I had a great Father's Day weekend by doing a Tom Scales thing and teaching
my eight-year-old son, Thomas, to shoot an OM-1.
I simplified this first outing by explaining only three steps: turning the
meter on and off, focusing, and setting the proper stop according to the
meter reading. Using ASA 400 print film, I set his shutter speed to 1/125.
We rode in my truck on Saturday afternoon. I was scouting locations for the
next morning. We would stop and he would take a shot as the spirit directed.
These scouting trips have always been so boring for him that I rarely take
him along, much as I would like to. But with his own camera, this one had a
different meaning. Even our conversation was improved. My son avidly draws
and sketches. He wondered aloud why it is that we often know exactly how
something we want to draw should look but we can't actually draw it that
way. I told him that even photography is like that more than you would
think.
My dad had one camera in his life and he was pretty good with it until it
broke. He used it mainly for his One Great Trip to Europe in the mid-50's,
and as kids we looked at those slides over and over again. I know that had
a huge impact on my interest in photography, but I never learned anything
from him directly about it. I'm hoping that will be a little different with
my son. But mostly I'm just hoping it is something we will enjoy doing
together, often.
It doesn't sound like much, but that was a good weekend.
Joel W.
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