When I decided to host another Kids Photography Camp this Summer, it didn’t take me long to pick a topic. It’s no secret that I love animals, and don’t love zoos. While the zoo-debate-topic can take place another day, we kept our camp jovial and educational in our multi-age setting, and it was a success all-around.
My friend and mentor, Skip Cohen, sent me an awesome Panasonic Lumix prior to the camp - so no child would be without the opportunity to shoot with something more than just a smart-phone or point-and-click. The pressure was on. And the challenge was accepted.
I piled seven kids into my car in Boulder, and we headed to the Denver Zoo. Our conversation on the way to the zoo was optimistic and cheerful, and our main GOAL, was to: Envision your favorite animal living outside of the zoo. Where would you put them if you could magically transport them into a happier place?
After four hours in the 100 degree heat, we had our material. Each child chose their animal they wanted to “free,” and we came back to my home where I had my biggest iMac set up to do basic tutorials on Photoshop... cropping / masking / and magically transporting their animal from captivity to freedom, one 20-minute time-slot at a time, while the others jumped on the trampoline or ate their snacks.
As I read through the kids’ notebooks I was blown away by the notes they took. They listened, they wrote down some awesome sticking-points, and they “went to town on freeing their animals.” With their best image of their favorite lucky animal, and one final image of either another location we took while out and about - or found royalty-free online, the kids had zero problems cropping, and transferring their animals to freedom.
This camp was par for the course when I work with kids; I learned more from them than presumably, they did from me. They’re quick with technology, they “get” storytelling through imagery, each one thinking deeply about the WHY in their final setting for their animals.
I learned that no matter the age-range, kids are sponges when it comes to knowledge they find interesting when it includes heart, technology and a reward at the end of a tunnel which was in sight from the beginning. We had a big-picture idea we worked towards the entire week, starting with our end-goal, and working backwards to get there, one step at a time.
Suffice it to say - I will absolutely be doing more Kids Photography Camps, and while the next syllabus is yet TBD, I look forward to learning again from these same kids, and more who may join us next time.
Below are a few of their final images with permission to share from their parents.
They all graduated with honors.
Matix chose the Zebras. She decided they would be happy journeying across the tracks to another side of … something … where the sunset awaited their awesome homecoming.
Asher wanted to use the adorable Syrpol that he found in the wild-cat building at the zoo. He took the Syrpol out of its “room” at the zoo and gave it a luxurious final look in a (free) Rolex yacht image we found online.
Duncan of course, wanted his Tortoise to experience unusually fast speeds to which it is not accustom… so we plopped it right into a Bugatti on the highway (also a free online image)
Neva loved her Wild Dog… and thought it would be incredibly happy on the driveway of a nearby modern home… people-watching and protecting its family
Scarlett picked the Giraffe. Hoping for a street sign in her final image, we decided on “Juilliard” nearby… where her giraffe could be free and musical, with a little edgy feeling to her final piece.
Kids Photography Camp is an example of sharing my knowledge and time with kids who might just be the next “Anne Geddes,” as Skip likes to say. You never know which kid will walk away with a new fire in their heart for a creative future. Once in a while, you even hear back from the parents that other topics you covered in camp, had also struck a chord with another area in their child’s life.
I highly suggest adults do this more often with kids. Whether you’re a day-trader, or own a house-cleaning business ... if you allow kids to roll up their sleeves and get a peek into how you to provide a roof over their head and food on the table - while making it FUN, well... perhaps one day these same kids will literally free captive animals; perhaps they will also be able to fund / find a way to make it possible for future generations to travel and see them in their natural habitats.