Explore the world of storytelling using photography, sketches, words bookmaking and on-line publishing

The one or two week camp is for creative kids, or kids who want to be more creative. We explore various ways of telling stories using photography, sketching, poetry, essays  and our voices while assembling elements for a book. The camp helps each child learn how to observe the world around them, and record their experiences, observations and feelings in a variety of forms. At the end of the week, each child will create a book with text, images, sketches and poetry. Each book will be unique, expressing each child’s personal look at the world and the adventures we shared each morning. For those kids who would rather “tell” a story then write one, we will introduce them to the Podcasxt, using images and their voices.

 Each  morning (9 to noon), we explore the coast: a beach, meet the Oreo cows on Aldermere Farm, hike up mount Battie, trek into the Maine woods on an adventure. At the end of the week, we create individual books using our recorded thoughts, images, sketches and poetry to create book of  the adventures we shared each morning during the week.

The content for each book will tell a story of what each child saw and experienced during the morning field trips . . .  or maybe something that comes from their imagination--a made-up story for instance about an elf that lives in the Maine woods.

In the process of assembling their book, each cild will come to understand the form stories take, and how to organize their recollections into a coherent (or non-coherent) form.We hope they will continue this process of observing and recording the rest of their summer in Maine, as they edit their note and images into a form they can share with others.

What your child will learn:

Photography: how to use a camera

Where to find images

Image composition and design

The “Quality of Light”

Observing nature

Recording experiences

Keeping a visual journal

Sketching ideas

Making sense of key experiences

How to create a book of personal experiences

Page layout, use of headlines, captions, text and images

Schedule

Each day the class explores a different part of our world. Locations may include:  

The Maine woods where we find trails to adventure   

A farm  where we meet the animals

A stone beach were we collect stones and visit tidal pools

A hike up Mount Battie to see the world we live in

The last day of the class each student assembles their impressions, notes, poems, photos and sketches into a book that is printed out and bound.

Who Should Attend

Kids between the ages  of 9 and 14, who want to learn how to use a camera and other tools to record their experiences and adventures and turn them into a book, a blog, or other form. Prior experience with a camera is not necessary.

The Goals for the Camp

The goal of the camp is to awaken each child’s imagination, to help them discover the magic of the world they live in on the Maine Coast, then help them acquire  the tools they will need record their observations and feelings, to shape that collective body of work into a form they can share with others. 

What better way to answer their teacher's first question this fall: “And what did you do with your summer?”  Once a child discovers the process of creating a story in a book, many will continue throughout the summer, recording their adventures,  pouring their experiences and discoveries into an on-going book, or even start a blog or podcast.

Camp Leader

David Lyman is a  storyteller: a writer, photographer, filmmaker, and educator. David  founded and built  The Maine Photographic Workshops, now Maine Media, and was the summer school’s Director for 34 years. He then founded Rockport College and was its President for ten years. His courses, workshops and lectures on the Creative Process, the 8 Keys to Success, and the Artists Life have changed the lives and launched the careers of thousands of today’s media professionals. David is the father of Renaissance, 12, and Havana 10, who will be assisting the camp. You can follow the Lyman Family’s adventures living and sailing their ketch Searcher through the Caribbean on www.KidsOnBoats.net. 

Dates ad Costs

Location: 201 Chestnut Street, Camden, on the Camden-Rockport town line, adjacent to Aldermere Farm (home to the Belted Galloways) 

Times: Five mornings a week, 9 to noon, Monday through Friday.

Dates: July 18 to 22, July 25 to 29, August 1 to 5, August 8 to 12.

Enrollment: limited to ten, ages 9 to 13.

Costs: $125  for one week, $100 for each additional week or sibling

What to bring: snacks and a beverage, outdoor clothes, walking shoes, sunscreen, bug spray, a camera (any digital camera will do), a sketch book, a pen and colored pencils. Don’t forget to bring your imagination. If a camera is not available, we can provide one.

Questions and Registration

Want to register your child? Have questions?

E-mail: DHLyman@mac.com

Phone: 207-841-4139