Some reading this may remember the time when children played outside.
Not just a little bit. A lot.
In a good sized city, you had 3 or 4 TV channels, maybe 8 radio stations. And the boundless Outside. Most TV and radio was boring; you watched a few shows, listened to some music while doing something else. Outside was the place to be.
Outside had your friends and neighbors. Outside had the school playground and the shopping center. Outside had dirt trails and other streets and neighborhoods to explore. Sometimes Outside had a movie being filmed somewhere – if you knew who to ask!
I want everyone to Go Play Outside again.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m as thrilled as anyone about the breadth, depth, and ease of Google answers, 250 Cable TV channels, and free streaming entertainment 24×7 nearly everywhere. After all, this blog lives in and benefits from that widespread electronic cyber world. These are really amazing things, good things, kind of intoxicating things. But they are not Outside.
Outside is real. Outside is physical. Outside is three dimensional and ever-changing. Outside is thrilling. Outside is calming. Outside is good for your health. Yes, Outside is sometimes uncomfortable and even scary. But so is Life. Real Life is messy, uplifting, stressful. It’s exciting and boring. And it’s often not On-Demand. It’s Whenever-It-Happens-Learn-to-Deal-With-It. Go Play Outside is really good practice for Real Life.
As with my photographs, I hope this ‘Behind the Shot’ blog will inspire us to Go Play Outside. And hopefully, encourage (maybe even force) our kids to Go Play Outside. For their own good. In preparation for Real Life. Today’s cyberkids are really missing out and only their parents can realize this, for the kids themselves have no Go Play Outside to remember.
As I have before, in this ‘Behind the Shot’ blog I’ll be sharing images and occasional videos of interesting places and moments on this amazing planet. The blog format allows me to also take you behind the scenes a bit with information on how to select, visit, and shoot these places yourself and with your kids. And capture some memories of your own.
Also ‘Behind the Shot’ is a great place to share answers to some of the many general photography questions I’ve gotten over the years. We’ll cover capturing, printing, and displaying photographs at home and the office. Many people struggle, as I have (and still do!) with shooting (camera settings, equipment, composition, location, lighting, color), print types and quality (paper, canvas, metal, acrylic, wood), mounting types and quality (frame, mat, glazing, float), and display environment (walls, lighting, color, image styles, sizing, and density). Keep your questions coming via ‘Behind the Shot’ blog comments or email me at Inquiries@GibsonOutdoorPhoto.com, and I’ll cover them in future posts.
Finally, I’ll be periodically announcing gifts on this blog in appreciation for your continued support of my work, for keeping Earth an amazing and healthy place, and for getting kids to Go Play Outside. Stay tuned!
I love you guys. Thanks for your support. Now Go Play Outside!😎
Scott