Through The Lens of a Four Year Old Photographer

A few weeks before Katie's birthday (which is today...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!) I asked George what he wanted to get Momma for her birthday. In typical George fashion he replied, "I guess we could get her a picture of a road sign." After a little clarification, it was determined that he intended to take pictures of road signs and frame them for his momma. He has an intense interest in photography and a keen eye for a great shot (much like his mother who gets credit for the majority of the pictures on this blog), and I was very excited to help with his project.

This past Saturday, we told Katie that we had to go shopping for her birthday and set off with the camera in tow. I felt that downtown Lynchburg would be a great place for George's first photography outing, and we parked the car just down the hill from the Market. We made our way three blocks down Main, up to Church, down through the courtyard at the Market and back to the car. Above are the thirteen pictures, in chronological order, that George took on our stroll. The content of each was entirely up to George and he snapped every photo unassisted. My only involvement was to help him zoom in on the second photo of the Museum/Point of Honor/Cemetery sign (mainly to help him learn that the camera has that ability). He announced definitively when he was finished, and we headed back to the car. Our next stop was TJ Maxx, where George casually strolled down the frame aisle, stopped abruptly in front of a nice folding three-section front & back frame, announced that he wanted that one, and asked to browse the toy aisle before checking out.

I downloaded the pictures that night, sent them off to be developed, and picked them up the next day at our local Ritz store. Sunday evening George selected matte over glossy, picked the six pictures to be framed, put them in two groups of three, selected their orientation left to right, picked how each would be cropped, watched me struggle to put the frame back together, and helped me wrap it all up in that mornings Sunday Comics. He then teasingly left the package on Katie's dresser where she could look at it each day until her birthday. Below are two snap shots (that I took after George fell asleep tonight) of the finished product.

I don't really have the words to describe how it felt to be a part of this process, but I think above all I am extremely proud that my son put so much time, effort, and thought into a birthday present for his mother. I hope that you enjoy his photos and the thoughtfulness of his gift as much as I have.

Levi