Youth Photography: Cepa Gallery Day!

All photographs were taken by youth on Friday, March 5th 2010

Visit to Cepa Gallery!

We took a day trip to Cepa Galleries. We looked for inspiration in other peoples artworks and then we all took our own pictures.

We had a very small group this day. 3 girls and myself to be exact. While I did miss the girls who couldn't make it, I will say that it seemed like a treat being able to really focus on those who came along. Don't get me wrong, I like having more faces in the mix. All I'm saying is that when you get the chance to give a smaller group more of your attention...it's a pleasant change in pace. We had a great afternoon. We were the only souls in the Gallery and by the time we got outside to take our own photos, the sun was shining. I think all of us were happy to be outside without freezing!

Youth Photography: Forest Lawn and The Japanese Gardens

All photographs were taken by youth on
Friday, February 12th 2010

Youth Photography: Portraits

All photographs were taken by youth on
Wednesday, February 17th 2010

These pictures were taken the 2nd time the girls took their still cameras home. It was the second shooting exercise about 2 and a half weeks into our workshop. Prior to this, the youth learned the basics of digital camera operation, camera care, and a bit about how to take a good photograph. I had the girls start out by playing with each of the cameras available for our program and really getting to know how each of them works, some of the specific controls each has, and of course the strengths and limitations of each device. Shooting portraits was their 2nd take home exercise. All of the girls had some great photos. It was so nice to see their homes and families, parts of their lives that mean so much.

Youth Photography: The Neighborhood

All photographs were taken by youth on
Friday, March 4th 2010

Sharpshooters CEM Girls

What can I say...I am so lucky to be working with such a great group of girls. Some of them I've known for quite some time...others I've just met. The group is full of so many different personalities and for some reason it truly feels like they all compliment one another. Each day I am more and more proud to be a part of watching these young ladies become passionate about making media. I admire their drive and just love it when I happen to catch them lost in their cameras. I know the feeling.

Our First Blog!

It's 11:44 am on Saturday, March 13th. I am at Buffalo State College working with Meg Knowles and Brian Milbrand. They are awesome! Sharpshooters CEM Girls are setting up their own blogs and I'm setting one up for my new business! I had no idea how much fun this could be and the girls really seem to be enjoying themselves. I think the highlight of their day was getting to play with photobooth on the macs in the computer lab. It was hard to tell them to stop playing around and focus on the next step in the creation of the blog. Who wants to be the one to tell them to stop when they seemed so happy? I must say that I was impressed with the girls (as I always am). They were able to stay on track...keep their focus and follow the instructions that Brian and Meg were giving. It reminded me of being in my college classrooms...when I was taking Digital Art classes or Web Design. I was actually a bit surprised that they caught on so quickly. I expected there to be more confusion, more questions and to be totally honest, I expected some of them to panic. If any of them did, it wasn't for long and I surely didn't see it. Overall, I was amazed at how well all of them were able to navigate the computers and get their sites done, especially with all the laughing they were doing at the sight of their faces being manipulated. It reminded me a little of those mirrors in a carnival funhouse except we didn't pay admission and sadly there wasn't any funnel cake.