Pictures of all the Pretty Stuff
In the last post, I mentioned my daughter’s desire to become an artist and her new interest in photography.
Although Livvie had put up a fight about going to the park, she was excited when we got there. I put her in charge of carrying the blanket and finding the best place to put it down. She chose a nice spot on a hill, pointing out all the shade for Jake.
While we were shaking out the blanket, a few dozen elderly people walked by and started squealing about Jake who I was holding like a football. The ladies swarmed us with How old, Is it a boy, Oh how adorable, and We thought it was a doll. They were super nice and I was glad to make their morning a little brighter, but when I looked for Livvie, she was back a few feet looking left out. I brought her beside me and told them what a great big sister she was and let her field some questions. She was awesome with her one word answers, kissed Jake a few times and said her soft little goodbyes waving just her fingers.
The group moved on and the three of us relaxed on the blanket until Livvie grew bored of her brother and begged for me to push her on the swings. I didn’t want to make her feel second but Jake was hungry. I said she had to wait until I finished feeding him then realized I could do both things at once, pretty proud of myself for only dropping the bottle once, not concerned with another parent watching me lick the sand off because my hands were full (study shows I’m not disgusting)
Livvie would have stayed on the swings the whole day, but after the second time I dropped Jake’s pajamas, which I was using as the blanket I’d forgotten, I convinced her to head back to the blanket so I could take some photos. And yes, after I took some of her, she would be allowed to take a couple.
Livvie played along and was a good little model despite the sun in her eyes. As soon as I set down the camera, she jumped to her feet. “My turn. You lie down with Jake.”
I asked her if she was sure. “Do you remember how to use it?”
“Yeah, easy, just hold this button down until it aims and push it.”
I put the strap around her neck, thinking about the cost of the camera and how Livvie had my wife’s dexterity. “Yeah, pretty much. And check your photos after you take them to see if you need to move around.” I kept the instructions simple because that’s the extent of my knowledge.
She said she got it and went to work, snapping photos, bringing the camera over to show me what a good job she was doing. She loved it.
“That’s probably enough for today. Why don’t you go on the slide for a bit? Here, let me help you with the camera.”
She stayed at the edge of the blanket. “Can I take some more? I want Jake by himself.”
When she was finished with him, she looked all around then back at me. “Daddy? Can I take pictures of all the pretty stuff? I won’t break it.”
She was ready for me to say no, the camera too expensive for her to play with. But she’d been responsible so far and I could see what this meant to her. “Okay, but you have to be careful, don’t run with it. Got it?”
Her smile was huge but she was taking this seriously and gave a sharp nod. She put the camera to her eye and clicked away at the trees.
“Don’t walk while looking in the camera.”
She sort of listened.
“And don’t go backward down the hill.”
Livvie made it down without tripping and I loosened up, snapped a photo of my own because I hadn’t seen her this excited in a while.
I watched what she was doing, how happy she got when she saw the image she wanted to capture. That space between the branches. The beautiful sky. A towering palm tree.
All the everyday things we take for granted can be pretty amazing if we take a moment to appreciate them. Seeing the world through a child’s eye is something I miss and want to recapture. I don’t want to ruin Livvie’s ability of seeing real beauty, by not paying attention to it myself.
We left the park on such a high note. Livvie couldn’t wait to tell her mom what she did. When Jen congratulated Livvie on doing such a great job, she also mentioned that photography is a form of art. When Livvie heard that she became so excited. I asked her if she’d like some real photography lessons from our neighbor, Shilah, who’s helped with Unlocking the Cage and did a photo shoot for the family last week. Livvie was thrilled and can’t wait for today’s lesson. She gets to improve as an artist and is really looking forward to passing on a much-needed lesson to me.
If you’re in the Southern CA area and need a good photographer, you should definitely check out Shilah’s Facebook page.
