Re: [Leica] Request for Advice

[tedgrant@islandnet.com (Ted Grant)]

Bill Cassing wrote:

>I would appreciate some advice regarding a gift for an eight year old
>grandson.>>>>

Hi Bill,

I meant to respond earlier as I have 10 grand children, several of them are
into photography and do it rather well. There are a couple of 13 years olds
with about 6 yaers experience already an other 12 and a grandaughter 11.

The 4 grand kids I've given cameras they got the simplest and cheapest of
point and shoot's I could find. The simple reason? They just want to take
pictures, they don't want to be fiddling with the things to make a camera
work. Certainly when they first start, just let them expose film and have
fun doing it for the first few rolls.  Then as the film is processed and
prints made, you can start with a few "technical and seeing" things.

Hell they have enough to learn at school without going throough a bunch of
mental stuff to take pictures. Quite frankly most LUG members use their
cameras quickly, to the grandchild it appears very simple, "Just put camera
to eye, click and the picture is taken!"  That's how they see us work when
doing our pictures. So what's the big deal here?

So I let them shoot away to their hearts desire in B&W, I souped the film,
they helped in the darkroom with the timer, buffaloing the contacts through
the soup and dried their own prints.

Once they had some pictures to look at, then the "why for details" were
brought to play and they learned to see their mistakes and "Keepers," as
they grew older they graduated in gear and ability the two boys in Ottawa
now use their fathers EOS1 cameras and lenses and do a very good picture.

The one here in Victoria knows how to use my M6, make adjustments and get
acceptable pictures.

My grand daughter in Jasper is still using the P&S and sends her film here
in Victoria for processing and contacts. I send them and some enlargements
I think worked back to her with new rolls of film.  I make some notes to go
with the prints and after she gets them, we talk on the phone discussing
the contacts as I keep a set and she has a set. At times very frustrating
as we are visual people

She is turning 12 and very much into art and design and shows some
excellent talent, I don't have any doubt some day she could be working as a
commercial photographer. I'll move her up to a more controlling camera
later in the New Year as she is complaining she can't get as close as she
would like and several other points that obviously indicate she is ready
for more than a point and shoot.

For what it's worth on the first camera for your grandson, I'd by-pass all
the control stuff and just let him "point and shoot" having fun because,
that's how you grab their interest right at the start simply because they
have "some success" and feel good about picture taking like "grandpa"

More important? They have fun without details! You can do that stuff later.

Ted Grant
This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.
http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant