Photography is a common hobby, but it takes a unique artistic sense to express ideas and themes through still images. This is the goal of AP Digital Photography. This year, its students are putting their photos on display for two-week-long showcases.
In AP Digital Photography, students learn to take a unique approach to their photographic journeys. At the beginning of the year, as part of the AP curriculum, they selected one theme they were interested in to investigate in depth throughout the rest of the year. AP Digital Photography teacher Nick Carrillo explained how students experiment not only with the photos they take but also with how they take photos.
“[Students] should be experimenting with ideas, honing their skills [and] honing their craft, both technically and artistically,” Carrillo said. “They should be practicing … with new ways to approach their subject matter or … their idea for the entire year. It’s [a] really advanced way of thinking for high school students who are so used to teachers giving them the assignment, completing the assignment and … moving on to the next assignment.”
Working on any topic for a year could become challenging or boring, and photography is no exception. Among the many challenges students face in their investigations, Carrillo observed that two of the most common problems are ambition and logistics. Senior Brianne Martin, whose works were showcased between Nov. 1 and Nov. 12, has found many creative ways to work around these challenges.
“I will eventually insert a bunch of props into [the photos], or I’ll play around with paint or [Adobe] Photoshop,” Martin said. “You can put five people in different places and keep getting different faces and different outfits, different locations and more people in the actual photograph.”
Throughout the year, some of each student’s best photos will be displayed in the showcase for all to see. The reason behind this decision stemmed from two main factors.
“You can really do anything that you put your mind to”
“People don’t realize this, but the artistic process actually involves two people: the artist and the viewer,” Carrillo said. “It’s an integral part of art. Artwork that’s never seen is something more personal. We want … students to learn that showing work is what impacts thought. It can ultimately make change in our society.”
Similar to performing in music or putting on a play for an audience, showcasing art creates motivation for students to create their best work.
“It was a little stressful at first [to] get everything together,” Martin said. “But seeing your work, seeing the final end product, [is] just so motivating for you to keep on going, and especially having people come up to me being like ‘Bree, I saw your work!’ … [is] very motivating.”
Although everyone has a different take on the same photo, for Martin, what makes photography special to her is the amount of creativity she can express with pictures.
“I’m not the most creative person,” Martin said. “I never excelled in art classes like drawing. I thought I was the least artistic person in the world and look at me now, I’m doing an art show. I want people to take [away] that you can really do anything that you put your mind to.”
Librarian Anna Lapid thinks that the showcase is a great endeavor to represent the artistic talent of Aragon students.
“We’ve always showcased art here in Aragon library,” Lapid said. “But it wasn’t until recently that Mr. Carrillo decided he wanted to showcase the photography of his [AP Digital Photography] class. I appreciate that [the showcase] was personal and that it showcases students in our community. I’m just amazed at the talent … in our Aragon community.”
Senior Ian Thurtle’s work was displayed between Nov. 15 and Dec. 3. Approximately every two weeks for the rest of the 2021-2022 school year, new photos from the AP Digital Photography class will be exhibited in the school library. Anyone can walk in, take a look and leave with new inspiration.
