Jandals & Togs: Strike a Pose

We are the crowd

We're coming out

Got my flash on it's true

Need that picture of you

It's so magical

We'd be so fantastical

- Lady Gaga Paparazzi

Little H - Selfie

Little H has caught the shutter-bug bug.

While Kari and I don't live our lives with cameras pressed to our faces, it can sometimes seem that way. Of the two of us, Kari is the more talented photographer. Her vision and composition seems to come naturally, whereas I have to work at it. Like most people today, her camera of choice is the one on her phone. I thought she could do a little more with a dedicated camera, so I bought her a nice point-and-shoot; something small and portable but relatively versatile. She rarely carried it, and when she did, it just sat in her pocket or purse while she went back to her old stand-by. Somewhere along the way, we made a trip to a tropical location and Kari decided that she wanted an underwater camera. We used it for one trip, then relegated the camera to a drawer somewhere.

Fuji FinePix XP-80 ... we finally found it buried in a drawer and just a little dusty

Nevertheless, she persisted!

Our conversations often came back to Kari's desire for a good, serious amateur / professional level camera. We had multiple discussions about what she wanted and I sought advice from picture-talented friends of mine. In the end, we picked up a Nikon system with interchangeable lenses and a stack of accessories. Naturally, I assumed that she knew something about photography. I was positive she had mentioned taking a photography class at some point in her life. As in many of my assumptions about my wife, I was grossly mistaken. As it turns out, she knew nothing about photography. I gave her a brief and confusing lesson about apertures and f-stops, shutter speed, and ISO. The glazed look on her face and the drool from her lips were clear indications that my explanations were about as helpful as usual.

She practised with the camera on multiple hiking trips and family outings, but somehow I became the primary carrier of the "good camera" and Kari went back to using her phone. I put "good camera" in quotes because of an interesting explanation I read somewhere. The question posed was "What is the best camera for X?" and the answer was "The one you are going to use." They pointed out that there is no benefit to having a fancy camera system if you aren't going to carry it. Use the one in your pocket.

Fast forward a couple of years - I carry the camera gear around and Kari continues to use her phone, though she has been making strides with the Nikon. Before coming to New Zealand, we dug the waterproof camera out hoping we might make use of it. We finally had the chance when we took our Whanganui River trip (Link: The Land That Time Forgot). I didn't want to bring the expensive camera set-up; a good choice considering we ended up tipping the canoe. Paddling and steering, I couldn't also be the photographer. Kari was happy using her phone, so Little H was promoted from "passenger" to "photographer". She did a great job, and at the end of the trip said that she wanted her own camera, so we gave her the Fuji.

Like any pre-teen, most of her pics are selfies, but we are really impressed with what she does when the camera is turned outward. It's been exciting to see her view of the world. We present here Little H's first "gallery" showing ...