This summer, Academy360 students explored their creative sides in a new Digital Photography after-school club on the Livingston campus, introducing the ins-and-outs of using genuine cameras to capture moments in time.

Led by Emily Englich, a teaching assistant with a passion for both art and photography, club sessions were a whirlwind of exploration. Emily’s arts background helps frame club activities, as a recent meeting in July showed. Before even grabbing the classroom cameras, in this session Emily introduced the students to the seven elements of art – line, shape, form, space, value, texture, and color – who then ventured out to put their newfound knowledge to the test.

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Armed with cameras and accompanied by staff, students paired up to capture examples of the seven elements. From the delicate details of flowers outside the school greenhouse to the crisp lines of a window blind, they discovered the art in everyday objects. Dylan and Za, with the guidance of Emily and Barbara Ciaffone, embraced the challenge of finding photographic subjects, while Danny’s passion for photography propelled him around campus.

With memory cards full of pinwheels, paper chains and more, students brought their cameras back to the classroom, where the club session wound up with a collage-making session showcasing examples of each element. Students transformed photographs into works of art — identifying, sorting, cutting and pasting images to poster boards labeled with each element’s name. Dylan’s infectious energy and organizational skills were on full display, while Bobby and Jude were engrossed in the quiet focus of the task.

The photography club succeeded not only in introducing everyone to a new hobby, but also fostered critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork. And the experience expanded an interest in photography for the club’s staff support as well: Leanne Hesse, Barbara Ciaffone, Téa Dashner, and Juan Meza. Téa, an amateur photographer herself, shared her knowledge with students and joined them in their projects, while Barbara rediscovered the fun of picking up a camera to take her own photos.

Before leaving for home, the group hung their collages in the school hallway, with Bobby pausing to take a photo to share at home. While we await the announcement of this semester’s after-school clubs, we hope participants continue to enjoy capturing and sharing images of their world with family and classmates!