Photo Field Trips – Flower City Arts Center

Photo Club Newsletter 2019-2020

Hello everyone, Photo Club has made some exciting changes this year. We have expanded! Flower City Arts Center now proudly serve up to 45 students in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades from Wilson Foundation Academy and James Monroe High School.

The six goals of Photo Club are to:

empower youth to express their voice and vision
establish one to three year mentoring relationships
encourage youth to connect with their community
enhance knowledge of core school subjects
enable youth to build life skills
energize youth to work together in groups

Here’s some background and a sneak preview of student work.

Photo Club started in the spring of 1999 and is now in its twenty-second consecutive year. Conducted by Flower City Arts Center, Photo Club is a 24 session after-school photography and writing program. After years of development, Studio 678’s model has been expanded to include Studio 789, James Monroe High School Photo Club.

Students use a professional film camera to take pictures in the community, make their own black & white prints in the darkroom, write poems or stories to accompany their photographs, create a book of their work in the digital lab, and mat and frame their prints for exhibition.

The photography instructors at Flower City Arts Center work in partnership with teachers Michael Brundage and Alicia Oddo of Wilson Foundation Academy, and Shanterra Chalice and Nilsa Irizarry of James Monroe High School. These dedicated and caring teachers provide an essential link from the school to our after-school program. They help recruit students, participate in every meeting, and monitor the academic performance, attendance, and individual needs of our students.

Photo Club is free to students; Flower City Arts Center secures funding for the program each year. This year’s supporters include Canfield and Tack, Cheryl & Don Olney, Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation, DiBella’s, Fay Slover Fund at The Boston Foundation,

Feinbloom Supporting Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, Lumiere, William & Sheila Konar Foundation, Mary S. Mulligan Charitable Trust, Nancy Sands, Teresa Sipone, Vicki & Richard Schwartz Family Fund, Janet Buchanan Smith, Jeanne & Tom Verhulst, Fred & Floy Willmott Foundation, and many individuals.

Kodak Alaris donated film, Blessed Sacrament Church provided use of their parking lot, and Domino’s donated pizza. Aenon Missionary Baptist Church provided us with vans to bring students to Flower City Arts Center from school, and to various field trip sites. The Greater Rochester Community Transportation Foundation provided a grant to pay for some of the transportation costs.

Look what we have been up to!

At our first meeting in September, students came to Flower City Arts Center to learn about photography by making photograms in the darkroom and learning how a 35mm film camera works. We then assigned five students to each of the nine lead photography instructors to form groups for the year. 14 students from last year rejoined our club.

We then began rotating our time between field trips, including two Saturday trips, making black and white prints in the darkrooms at Flower City Arts Center, and learning how to scan and edit images using Photoshop.

Our field trip sites included…

Colleges – Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester.

Urban settings – Monroe Avenue, Neighborhood of the Arts, Martin Luther King Memorial Park, Public Market, Village Gate, High and Low Falls and Rochester Public Library.

Natural settings – Hemlock Hills Alpaca Farm, Lamberton Conservatory, Begin Again Horse Rescue, Cobbs Hill, Cracker Box Palace Animal Shelter, Sunken Gardens and Washington Grove.

Ms. Kylie group at Cracker Box Palace Animal Rescue

A variety of work places – stores on Monroe Avenue, Pet Pride of New York, Verona St Animal Society, Allie’s Pet Corner, Rochester Police Department Technicians Unit, and Rochester Fire Department Engine 1.

Ms. Juliana group visiting the Technicians Unit at RPD

Museums and historical sites – Mt. Hope Cemetery, Ganondagan State Historical Site, George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and Strong Museum of Play.

Community events – Fringe Street Beat and other Fringe Festival events, and Hilton Apple Festival.

Arts and cultural locations – UUU Gallery, Performing Arts Center at MCC, Photojournalism Projects Exhibition opening at RIT’s William Harris Gallery.

Mr. Quajay’s group in the Lighting Studio

In November and December students used the photography lighting studio to take portraits of each other. From November to January, poets Doug Curry, Grace Flores, Arthur “Marvelous Marvin” McCraw, and Laura Thompson performed their own poems for inspiration and helped the students create poems to accompany their pictures.

Students also learned how to scan their images and use Photoshop in our digital lab to help create a section of book pages, with their writing and photos, and to create a multi media presentation. All the students brainstormed ideas for the book titles Wilson’s cohort chose “Through Our Eyes” and Monroe’s cohort chose “Shared Life Through the Lens”. The book cover photographs will be revealed at the ceremonies this Spring.

Currently, students are matting and framing photographs for their final exhibition. Some students will make 11X14 size prints for an exhibit at Image City Photography Gallery. In March, photos will be selected for permanent placement in a variety of community settings funded by the Fay Slover Fund at the Boston Foundation.

Studio 678 Wilson Foundation Academy Photo Club Final Ceremony

City Hall, 30 Church Street, Rochester, NY 14614, Friday, March 27th, 2020

6:30 pm: Awards Ceremony & Book Release in the City Council Chambers, third floor
- Multi media Presentation of student art
- Award Presentation with guest speaker
- Book Release, copy awarded to each student
7:30 pm: Exhibition Opening Reception in The Link Gallery, first floor
- A selection of Studio 678 members’ photographs, writing, and special projects will be on display.

Studio 789 James Monroe High School Photo Club Final Ceremony

James Monroe High School, 164 Alexander Street, Rochester, NY 14607 Saturday, March 28th, 2020

11:00 am: Awards Ceremony & Book Release in the Gymnasium
- Multi media Presentation of student art
- Award Presentation with guest speaker
- Book Release, copy awarded to each student
12:00 pm: Exhibition Opening Reception in the Atrium
- A selection of Studio 789 members’ photographs, writing, and special projects will be on display.

Please support these young photographers with your presence at these uplifting events celebrating the hard work, perseverance, and creativity of our students! We hope to see you there!

UPDATE: Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic we have postponed both the Studio 678 & 789 Exhibition Openings, Awards Ceremonies, and Book Releases. We plan to hold both at Flower City Arts Center at the end of May if we are able. For the most up-to-date information please check out our Facebook page.

A Day at the Museum

I had the opportunity to tag along with the Studio Photography for Teens class on their trip to the George Eastman Museum and document the experience. At the Museum we all met David Levinthal who gave us a tour of the exhibition of his work, David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire. As he walked us though the exhibition Levinthal explained how he began taking photographs of toys and where the inspiration for many of his photos came from. He talked about his love for history and how it has influenced so much of his work over the years, and how pure experimentation and curiosity has affected his work as well.

Levinthal stated that problem solving is a very important part of this work. In fact, he said that was one of the main reasons he began to take photos of toys to begin with. He explained that early on he didn’t like to shoot in a studio and the toy dioramas allowed him to shoot almost anywhere and use simple lighting techniques as opposed to large studio lights.

At one point in the exhibition we saw an example of a diorama he had used. We got to see first hand the scale of the sets he was working with as he explained where he got his materials from, and how he composed many of his dioramas. He also showed us the notes and small stick figure drawings that he makes when planing out a diorama. He stated that he often has an image in his head and used this method to create it.

After Levinthal had walked us though the exhibition and explained his process and the thought behind much of his work, the students had a few moments to roam and take everything in for themselves. We then returned to Flower City Arts Center, where the students then had the opportunity to show Levinthal some of their own work. He helped them with their dioramas and he gave them some tips on how to get them to perform the way they want, as well as feedback on their photos. Then he stayed and talked with the students about their work and their interest in photography until it was time for the students to clean up for the day.

Over the next couple of days the students continued to work and create their own photos in the style of David Levinthal. Not only did the students take digital photos of their dioramas but they had the opportunity to use a Fujifilm Instax Wide instant film camera. After compiling so many great images the students crated an online exhibition of their own work.

So Long 2016

As most of us can attest 2016 was filled with many highs and big year-end lows with election results dividing us in many ways. As a Photo Artist-in-Residence at Flower City Arts Center, I am using photography as a tool to help bridge that divide and to unite us. In the Autumn of 2016 I began photo walks with students and members. These walks brought us into neighborhoods in Rochester, NY, and gave us the opportunity to connect with real people instead of a sea of avatars.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPBk6BjF8z2/?taken-by=megancharland

Over the next couple weeks, Megan Charland and myself will be building a wall map of the #ROC where participants will be hanging their photos. This exhibit will not only allow our community to view the images, but to use the photographs to create conversation. We are currently planning a reception for the project where participants will share their experience immersing themselves within communities different than their own.

Part of the inspiration behind this project comes from my own experience immersing myself with the different communities in Rochester and my want to find a way to use social media in a positive way. It is easy to get caught up in division social media can create. Taking a break from the screen, hitting the streets to meet and greet people in person is vital to realizing we really are a lot more alike than the differences portrayed on the interweb.

Happy New Year!

Listening while Capturing

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ~Stephen R. Covey

Sometimes in the excitement of capturing an image, we lose sight of the story that makes up the person by not being present.

One of the most important lessons I hope for participants of my photo field trips and social reportage classes to learn is one of being able to truly listen to their subject. Listening is a highly effective habit of the socially engaged photographer. Taking the time to not only listen but to understand the message helps to capture an image that is filled with emotion. This past Saturday, the Photo Field Trip Session II, put their listening skills into practice as we explored the southwest quadrant of Rochester, NY. Strolling along West Main Street, the group met several people who shared their stories with us as we enjoyed colorful conversations about, race, the community and politics. By listening to the members that make up a community, especially a community in distress, we can then create those conversations for change. Imagery combined with life stories can become the foundation for solutions.

When you listen, you not only hear the emotion in your subject, you see it in their expressions. The longer you spend time getting to know them, you become aware of those nuances that make a memorable photo.

Photographing the same thing as everyone else

Something I have struggled with as a photographer before facilitating photography classes at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education is photographing the same thing as everyone else. Be it a social event, festival, protest, etc., if there were others with a camera capturing images, I didn’t want to be one of them. Then I found myself instructing small groups of people in photo field trips, street photography and social reportage classes. Through this I learned to let go and jumped in, realizing each person sees the world through their own unique lens and though sometimes photos of the same subject by multiple photographers may look alike, they are very different.

An example can be seen on Canon’s The Lab: Decoy. Canon Australia devised The Lab, a series of experiments that are designed to take you out of your comfort zone, and get you thinking and shooting in a different way. Their first experiment involves having six photographers shoot the same man, but they are each told a different story about the actor’s background.

Each photographer having a different background history of the subject, who is an actor, may have helped the images to be different…more so than if each participant had met the subject and told nothing.

The Photo Field Trips are much the same way, we happen upon strangers around each corner, students engage while the story unfolds, each capturing different views of the same subject. Getting to know the person or persons you are photographing and listening to leaves very little room for judgement. Images become a part of the story, a gift to the socially engaged photographer, their subject and the viewer.