Picture this! LeMoyne Center producing some talented, young photographers
Mason Martin, a sixth-grader at Washington Park School, created a sunset image during the fall photo class at LeMoyne Community Center’s Homework and More after-school program.
Jerah Brooks, a fifth-grader at Washington Park School, created an interesting composition with strong lines during the fall photo class at LeMoyne Community Center’s Homework and More after-school program.
Mason Martin, a sixth-grader at Washington Park School, found a colorful orange insect on a green light globe.
Danny Praster, a fourth-grader at Washington Park School, used the rule of thirds composition to create this image in front of LeMoyne Community Center during the fall after-school Homework and More photography class.
Aliyah Schoonmaker, an eighth-grader at Washington Junior High School, captured the detail of a dahlia growing in the garden in front of LeMoyne Community Center.
Zxavian Willis, a fifth-grader at Washington Park School, took a creative photo of a classmate in the yard at LeMoyne Community Center.
Zxavian Willis, a fifth-grader at Washington Park School, photographed Danny Praster taking a self-portrait during the photo class at LeMoyne Community Center’s Homework and More after-school program.
Ja’Mya Brooks, a fourth-grader at Washington Park School, took a self-portrait in front of LeMoyne Community Center.
The six students in the LeMoyne Community Center’s Homework and More fall photography class were, from left, Ja’Mya Brooks, Jerah Brooks, Mason Martin, Danny Praster, Aliyah Schoonmaker, Zxavian Willis.
Robin Richards is a professional photographer, so she has an eye for talent.
And the students who enrolled in her fall photography class at the LeMoyne Community Center in Washington as part of its ongoing Homework and More after-school program certainly have it.
Using Canon Elph pocket cameras, the kids exhibited plenty of creativity and composition in capturing a variety of intriguing photographs, such as mosaics, statues, insects, tall grasses and sunsets – and, yes, even a selfie.
Their photos are on display at Citizens Library in Washington throughout February, and they will be on display at the LeMoyne Community Center Feb. 28 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. before the start of its Black History Month program.
“It’s not the camera, but the brains behind it that really matters,” said Richards, an avid LeMoyne volunteer who previously taught knitting and crafts to the youngsters with her friend Judy Hollick. Hollick also assisted with the photography class, along with Jacob McGuire, a student at Washington & Jefferson College.
“I was so impressed with what they came up with. These kids really have a gift,” Richards said. “This was great. It really gives them a sense of what they can do. It shows them they have the talent, the potential and can be creative.”
The students included five Washington Park School youngsters, fourth-graders Daniel Praster and Ja’Mya Brooks, fifth-graders Jerah Brooks and Zxavian Willis and sixth-grader Mason Martin, and Aliyah Schoonmaker, a student at Washington Junior High School.
“I didn’t want the kids to be influenced by the work of others, so I deliberately didn’t show them any photographs as examples,” Richards said. “I wanted them to have free rein to come up with their own ideas.”
Students were given basic instruction about composition, including the rule of thirds, which places the subject at the intersections of two imaginary horizontal and two imaginary vertical lines, and not in the center of the frame.
Students also were encouraged to “get in close” to fill the frame with the subject and to eliminate elements that didn’t add to the composition.
“I think they did a great job of seeing the world around them,” Richards said, “and they produced some really interesting and impressive work, especially considering their young ages and lack of training and experience in photography.”
Richards, who previously worked with Even Start, is teaching another photography class at the center, and she is happy the days are staying lighter longer so they can get back outside to shoot photos.
“It’s hard to get anything inside,” she said. “Inside, I have them shoot portraits or kids studying. I am so happy we get to go back outside.”