Today’s blog post is courtesy of my grandson, Oliver. While Joey and I were looking over his portfolio of drawings, in preparation for his guest blog post, Oliver was busy snapping pics, of whatever caught his interest. I love giving a child a camera and turning him or her loose to capture their world. The results never fail to amaze and inspire me.
Watermelon growing in the backyard garden.
Oliver is 7 years old, soon to be 8, and a 2nd grader. He enjoys jumping on the trampoline, riding his bike and scooter, and climbing and performing amazing stunts. He has a mischievous smile, that always makes me smile in return, and an easy going charm. There is more to Oliver than meets the eye. His independence and casual air compensate for the fact that he is the younger brother, and the middle child, in his blended family. He is figuring out who he is, as Oliver. He told me he didn’t have any creative ability….and then proceeded to create a wonderful drawing, complete with a clever paper frame. (Yaya failed to get a pic of this marvelous piece of art.) However, when I offered him my camera, and turned him loose, he proved that he does, indeed, have quite an eye for artistic expression.
Here are Oliver’s photos:
Carl, who is much loved…and chased after. Carl is deaf…but we all talk to him anyway.
And Choco, the family’s pug. I love Oliver’s slightly out of focus pic. It seems to sum up Choco well, capturing those liquid brown eyes.
More goodness from the garden….green tomatoes ripening on the vine. Great composition here.
This is a Toad House that the kids built in the backyard. Oliver took pics of it and then, explaining to me how they had dug out a hole and then built this structure over it, carefully removed a portion of the roof so we could peek inside. We all yelled and jumped when a fat brown toad INSIDE THE TOAD HOUSE, hopped and then hid himself. I laughed at the expression on Oliver’s face….imagine….a toad actually in the Toad House. Ollie gently put the roof back into place and took a pic through the little door by lying on his belly.
Mr. Toad, who appeared to love his house, and showed his appreciation for the roof being restored by coming out of hiding. Oliver might have a future as a nature photographer.
Although Oliver might call these last two photos “mistakes”, they are actually my favorite pics from that day. I don’t know how he created these effects….but I love the look.
My favorite photo. It is mysterious, and full of light and beauty and grace….just like Oliver, just like all of us.
I appreciate Oliver’s work, which shows how artistic and creative he is, and his willingness to share his photos via my blog. I believe, as these children grow older, that I’ll occasionally hand them a camera, just to see what their current perspective of the world is. Their views are always fresh, always fascinating, deeply beautiful and stirring. And, we all have fun. We are not only growing and learning about ourselves and each other, we are creating memories and stories. I’ll never forget the toad in the Toad House and Oliver’s look of surprise! I don’t think he will either.
