I can with all honesty say that photography is one of my favorite hobbies. I really feel the need to try new things and stretch myself in my photos, but I also feel the freedom in it being a hobby. While I take a few freelance projects on from time to time, for the most part, I use photography to document my own life and creative journey. I finally feel like I can explore and make mistakes without the stress of letting someone down if my images didn’t meet their expectations. It’s just fun and I love it.

Last Christmas we got Harvey a play camera from Willow and Bass and while he’s played with it a few times, it hasn’t really been his favorite toy. The other day I was playing around with some new lenses and taking some test shots. He was immediately interested in what I was doing. He quickly ran into his room, dug out his own camera from the toy box and proceeded to take my picture while saying “cheese” while pushing the top button over and over. I was able to capture a few shots of him playing with me. I love how these came out and I’m so happy to share them.

I’m absolutely on board for him discovering his own interests and passions, but there is a deep part of me that loves the thought of us going on photography trips together, pushing the other towards better images through friendly competition, and all around enjoying something in common. As he gets older, I’ll continue to foster his interest in photography until he just doesn’t want to do it any more. I hope that day never comes because seeing this baby with a camera around his neck gives me all the feels.