First Photo

I just bought my son (3.5 years old) his first camera. A 3.1 megapixel thing for $29 at the corner camera store. I tried to wait till his mom came home so we could put it together together, but he was with me when I bought it and all my best efforts to change the subject when we got home melted under his withering gaze and wheedling cries of “Wanna open the box, Daddy, open the box, where’s the box, daddy…?” and so on until I caved and put the thing together without The Missus’ help.

What’s the point of keeping the boy home from daycare on Thursdays if all I ever do is say no to him?

At first he was only interested in triggering the flash, but once I explained that the idea was to take pictures of things and people, not just blow out his retinas by staring at the flash at close range, he went about the task with a vengeance, walking up to stuff, pointing the camera at it and hitting the trigger, yelping and laughing every time a new exposure appeared briefly on the camera’s screen. Then he wandered around the house and into the back yard, pointing and shooting and laughing.

I just put him down for a hotly-protested nap and I’m looking at his pictures and I’ll be damned if I’m not feeling threatened already. Blast it, I was always wanted my kids to be better off than me, not already better than me. At three-and-a-half!

The photo above was the first one he ever took. Click on it and look at it big - it’s wicked cool. Unfortunately, I signed away all my rights on the dreamlike series of photos he took in the yard a little later to The Missus. I’d bet my bottom dollar they’ll be appearing in her blog. They might already be there. She’s a quicker typer than me.

If I feel the need the post again today, I’ll contact my sponsor and work my program. You’ve been very kind...