I shoot with a few different kids. Taha
was the first, then his sister, Aliyah. Richard Jones' kid, Alexa,
also has been out on the photo trail with me. Whenever the shoot
arrives, I have just three rules.
One, listen to me at all times. Two, do
what I say, as long as it seems reasonable. Three, watch what you are
doing with my camera gear- your mom cannot replace it, nor can I.
We always seem to have a blast.
Aliyah and the Canon XTi.
Today, the 14th of December,
is no different. Aliyah bundles up, gloves and beanie, and an extra
hoodie. We head towards my house, a dozen blocks away, to meet the
FedEx guy. He's delivering my Canon EF 70-300mm, from the Canon
repair factory, where it underwent repair.
Now that it's mine again, I aim to find
some herons or geese to photograph.
Timing is awesome, and just as we
arrive at my home, so does FedEx, with his big box truck, and my big
zoom lens.
Inspected and mounted on the Canon 7D,
we are about ready to shoot outdoors, in foggy and damp Oregon, with
its typical rainforest-like December.
Photo by Aliyah Haji-Mohamed
“I'm hungry.”
“You want some leftover pizza?” I
lie and tell her it was last night's. It was really Thursday night's
dinner, two nights ago. It is still very good, and Aliyah devours it.
“What kind of soda is this?”
I tell her it is Vernors Ginger Ale.
“The best,” I say.
We see many birds in the opening
minutes of the photoshoot. Aliyah wants to photograph every one. But
the kid has my Canon XTi and the EF 50mm f1.8, a gem, although not
for photographing birds. So I tell her, to just shoot “scenes,”
both large and small.
“Just remember, you have no zoom, so
don't try to get close-up bird photos.”
We make our way towards downtown,
zig-zagging northeast through west Albany, criss-crossing holly
covered trees and berry-eating, red-breasted robins. At the hospital,
Aliyah shoots street photos of dog-walkers and waving flags. At the
canal, along the filbert shell landscaping, she notices signs of many
other dog-walkers.
“There's a lot of poop here,” she
notes.
Photo by Aliyah Haji-Mohamed
At the entrance to Bryant Park, she
spies a river scene, complete with a train bridge. I shoot from this
spot often, but wasn't going to stop today.
“Can I take a picture of it?”
Aliyah asks.
“Sure, fire away.”
We spend a few moments there, above the
Calapooia River, and the rushing waters. The sounds of the running
river, and the kid's questions, are all at once soothing, cool, and
fun.
We move on to Montieth Park, home of
“River Rhythms” and giant osprey. No osprey lately, but plenty of
geese and herons.
The geese let the whole world know we
arrive. Aliyah shoots them through the fence railing, as I move
quietly down the boardwalk dock.
Aliyah sees the Great Blue Heron,
silent and still, a hundred feet from the lookout dock.
“Wow,” is all she mutters.
The egrets that also hang out here, are
perched, as usual, on top of the dock pylons. They watch us
nonchalantly. It is a somewhat different story with the heron, as its
piercing yellow eyes never seem to move. The bird watches us, and the
water, for any sign.
We take about one-hundred photos. Some
are good, some are entertaining, and some are garbage. The 70-300
still has issues in low light, and combined with the 7D's unfortunate
similar problems with low light, the photos of the heron do not look
awesome. They are simply mediocre.
After shooting for half-an-hour, we
head into downtown, with its tinsel and holiday lights, shining in
the daytime fog. Aliyah likes to shoot life, like I do. She watches
for interesting people or buildings, and she watches my camera. Tuned
in and focused, the Canon XTi is in good hands with Aliyah.
It is not her first shoot, and she has
remembered lessons well. The “half-shutter” focus, the use of
“framing” technique, and a general appreciation for good photos,
has served her well.
Aliyah Haji-Mohamed is a photographer.
On the way home, we stop at Hasty
Freeze, for the best fries in town.
And ice-cream, of course.
Aliyah's photos:
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