MANILA, Philippines – Photographer Hawkeye Huey has a published a book of photos and was featured in National Geographic Proof – and he’s only 6 years old.
Hawkeye was only 4 when he first picked up a camera, given to him by his dad, National Geographic photographer Aaron Huey. Today, he shoots with a Fujifilm Instax Wide.
The two were on their first road trip to the southern California desert, Aaron recounted to NBC’s Today, when he decided it would be fun to hand Hawkeye a camera.
On Instagram, Aaron explained his choice of giving Hawkeye an Instax instead of a digital camera: “The analog object was key to sharing with Hawkeye how to meet and communicate with people. Watching the chemicals develop with the person he photographed, as the photos shifted from a white rectangle to the full color image, was always magic.”
In the interview with Today, Hawkeye said he likes the analog style too, because he can take pictures of people and then hand it to them: “I like taking pictures of people because sometimes you can actually hold the picture, you can’t delete it… If this were on the computer, you can just put it in the garbage.”
Soon after their first trip, Hawkeye would take photos on family road trips and his dad would post them for him on Instagram. Today, he as more than 200 posts and more than 200,000 followers on his account.
In 2015, Hawkeye was featured in Proof, National Geographic‘s online journal. Here are some of his photos that were featured:
In Proof, Aaron said the Hawkeye often shoots from a perspective that surprises him.
“Sometimes he even sees things that I miss,” said Aaron. “We passed this scene of a woman leaning on a pole with a yellow truck behind her, and I wanted to keep walking but he insisted on going back to take her picture. We did go back, and the picture is one of my favorites from that day.”
More recently, Hawkeye was on assignment with Aaron for National Geographic, on a road trip to the American West. His photos from the trip been published on National Geographic, alongside his dad’s.
According to Today, Hawkeye is the youngest photographer to be featured in the magazine.
Here are some of his photos from the trip and his photos on National Geographic Travel.
On June 1, Hawkeye’s first book, titled Cowboys, Indians, Hobos, Gamblers, Patriots, Tourists, & Sunsets: A 5-year-old’s Portrait of the American West was made available on a wider release. Limited editions of the book were made available last year.
Are you a fan of Hawkeye and his photos? Are there any other kids who inspire you? Let us know in the comments! – Rappler.com
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