Children and Nikon RF Cameras

dave lackey

dave lackey

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Well, the title alone should be thought-provoking. If we, as old f***s, are the only ones using RF cameras and not sharing the experience with the younger folks, how long will ANY RF's be around? More importantly, why would we allow such an experience to NOT be enjoyed by our children? Simply handing them down when we are gone just doesn't seem to be right...as we can share our time and experiences with them everyday while we are here.

I am in the midst of a photographic project involving children in the 2-5 year age bracket (posted in the General Photo forum). The project is a study of children and what they photograph...pure, innocent photography if there ever was such a thing. Sadly, no responses from participants, so I will rely on family and friends, albeit a smaller study group.:bang:

So, is anyone sharing the Nikon RF life with their kids/grandchildren/others?😀
 
Not yet, but only because a) my S2 hasn't come back from servicing, and b) my two-year-old son prefers the taste of Leica glass.

He does, however, have a Pentax SPII, an Olympus Trip 35, and a Braun Super Paxette of his very own; so I think the love of old cameras will be there. 🙂
 
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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2042/2499520698_0ff0b1a839.jpg
 
Dave,

This is a great idea. Teaching children how to use older cameras is a great way to pass down our knowledge. It doesn't work for me right now, because my daugther is only 6 months old and likes to try her little teeth on just about anything. But I definitely plan on doing so when she gets a bit older.

Recently I received 3 cameras my parents had no use for: my mother's Olympus Trip (which incidentally was the camera I started out with), my father's Futura S (german 1950s rangefinder) and my grandfather's Kodak. So even if I'm not a kid anymore, I enjoy using what the previous generation(s) were using.

Jan
 
Hi, Jan...great photo!

I do think it is a good idea and my current project is described below:


Photography by Children​



by​



David Lackey, MS


D.L.P.​


Description

This is a project conducted by David Lackey Photography to study and present the results of a photographic portfolio produced entirely by children in the 3-5 year old age range. This project had its beginning with my own grandchildren when I recently allowed them to use a digital camera (DSLR) without instructions, other than how to look through the viewfinder, press the shutter button and look at the resulting image on the LCD on the back of the camera.

The images stunned me in their composition, but the subject material interested me even more as I studied them over the next several days. Their interests were different from adult interests as clearly demonstrated by those images. My immediate thoughts were those of gathering more images made by more children to identify common approaches to image making by young, innocent people with no pre-conceptions of photography or art. Pure, innocent image-making by children captured my imagination.

The central idea of this project is to allow young children to photograph anything that they choose without coaching or influence from adults or other outside sources. The subject material does not matter as long as it is the child who chooses the subject and is allowed full freedom to photograph anything he or she desires.

The equipment to be used for this project is important as a digital SLR camera has an optical viewfinder which is more instinctive for a child to use in order to mentally connect the image he sees with the resulting image on the LCD, than a “point-and-shoot” digital camera which requires more hand and eye coordination to align the live-view from the LCD for a framed shot. A film rangefinder camera or SLR can be used as well.

The project relies on the submission of at least 10-20 images made by the child for evaluation of subject material, composition and perspective. This is not a competitive event as no scores are given for any submission. The images will only be evaluated and presented within a written essay to be published in book form at a later date.

The project will be begin July 15, 2008.
 
While hardly a Nikon RF, I remember seeing a magazine article six months or so after Hurricane Katrina about a project to involve young people (this would be teenagers, judging by the photo) in documenting the clean-up and rebuilding. There was a photo with several teenage girls holding cameras, one of whom was quite definitely clutching a "Brick".

Adrian
 
Dave, best wishes for your project. I think you could also observe what older kids do, the ones with a minimum of skill, and compare the results. Unfortunately, I have no kids, otherwise I'd support you by myself.
 
Both my daughters (10 and 8) enjoy playing around with the Nikons. However, neither has really "gotten" the idea of RF focusing by lining up the two images, so I have to prefocus for them. It still makes my day when I see my youngest using a Nikon ... with the 1:1 finder, she always keeps both eyes wide open.
 
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"I am the little one, so of course I've got the friggin' Leica"

A couple of years have passed since. Ana, the elder, now uses a Fed. Isabela has a Canon Sureshot A1

Edit: Isabela also uses my Drebel. I can send some pics for your project, if you want
 
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HI, Dino...

Thanks for the encouragement and yes, absolutely, I would like to do a second project with that age group!

Just need to get enough participants for this one and then I will be set up with the software.
 
dave lackey said:
Well, the title alone should be thought-provoking. If we, as old f***s, are the only ones using RF cameras and not sharing the experience with the younger folks, how long will ANY RF's be around? More importantly, why would we allow such an experience to NOT be enjoyed by our children? Simply handing them down when we are gone just doesn't seem to be right...as we can share our time and experiences with them everyday while we are here.

I am in the midst of a photographic project involving children in the 2-5 year age bracket (posted in the General Photo forum). The project is a study of children and what they photograph...pure, innocent photography if there ever was such a thing. Sadly, no responses from participants, so I will rely on family and friends, albeit a smaller study group.:bang:

So, is anyone sharing the Nikon RF life with their kids/grandchildren/others?😀
Click to expand...

Just last weekend I had my two daughters use a Zeiss Tenax 2/3 frame RFcamera and also a Konica II. Then only did I let them use an AF P&S camera for a few shots. I want to see how my two girls take photos.
 
dave lackey said:
HI, Dino...

Thanks for the encouragement and yes, absolutely, I would like to do a second project with that age group!

Just need to get enough participants for this one and then I will be set up with the software.
Click to expand...

Dave, mine is even more....
Do it also for me that I can't !
it's more like a positive "envy" that just a "wish".
Enjoy your kids and share with them the most you can not only time.
 
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