Daniel the Photographer

I mentioned previously that Daniel has been taking a photography class at school this semester and he's just loving it. I've saved up a few pictures of Daniel in action all semester long and thought I'd share now that class is just about over. Daniel is definitely planning on take more photography classes here before he graduates!

Funny story about this next Mickey photo shoot picture...

Back in February, Daniel was setting up these Mickeys to take a picture of them for an assignment and Ben saw us and asked where the really big Mickey was. I said it's out there. He's like, no the BIG one!, the one we used for pictures when Daniel was a baby. I said it's that one right there honey. He was not convinced one bit and proceeded to look all around the house for the really big one. I had to break it to him that we had no bigger one, that was the biggest we had, and it was just our boy who'd gotten so big!  

This is the same one in that picture above...

This is also the same one in the pictures above... I mean, Mickey does look very big here, I get that... but really, it's the very same one still, all these years later. We just have a big kid now. Cue the tears! And look at that cuddly baby!! (From Feb 28, 2009- exactly 16 years ago)

When Daniel finishes assignments, they print a thumbnail sheet of all images at school, like this, and he often texts me them. I love it! I love seeing these first glimpses of his work. 

These are 2 images Daniel shared with me right away. We loved the Lego guy! His teacher did, too!!

Daniel got a Lego camera, too! It looks so real in this picture!

This next set was part of a portrait assignment series and Daniel's immediate request was to take portraits of Josie. So we asked Uncle Brian if he and Josie both were okay with this and they were totally cool with it! So we had Josie over one afternoon and we took her to the park for a portrait session. The way the two of them interacted with each other, the way they were both so cool and calm about it...it was the sweetest thing ever. Such a fun little outing for us!

Update, July: Daniel wanted to give Josie his printed copy of his favorite picture from that day for her birthday, so we framed it and wrapped it up and gifted it to her. He's such a sweet kid!

Here's what he liked best and printed for the final assignment... It's lovely!

Then in mid-March, Daniel texted me a picture from school one day with the comment: Going in the art show i guess. I immediately wanted to know ALL the details! Because of course I wanted to go see it and support him! And we did. Here's what he put in the show. (More details in its own post because this was well deserved! So proud of Daniel!)

In early May, the photography classes took a field trip into Chicago to Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory, and I got to chaperone! It was a really fun trip and the kids in my group were great. Chaperoning high school is very different from elementary, haha! We started with the conservatory and that was just beautiful! Plus, the docents there were SO informative- I really loved everything they had to share and am glad I took the time to talk with some of them. My favorite plant was the one that shrank at my touch- the "touch-me-not" or mimosa pudica- so interesting. I also loved the giant pink bromeliad flowers and their water "tanks". There was just so much variety and so much bright color, it really was a cool place. I love conservatories and botanical gardens, though I definitely do NOT have a green thumb myself- I'm perfectly happy just looking at all the greenery. 

After that, we journeyed a tiny bit into the city, just a few blocks off the zoo area, to find more architecture for photos (this was their assignment- architectural details), and then went back to the zoo to see the animals and their habitats. We also got amazing cityscape views from the southern end of the zoo, which was so pretty. 

We were so lucky with the weather that day, too! The rain started just as we left, thankfully. It was a good day. I'm so glad I went. It really was so fun!

 

 

 

 

This moonlight philodendron with its neon leaves was striking.

Loved these triangle shaped flowers, too! This is a purple shamrock. 

This "swiss cheese plant" was so cool!

Look at the city! So pretty in this spot!!

And one last picture...

Daniel sure worked hard this semester learning about photography and composition, and he really enjoyed developing his own film, too. 

I love that Daniel took this class. And I'm glad he wants to take more. I think it's great!

Update April 2026: I recently discovered that our high school art department has an Instagram page and found some pictures of Daniel on there from this class! Super fun! It was such a delightful surprise for me to find these hidden gems of Daniel's days at school. I don't get many glimpses of him from during the day, nor does he tell many stories, so this was a treasure of a find for me. Sharing here because it's part of this story, part of his story, and I love it.