Photographer Eddee Daniel is a talented and knowledgeable advocate for our natural surroundings. When he explores a park, his camera is just as essential as a water bottle and good hiking boots. Eddee shared some tips about snapping photos at Lakeshore State Park, a setting that offers uniquely dramatic and varied views.

Rule number one: Enjoy yourself. You don’t need to be a pro or think about making art, says Eddee. Just think of your camera as another way to enjoy nature and notice things you might otherwise miss. “It slows you down,” says Eddee. “It’s an exercise in trying to look around you and find the small things, too. And the in-between things. Not just the big things.” 

Any kind of camera is OK. Fancy cameras and lenses are great, but if you don’t have those things, don’t worry. Phone cameras can produce wonderful images, and Eddee uses one often. “You always have it on you, so it’s there when you need it.” A camera phone isn’t great for photographing motion, but on the other hand it makes panoramic photos much easier. And with its broad vistas and big skies, Lakeshore State Park is a great place for panoramas, says Eddee. 

Start by deciding what your subject is. “You need something to point the camera at, right? It sounds obvious, but it’s important.” When you frame an image, look for a focal point — an animal, a butterfly, a flower, the city skyline.  

Consider different angles and distances. Once you’ve picked your subject, try moving around and finding different angles. You can move closer in or farther away, hold the camera higher or lower, center your subject or offset it. “Not only is this going to change your perspective, but it will change the way the light falls on your subject. That’s always important.” 

Think about people, too. “Lakeshore State Park is a very popular park, people are constantly going through it,” says Eddee. “If you’re going take a picture of the landscape why not have somebody riding a bike through it? It enlivens the scene and gives you something to relate to.” It offers a sense of scale, too — if the bicyclist looks tiny peddling past Lake Michigan, you get a better sense of where you are. 

Watch for moments. A bird diving for fish in the water. A boat sailing by. A dad pushing a stroller. A child collecting stones. Finding a moment makes each photo unique and makes photography even more rewarding.

How children can learn at Lakeshore State Park

Nature is an amazing classroom for children of all ages, and Lakeshore State Park is especially amazing because of its unique combination of prairie and shoreline environments, not to mention its close proximity to three museums and a bike trail.

There’s plenty of evidence that interacting with nature helps promote academic learning, personal development, and environmental stewardship. Studies have shown that time in nature also helps with attention levels, relieves stress, teaches self-discipline and promotes creativity among children, to name just some of the benefits. 

At Lakeshore we aim to spark interest in all things outdoors, and we try to make activities as fun as possible. If a child, or adult, leaves with a better understanding of and appreciation for the outdoors, then we have done our job.

Park Manager Elaine Zautke

Here are some ways to use Lakeshore State Park’s natural resources to help kids learn while they’re having fun.

Take a trail walk. In addition to promoting motor skills and exercise, trails walks are a great, unstructured way to explore. Lakeshore State Park has both paved and unpaved trails, both of which offer chances to observe prairie and shoreline wildlife. Try using a guide book or an app to identify plants, birds and animals — or just let your little one follow their curiosity, whether watching from a stroller or wandering with you.

Try a nature-based art project. This can be done in a variety of ways: taking photos, finding leaves and flowers for a collage, sketching shapes and pictures, even writing a poem or story about what you see.

Try a scavenger hunt. Create a list of items to spot while exploring Lakeshore State Park. Depending on the child’s age, it can be very simple (a bird, a stick, a bug, a fish, a flower, a rock) or more advanced (specific species of birds, for instance). Some of the items can be collected, but if not you can record them together with photos or in a journal. It’s a great way to encourage observational skills while learning about  different types of plants and animals. You can incorporate things like counting, spelling, color and word skills into the activity, too. 

Attend an event at Lakeshore State Park. The park’s educators offer a wide variety of programs for kids, such as fishing clinics (no license required for children 15 and under) and events that focus on different urban critters. They’re all designed to be hands-on and family-friendly. For a current list of activities, check out the FLSP Events Page.

Your support is essential to the continued success of the Park.

Please consider making a membership donation below today!

Park Pal Membership Level

Individual: $25
Family: $50

Prairie Patron Membership Levels

Rock Prairie: $100
Fox Prairie: $250
Kid’s Prairie: $500
Big Prairie: $1,000