Toddler sees his world through a camera lens

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) -- People should never say "cheese" when 31/2-year-old Noah Howard is taking their picture.

He said people who say "cheese" tend to make their mouths look funny. And he will tell you why.

"They do it like this," Noah said while pushing his rosy cheeks up toward his big blue eyes.

His eyes then relaxed, seemingly open to the world -- a world that is captured from an eye level just a bit higher than his parents, Michael and Jennifer Howard's knees.

He asks them to practice not saying "cheese."

"I tell them a short smile like this," he said while gently raising his cheeks. That's what people will have to do."

"Why?" his father asked.

"No, you can't do it because you get your face crunched up,"

Noah said emphatically.

The Howards have been residents of Edmond for five years, and Michael works as a computer technician.

The Howards don't insist that their son further develops his talent. But since last summer, Noah has persisted that photography involves more than him posing for others.

Shortly before he turned 3, he noticed his father photographing some churchgoers. So Noah asked if he could be the photographer.

Perhaps it seemed like a mature thing to do. Months ago, his photos depicted a lot of headless people. But Noah began to flourish after his mother asked him if he could see her face through the lens.

After some practice, his photos began turning out "pretty good," his mother said with pride. One of his first photos was taken of his red tricycle.

In his Edmond living room, Noah's tiny hands maneuvered the camera pointed toward his mother. First a horizontal photo, then his hands shifted to a vertical stance beneath his curious face.

He stands up close to his subjects. Noah's quick to advise everyone where to sit during his photo shoots. That may be because he doesn't want to strain his neck while looking up, his father said.

"We're up here and he's down low. And everything looks different from his vantage point," Jennifer said.

The images appear like those most any adult would take. And through trial and error, he's learned to no longer open the back of the camera, thus exposing film to light.

At first, his father entrusted Noah with an older but less efficient camera.

He was cautious about his toddler's handling of the newly purchased model.

But Noah became persistent about using the camera and has been careful not to break it. Plus, he likes the telephoto options of the camera.

"It's so pretty that I need to use it to take pictures. Not the old one. I can't use the old one. That's the better camera that I need to use, mamma," he said.

The day his sister Emma was born in October, Noah was ready with his camera to photograph his growing family.

Now Noah has a shiny photo album with dozens of pictures of family members, flowers, kites and toys. A recent snowfall had him bundled up with his camera pointed up to the clouds.

Lately, he's been photographing more objects than people.

"It's pretty neat to see what interests him," his dad said.

Noah likes to photograph his friends, whether at Midway Church of Christ or while playing in the park.

Recently, he grabbed his mittens to run outside with his metallic camera.

"I have to get ready for the snow to come back," he said as small flakes dotted his cheeks.

"Whoops," he said, while gently dropping the camera into the grass.

And his mom helped his dexterity by taking off his mittens. His goal was to photograph a snowplow clearing the roads. But one didn't come down his neighborhood road that day.

"Yuck," he said about the prospect of photographing bugs in the grass next spring. "You know, I have just the bug. I have a spider inside but I can't show you because we're out in the snow."

He said his favorite photograph is one he took of his grandparents who live Texas.

"Because I love my grandma and grandpa."