My friend Ivan gave an old Fuji Finepix 2300 digital camera to Isaac when I told him how much he likes to take pictures.
He would "borrow" my Nokia N95 and my wife's N73 in the mornings, while we were still asleep, and take all kinds of shots. We would only find out when we checked our phones and find photos we've never taken.
I've found shots of myself asleep (VERY unglam), Joy playing with my glasses while I was asleep (must stop that or she will mess up her eyes though), and photos of objects in the house, like our room light.
He learned very fast, figuring out the buttons and switches in a minute and while he is still learning how to frame his shots, his knack for composing a shot astounds me. This is despite the slow reaction time of my N95's camera too.
I am trying very hard not to tell him what to take or how to take photos. So far my instruction has been limited to basic things like turning on the camera, not to cover the flash and lens with his fingers, and not to chop off heads of your subjects. It is a parental urge I have to fight, not unlike grabbing a child's hand to colour within the lines for him.
Isaac took to Ivan's gift of a proper camera, like fish to water. I popped four Sanyo Eneloop AA rechargeables into it, dug up some old Smartmedia memory cards (from my old dead Fuji Pinepix 40i), and he was good to go.
It is intriguing to see what a 4-year-old considers photo-worthy.
So far he has taken photos of his mommy getting ready for work, and Faith getting her hair tied up in the morning, before she heads to Special School.
