Friday, March 18, 2005

Catch Us If You Can!

I used to think that getting our cats to "pose" in exactly the right position was difficult, but that was before I had children. Now I know what impossible photography really is! It comes in the shape of two little boys not quite one meter high in their bare feet!

I have a dream of capturing on camera every magic moment my boys achieve; or rather I had such dream. Now it seems like an unattainable fantasy! These days I'd settle for capturing any moment where I have a complete replica on camera of a head and body, rather than some disappearing torso or feet. The boys can be happily playing with their toys, or exploring the environment, completely unaware of what's going on around them. Or so I think. They seem to have some kind of extraordinarily developed radar sense that can detect a camera lens pointing in their direction from five meters away. Of course, once the camera is spotted, the children immediately stop whatever activity they were doing and either disappears behind any convenient piece of furniture, or put their hands over their faces.

Unfortunately I do have to confess that this reaction could possibly be genetically inherited because their mother also has a tendency to react in a similar manner when a camera is pointed at her!

What the experience of trying to record my children's milestones has taught me, is that even with the most technologically advanced equipment in the world; you can't take a perfect photo unless your models comply with your desire to photograph them. On day however, a stealth camera will be designed which will outwit even the most astute of children, and parents everywhere will celebrate this monumental achievement in parenting technology, as they secretly record their adorable offspring's every little step along the road to adulthood. As for me, I'll just have to become quicker on the button to try and outsmart my boys - so don't get me started on the deficiencies of the time delay on digital cameras!

Katie-Anne Gustafsson

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