Life: Through the Lens

I'm reading the book I mentioned in my last post - Last Child in the Woods -Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder , by Richard Louv - starting with the quotes in the front of the book. The first one is a quote by Walt Whitman , a fabulous writer and naturalist: There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf,... The second quote is from a fourth-grader in San Diego: I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are. How disturbing is that? Yet it's quite believeable. It takes effort to teach a ch...

There was a very disturbing report on the Morning Edition of NPR February 6, stating that fewer and fewer people were spending time in the "great outdoors." It's speculated that the steady decline since 1991 could be due to rising gas prices, or the popularity of more sedentary, technologically based, activites, such as video games and the TV screen. Could we be headed toward a time when a generation of young people doesn't have a vested interest in environmental issues? It's true that many people can support a program they don't actually participate in, but we need leaders in these movements in order to keep the cause alive. The "cause" meaning an appreciation of the natural world; a connection with land and spirit you only experience when you're actually out in it. Through this appreciation and love, a passion is nurtured to protect the land and the living creatures on, in and next to it. There's a book which may be worth reading in order ...

There are so many things to teach our children. The landfills we pass along the road and the trash we picked up as we explored various ecosystems on our trip have reminded us once again that our environment needs preservation. The cactus at a beautiful southern Arizona mission had plastic garbage bags stuck to the spines. One park area had paper cups and pop cans littering the parking lot, and they could be seen periodically along the road way as we drove one of the roads through the park. When park services include trash receptacles , and most people arrive by automobile and could at least take their trash with them, this unnecessary littering of the environment becomes even more appalling . If we show our children the world they live with and teach them to look at it as a precious possession, one we need to care for and nurture, then our land and its resources will be preserved for future generations to love and appreciate and care for. Walk softly; "Take only pictures, leave ...

Traveling by car may be tiring, and a bit grueling at times, but it's one of the best ways to see the country. Our discussion on this topic usually comes back to whether flying over the land in a small aircraft is better than driving, as far as seeing the vastness of the country, as well as the topographical differences, but we can't come up with a firm decision. It depends.... For instance, from the air you can see the sand dunes of the south west, and see they extend quite a ways, but you can't always see what is happening to the lands. You also can't see some of the humorous, and sad, aspects of road travel when in an airplane overhead. One such example is signage. And you definitely can't meet the people, and sample the cultures of the various geographic and cultural areas of the country. So, in my opinion, road trips "win."

Photo from The Gathering of the Mustangs, Columbus, OH We're back, but not from anywhere exciting. The rather lengthy hiatus was due to busy work schedules, family commitments and technology issues. Yes, the everyday work world sometimes interferes with the greater good...which is just plain wrong! Making the world a better place takes time, and some planning. The cold weather has settled in, here in Michigan, and days are mostly gray and white and scruffy. We used to get lots of "good" snow, snow to play in and enjoy. But winters are getting colder and harsher, and not as easy to enjoy. Global warming may be happening, but I don't see it in my backyard yet, or aren't we looking carefully enough? At this time of year it's not as easy to pull out the photography gear and head out into the natural world. The rewards, however, are great. Fresh air, sometimes sunshine, and a very different type of nature photo. Each season has its strengths...we just hav...

The title of this student project is "What's the Point?" Derived from our business name, as well as the project theme, we have found it to be a loaded question throughout our instruction. As some of the children struggled with the concept of finding a close-up photograph within a larger picture, we had to explain, re-explain and demonstrate with our own cameras what we were getting at. Other young people seemed to understand the basic concept, but would change their body position between shots, which changed the perspective of the close-up. Teaching a concept is a wonderful way to fine-tune our communication skills as well as our ability to help young people see their world in a new way. If we are going to raise a generation who will help protect our environment, we need to make sure they actually notice that enviroment in a variety of ways. Photography is a wonderful medium through which to do this. Take the time to teach a child to look carefully at the world around th...

Watching young people look for new aspects of their town is amazing. Though listening skills can be all over the place, the results never cease to surprise and reward us. Just look at some of the ways this group of 5th graders discovered surprises about their small town architecture. Now the children will write clues to match the close-up photos they took of the landmarks they'd like to highlight. Then the fun begins. Will people be able to figure out where these locations are? Or will they be stumped? Watch for updates as the project progresses.