My oldest son spent the past week at summer camp. Watching him leave was bittersweet. I went to camp for the first time when I was his age, and I think camp is a great experience for kids. He completely had our blessing to go, though we knew we’d miss him.
As he counted down the days until it was time to leave, we talked about what he might expect at camp. He asked about the first time I went to camp, and I pulled out some of the photos I took with my little Kodak 110 camera (remember those?)
My son wanted to capture his own camp memories too, and not long ago we picked up a camera that seemed perfect for the job. My husband had found an older Sony digital camera for $1.99 at the Goodwill store. A camera for $1.99! When he found it on the shelf in the electronics department, he pointed out that the memory card in the camera was worth more than two dollars, so we bought it.
It’s certainly not the best camera — its decade-old technology is positively low-res compared to today’s pocket camera models, and its digital screen is smaller than a postage stamp — but it was perfect to send off to camp with a ten-year-old to record all of his adventures. If it was dropped or it happened to fall in the lake? No great loss.
Our house was so quiet last week with just one child home. (Our daughter went to camp too — this time as a counselor!) Our youngest son was sad to see his siblings go, and he rejoiced when his big sister and big brother returned home with tired smiles and bags of muddy camping gear.
I couldn’t wait to hear all about their week. I couldn’t wait to see my son’s photographs and view his camp experience through his eyes, seeing what he felt was important to capture pictures of.
Here are some of his photos.
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