12-year-old combines love of photography and outdoors
By Ashley Reams
News Editor
LUTZ — Rikianne O’Byrne will never forget the first time she saw a baby seal.
O’Byrne, a sixth-grader at Learning Gate Community School in Lutz, was visiting Oregon with her mother, Molly Miller, stopping at parks along the coast.
As they were driving across a bridge, O’Byrne looked out at the drift logs in the water.
“All of a sudden, one of them moved,” she said.
She made her mom stop the car, and the pair walked to the middle of the bridge where they realized they were observing seals.
“They were splashing around,” O’Byrne said, “and it was so cute!”
O’Byrne and Miller were able to get closer to another group of seals the same day, and O’Byrne took several photos of them. Now, one of those pictures is part of a 2010 Wild Child Pics calendar that she and her mom have created.
The 13-month calendar combines 12-year-old O’Byrne’s love of photography and nature. It features animal photographs that she has captured over the last two years.
“I’ve always thought that a lot of people … don’t really get to see a lot of what is going on in nature,” O’Byrne said, “and I’ve always wanted to capture the moment.”
O’Byrne began taking pictures two years ago, and she has taught herself most of what she knows. She started out using her mom’s camera, a Sony point-and-shoot. That was fine for a while, but O’Byrne said she wanted something better.
So, she organized a garage sale and earned $180 selling old books and baby items. She combined that with $400 she had saved up from allowance money for six years and bought a Canon Rebel Xti 40D.
Then, she went outside and snapped photos as much as she could. Deer, alligators, herons, cranes, ospreys and other animals became her subjects. John B. Sargeant Park, the Hillsborough River and Lettuce Lake Park became her backdrops.
“Riki’s always been artistic,” Miller said. “When she was little, she would draw and paint all the time on anything and everything.”
She is also fond of animals and has lots of patience.
“She’ll stand in front of her camera for a half an hour,” Miller said, waiting to get the perfect shot.
“I do usually have to wait for the pictures to come,” O’Byrne said. “You do have to be very patient… When I’m still, (the animal) just kind of sees me as an object.”
O’Byrne and Miller set up a business, Wild Child Pics, and began selling the calendar in September. They’ve sold a total of 51 calendars via the Lutz Shop and Stroll, Café Kili in Temple Terrace, the Tampa Street Market, and their Web site, www.wildchildpics.com. O’Byrne donates 10 percent of all sales to Metropolitan Ministries, and she has a $70 check ready to give the organization.
She has also been able to use the money from sales to pay for half of a new $500 camera.
O’Byrne said she sees photography as a hobby just like gymnastics, another activity in which she excels. She said she thinks she’ll continue taking pictures as she gets older.
“Probably not as a job,” she said, “but a hobby that pays for itself.”
Instead, O’Byrne said she wants to be a mechanical engineer. She said she’s always enjoyed being inventive. Her cousin is a mechanical engineer and works for a company that creates solar panels.
“I wanted to be a mechanical engineer before I knew he was a mechanical engineer, but he’s probably inspired me more,” she said.
In the meantime, O’Byrne said she plans to sell more calendars and take more pictures. She said she’s hoping to buy about $250 worth of equipment that will enable her to use her newest camera underwater. She and Miller are tentatively planning a trip to the Florida Keys during spring break, and she said she would like to take some underwater pictures then.
She said those pictures will probably end up in her next calendar.
What: Wild Child Pics 2010 Calendar
Created by: Rikianne O’Byrne, 12, a sixth-grader at Learning Gate Community School in Lutz
Cost: $14.95
Available at:
- Café Kili, 5731 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa
- Tampa Street Market, 4715 N. Florida Ave., Tampa
- www.wildchildpics.com
More information: www.wildchildpics.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/Wild-Child-Pics/131072257917
