1st grade project

[pachuco]

Hi All,

My wife is a first grade teacher here in Portland and she asked if I could teach her kids the basics of photography for a class project. The children are going to basically choose a person that is important to them and I will give them the basics on how to frame and use light to document the life of this person. I am collecting old 35mm point and shoot cameras for them to use and would like to know if anyone has any that they would like to donate to this project. Old film would not hurt either. The school is in a not so nice part of town and most of these kids do not have much and they are really excited about this project. Please send me a note if you would like to help. Thanks!

[jmooney]

What kind of film are you looking for? B&W or color? I can probably come up with a few rolls. Let me know and PM me an address to mail it to.

Jim

[mwooten]

Have you thought about the one-use cameras from Fuji and Kodak? It might work out cheaper, and maybe the PR departments of Fuji and/or Kodak might be of help.

[pachuco]

I did think about that option and I may explore it but the thought is to show them how to not only take pictures but to teach them how to load film, focus, compose, and take care of equipment. If they totally destroy the cameras then I will go the disposable route but I have faith in the little rugrats

BTW, thanks everybody for all the donations so far! We still need cameras and film so think hard about what you have in that closet or garage. Thanks!

Originally Posted by mwooten

Have you thought about the one-use cameras from Fuji and Kodak? It might work out cheaper, and maybe the PR departments of Fuji and/or Kodak might be of help.

[Neutronarmy]

I have a quite a few frozen outdated 100 ft. rolls of Plus-X that I would love to donate if you are interested. They actually came from my high school when they shut down the darkroom.

Send me a PM with mailing info if interested. Sounds like a really rad project.

[Avotius]

oh man, just the other day I saw a place that had boxes of those reloadable plastic kodak cameras with flash....they are not manual focus but I will wander over there and see if I can find them again, if I can get them I will ship them all to you.

[jamesj]

i would donate a disposable.

i honestly think 1st grade is a little to young to teach them, i barley got my 7 year old nephew on how to shoot a rangefinder until this point i would buy him disposable cameras...

[pachuco]

Thanks for all the responses folks! 1st grade is a bit young for many of the technical aspects of photography but I feel if I can give them a good start in terms of what to look for, where to put it in the viewfinder, and most of all take care of the equipment. If I can do that I think I will feel pretty good about it! The reason I posted in the point ans shoots category was because those cameras would still give them the chance to learn how to load film but still have auto features once they started shooting. This project will be about the social experience for sure, but they also should feel ownership and understanding of the class equipment. I've told them stories of my equipment failing in remote parts of the world and have stressed the importance of taking care of your gear! This will be my second year teaching an art course and I think this will be fun!

Having said that we will take anything you can give, disposable or not, b&w film or color.
Avotius - that is awesome if you can get those!

Thanks to those who have already donated! Anyone else please feel free to PM me for the school mailing address if you would like to donate. Thanks!

[jmooney]

I've got about 16 rolls of mixed B&W and color that are going to the post office tomorrow morning.

Enjoy!

Jim