Bernie Michalik's posterous site

My son took this photo tonight on my Blackberry. He often tries different
shots with it. For him it is an instrument, like a piano or a paint brush.
Unlike those instruments though, the technique required for such
photographs is low. Because of that, it frees him up to be more creative.
After he took it, he said he liked it because it looked like a painting. He
is 8.

Before digital cameras or other digital instruments, creating works of art
was either difficult or costly or both for children. Now it isn't. That
doesn't mean everything they create is going to have them win the next
Turner Prize. Lots of photos that my son takes are very silly indeed and we
all have a good laugh. But he also takes photos that he is very conscious
of having look good. He is trying to give qualities to the photo in order
to make it exceptional. I think that aesthetic sense he is developing is
something that could be developed in more children and earlier. Not just so
they will create works of art, though that is good. But also so they can
better appreciate the works of others as well.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Handheld.