Photographer

A year or so ago in Classic Play, I wrote about an idea I had for a playdate - a photo scavenger hunt. There's something amazing that happens when you put a camera in a kid's hands—you get their unique perspective.

I think one of the most fascinating illustrations of this was captured in the film Born Into Brothels where documentarians gave a group of children living in the red light district of Calcutta cameras, taught them how to use them, and followed their journey. The journey started with taking pictures on their neighborhood streets to some of the children showing their work in a gallery. If you haven't yet seen the movie, put it on your Netflix queue. It's a fascinating film.

Here in the US, digital cameras are as ubiquitous as cell phones (which often have their own camera) and photo editing programs are increasingly more user friendly. This all means photography as a means of self-expression has become available to an ever wider audience—including kids.

Now I'm not sure if it's having a daddy for a photographer or a natural love of capturing pictures of things they find interesting, but my two love to take pictures themselves. So today while we were waiting outside of a restaurant for a table to open up, I handed my camera to Ellie to help pass the time. Here's what she captured...






If you ask her, she'll tell you why she chose each picture and the corresponding filter. And I love that. I love the quiet confidence and I love the perspective. It's her world and she's sharing it with us. That to me, is beautiful.