Moment.)
I explained a little to him what the numbers meant and stepped back while he shot away.
I think that shot proves he definitely has an eye for photography.
I figure as his mother, I should definitely teach him what little I know and allow him to explore the desire he has to take pictures.
Even if it does mean handing over the Rebel. (Ahhh, weak again.)
Not bad for his first try, eh?

48 thoughts on “A Good Eye.

  1. JenniferB

    That is a seriously beautiful photograph — your son does have “the eye” for it! Tell him Congrats for me, please!

  2. jessica

    wow that’s a great pic! i’m jealous. i never find those great photo ops. he did an amazing job. i think you have a future photographer on your hands… just like his mom.

  3. apricoco

    He does have an “eye” for it. Also, his focus was perfect. A wider focus and smaller aperture would have made the background too detailed and the picture would lack depth.
    Nice!

  4. steen

    Wow. That’s awesome! It took me mooooonths to get shots like that.
    Have you thought about getting him a baby DSLR for his birthday or something? You know, the higher-tech point-and-shoots like the Canon S and A series? It might be fun for him!
    Talent seems to run in your family. 😀

  5. ktpupp

    Very nice shot… We let my daughter learn how to use the DSLR when we first got our original Rebel a few years back. She was probably around 10-11 yrs old.
    After making sure she understood how to treat it properly, we let her shoot quite a bit. It’s been wonderful to watch her grow from taking “snapshots” like a kid to some gorgeous photos and self-portraits that stun! We now trust her enough to let her occasionally take my Rebel XTI or her dad’s 30D to a concert or school event where she wants to get good pics. She knows which lenses to use for which situations, how to care for the lenses when changing them, etc.
    Definitely keep letting the son using the camera if he shows interest, what he learns now he’ll probably remember forever even if he doesn’t get into photography again til later in his life.

  6. Mary

    Oh, my. What a lovely photo. My mother’s favorite flower was the sunflower. It’s been just under a year since she died, and that photo made me smile and choke up a little at the same time. She would have loved it. Thanks for sharing it!

  7. M

    Great pic…but just wait…if he’s anything like my kid, he’ll out photograph you and piss you off in no time! My kid’s got the eye too.

  8. Kristie

    Yes, it’s a wonderful photo, but my question is, which son? Because I still have trouble letting go of the camera and handing it to my almost-11-yr-old daughter. Can you say “control issues”? 🙂

  9. geeky

    He does have a good eye! You should get him a cheaper camera to play with, so you don’t have to worry about the rebel so much. Maybe give him your old camera? My dad gave me his older cameras when I was growing up, and it definitely sparked my passion for the hobby today.

  10. Ninotchka

    It’s beautiful. You should frame it. 🙂
    I let Natalie (age 11) take pics with my “fancy” camera all the time. She’s very responsible and she loves it so much. She’s good too. I know the pride you feel. 🙂

  11. Kimberly

    OMG I just got all teary at picturing your moment! 🙂 Very nice picture. Looks like you passed on your great eye for photography!

  12. Safa

    That is a beautiful pic. I find it so awesome that you can capture this kind of scenery just by taking a walk. I grew up in New York City and we had to either get on the subway or bus to central park or visit a botanical garden for such splendor.

  13. Pocklock

    Holy CRAP! That’s AWESOME! I’m so insanely jealous. We’ve had our camera for almost a year and I still suck! I think you have a son with a creative career in his future!

  14. mauniejames

    that’s not only a fantastic picture you are an awesome Mom..handing over your camera..I won’t even let Hubby touch it yet…I am so jealous of the
    picture he took..it’s just perfect…

  15. lizinsumner

    Really BEAUTIFUL picture!!!!! Maybe, to save your knees and various other places, get him a cheaper camera and let him go for it – try the local pawn shops and you could possibly find him a used DSLR at affordable prices……

  16. Redneck Mommy

    It is a lovely shot.
    Now I’m off to bang my head against a brick wall, because your son has a better untrained eye than I do, with years of training and thousands of dollars of camera equipment.
    Damn.

  17. Cassie

    Your son has a FABULOUS eye!! I’d recommend something like my Panasonic DMC – FZ7, that isn’t as nice as your Rebel, but has a lot of manual controls, so he can learn how to use them. Also? It’s a really great camera.

  18. angela

    Awesome! I think it’s time I retire my Canon Elf and get a new camera. I’d take way more pictures if mine turned out like yours and his.

  19. Monet (aka Birdsboss)

    AWwww…love the story behind it…like i said b4 on flickr..love his shots! lol the rebel! I want a rebel now…

  20. Nancy R

    I know that weak feeling exactly! I insist that my kids use the neck strap or wrist strap (depending on the camera) and it helps ease that feeling, at least a little.
    Beautiful!

  21. chris

    been there- that moment when you take the strap from your neck and put it around the kid’s really puts your heart-in-your-mouth. as long as the newbie wears the neck strap the risk is pretty minimal. and if this is any indication, it’s well worth it. (do you have an older camera you can let him mess with?) go for it!

  22. Janet

    He did such a great job!
    I know what you mean about handing over the camera. My son stepped on the display of our digital camera when it was brand new. For the next two years we took pictures without the preview screen, which is the whole point of digital, right? Sheesh.

Comments are closed.