Not afraid to get a little dirty

Closeup
Laval, QC
September 2012
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There are many moments in a child's life where you kind of sit back and realize he's more like you than you ever realized.

This was one of them.

Whenever Noah picks up a camera, he becomes even more thoughtful, deliberate and focused than he usually is. As his eyes carefully soak in the space around him, I can almost feel the gears in his head moving, processing the scene and pointing him toward the story he wants to tell.

On this cold and blustery afternoon, Noah, big sister Dahlia and I picked up our cameras, tightened our jackets and headed out into the light mist with no real agenda in mind. As we've done so often previously, the kids knew that inspiration would hit them once they had had a few minutes to get into the groove.

Which is exactly what happened here. What would normally be a washed out shuffleboard court to most was, to him, something worth a closer, low-angled look. I said nothing the entire time - it was enough to let him explore the moment on his own. And explore he did.

When he was done shooting, he got up, wiped the grit off of his clothes and immediately looked for the next target of opportunity. He and Dahlia buzzed about what they had found, and quietly discussed what they should look for next. The scene repeated itself a number of times before we finally headed back in, a little dirtier. Which is as it should be. Washing machines can clean up the gunk he picks up along the way, but nothing can take away the experience of seeing the world through a lens, on his own terms.

Your turn: What first sparked your interest in photography?