My Daughter the RAD Photographer

It's nice to use RAD in its other context sometimes..lol. 'RAD' meaning cool, awesome, groovy...

So, when I say my daughter is a RAD photographer, I mean that kind of RAD :)

When I first met Anastasia at the orphanage, she would not interact with me at all. No talking. No eye contact. Just a trembling little girl with fearful eyes. That is, until I took out my camera.

" Shto eta?" She asked. (What is it?) She had never seen a digital camera before. I showed her how to use it, and the ice was broken. She interacted with me from behind the lens. Nothing would work to get her to put that camera down.

So, it's no surprise that my daughter has discovered that she likes photography. It gives her a safe way to interact with the world around her. She can be a part of things on her terms. So...
Here are some recent photos she took . She has a great eye, I think. She wants to learn more, too, which is great!

Matilda, her puppy, is her favorite subject, The shoots this poor dog has been subjected to would put Tyra Banks to shame. Here she is posing with glasses.
Here she came in my office at 7am ( hence no make-up & messy hair) and asked me to make "a really funny face."

Here she had walked out of Bertucci's where we had dinner one night. She saw this abandoned doll and HAD to take a photo. She said it made her "feel weird" and she wanted to remember it.

This is her best friend Julia's eye. I think this is the most amazing photo and I wouldn't believe she took it if I hadn't been there to see it myself. I later showed her how to add color to just one spot with picasa. That's her favorite thing to do now with photos...

This is her foot. So artsy. My daughter is artsy!!!

Here is Julia again. I think the angle and blurriness is cool. She's really got an eye for this!

These were random older men outside of Starbucks. They were teasing me about not getting them coffee, so she took their photo. I love the different expressions on their faces (though I want to snatch that cigarette out of his hand and smash it.)

Finally, my favorite. She said " Mom, I want to take a picture of the sun!" I told her, "you can't do that, honey, it won't work." She said, 'Yes it will, mom!"

And she was right.