‘We try to grab pieces of our lives as they speed past us. Photographs freeze those pieces and help us remember how we were. We don’t know these lost people but if you look around, you’ll find someone just like them. ‘
Gene McSweeney, Grey Water Photography, 06-04-2006

Ever since the first edition of “Cosey and Art”, I have received allot of feedback and comments complementing the post. I decided to revisit the Culture de Cosey once again, reserving the fact that it may become a regular posting to this blog.
Cosey has always been intrigued by my digital cameras. Growing up with me as her father, I was not surprised when one of her first spoken words was “cheese!”. It seems that everywhere she looked I was snapping pictures of something, and being a child, it made a impact on her. Her normal routine when she sees my camera out is to jump up and down in order to persuade me into taking her picture. She usually gives me a overly toothy grin (for some reason she thinks the harder she smiles, the better the picture) and waits impatiently for me to snap the picture. The shutter on the camera would barley be closed before she would be running up to me asking “Can I see, Can I See??!!!” eagerly waiting to see the LCD screen and preview her wonderful self.
After a few years of the Snap-and-show game we played I always thought it would be great to be able to get her a digital camera of her own to preview. I looked a few times on the Internet, but pretty much any children’s camera would unfortunately lack the essential preview screen we needed. That was until i came across the Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital Camera earlier this year.
The Kid-Tough camera boasts a unbreakable casing, with 640×480 resolution, 1.3 inch LCD screen, big buttons, 8 MB internal memory (60 pictures) with upgradable SD card slot to 1 Gig. The camera also comes with built in flash and USB cable to transfer pictures to the computer.
With her birthday coming up I hinted for my mother to purchase it as a present. What I didn’t know is that my mother was thinking along the same lines as a gift this year. The cost was just over $60.
I didn’t have high expectations until I put Cosey to bed that night and smuggled the camera into my room. You know,… research.

PROS:
-Very Durable. ( i have seen her drop it several times)
-Great resolution for a toy
-Buttons are easy to understand. (Cosey figured out how to take a pic, delete, and preview without my help.
-Binocular viewfinder (children have yet to grasp the close one eye technique) or LCD viewfinder.
CONS:
-The LCD is grainy, but you can see what you are aiming at. The pictures look much better on a computer.
-Low light shots are not the best.

Anyhow, after a few weeks of uploading shots to my computer i have determined that.. well.. she has a eye for photography!. And I am not just saying that because she is my kid either. Judge for yourself:

“Mother”

Good lighting as well as background. Cosey accomplishes a stable white balance while still holding onto neutral skin tones.

“Skinny”

In a direct political move, Cosey attacks society’s view of beautiful by showing how anorexic skinny dolls are influencing the 6 year old population through marketing. She hopes to move on to mannequins as subject matter in the future.

“Crazy”

Cosey shows that Kindergarten can be a crazy place, full of stress and responsibly. Sometimes she feels overwhelmed and reality can be distorted.

“Stupid-Head”

A very rare shot of Cosey’s sister. Cosey feels that Chloe is “not photogenic”. Although critics blame this on sibling rivalry. This picture is the only one known to exist.

“Self Portrait”

Posh, yet almost a sense of confidence. Cosey displays a high sense of self esteem by just turning the camera around and taking a picture. This piece took 24 attempts to get right.

“Imprisoned, Part 1″

A fleeting glimpse of reality on the way to the store. Cosey displays a anger to her entrapment in a custodial war. She lashes out at the fact that he is a pawn and must accompany her parents wherever they go.

“Imprisoned, Part 2“

Sometimes she just wants to scream.

“Father figure”

Cosey, in a attempt to rectify previous artwork which may have demeaned her father, shows him in this photograph from the worms eye view. Thus giving him the commanding position and respect he so richly deserves.

“Fatty”

Just when she feels that she has brought her father up emotionally, she trashes him by photographing his doughnuts that he ate in one sitting.

“My favorite place”

Cosey shows how easily she manipulates her parents to take her wherever she wants to eat. She does this by yapping so much that they just want to shove something in her mouth. This is accomplished by any means possible. (see “Imprisoned, Part 2“)

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See all of Cosey’s pictures here

‘To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, ‘There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.’

Ansel Adams (1902 – 1984)