Presentation at Cheltenham Camera Club

Just some of the wonderful folks at the Cheltenham Camera Club!

Last night I had the honor of being invited to present my work as an artist and educator to the incredible folks at the Cheltenham Camera Club (CCC). They got to learn about me and my students and I got to learn about the great things they do. They were also incredibly generous and donated $150 as well as a carload of photo gear to our program so THANK YOU CCC!

Creating Crafts with Photos

Thanks to Esperanza Altamar for coming out last week and doing an awesome worksop with the Shutterbugs where they got to make crafts from their photos that they will eventually sell at fundraising events. Thanks Espy!

Photo Day in the Snow!

The Light Room hosted the Shutterbugs last Saturday as the kids braved the snow and spent the day in Fairmount taking photos and developing their first rolls of film. Thanks to Lightroom members Joshua Marowitz, Annarita Gentile, and Erin Yard for taking the time to work with us. Special thanks to member Al Wachlin Jr. who made this whole day happen!

Taking photos in park.

In Al Wachlin's van on the way to the lab.

Shutterbugs along with Lightroom members Annarita, Josh, and Al.

More Shutterbugs developing with Lightroom member Erin.

Christopher discovers Snapple ATM!

Rashawn about to be loaded into truck.

My High schooler's Franchesca, Jannomys, and Tania who continue to be in the Shutterbugs even after graduating from Stetson!

At the Sal y Dulce Festival

The Shutterbugs and I were excited to be at this year's Sal y Dulce Colombian Holiday Festival which was sponsored by Acción Colombia. Check out the cool pix!

Closing Reception of 2 Cultures

My Shutterbugs were on hand to help me celebrate the closing of my latest exhibition, "Two Cultures," at the Light Room Gallery. In May of next year the gallery will be hosting a show of the Shutterbugs' work along with their partners from Grupo Flormorado in Colombia. Stay tuned for more info!

Bake Sale!

For a whole week the Shutterbugs had a bake sale to raise money for our trip to Colombia. Thanks to all the parents, teachers, and students who participated!

Shutterbugs Jashira, Aunna, and Seanna at our Bake Sale.

First Friday in Old City!

Today the Shutterbugs had their first art gallery experience when we went to First Friday in Old City to see an exhibition of photographs by Al Wachlin, Jr.,  co-president of The Light Room (which has donated much equipment and supplies to the Shutterbugs). First Friday is a FREE monthly event where all the galleries in Old City have openings showcasing new art. The event attracts thousands of people and creates a festival type atmosphere. Check out the images and video below!

Here are the Shutterbugs along with teacher Mr. Rocco and staff from Rustica Pizza in Northern Liberties. Rustica Pizza is a sponsor of the Shutterbugs (and has great pizza!).

Walter photographing some sculpture in Northern Liberties.

Shutterbugs with photographer Al Wachlin Jr. at his opening in Old City.

Artsy bike rack.

Cool photo of the famous Christ Church in Old City.

You meet lots of interesting people at First Friday. Isn't Christmas in December?

my neighborhood

I love this picture because it shows me and what I love about my neighborhood. The shutterbugs and I made our first pictures with pinhole cameras. We had difficulties at first but we finally did it. My head is blurry because ether me or the camera moved. We have to decide how much exposure time we need by how much light there is. My name is Jashira.

Pinhole Cameras Part Deux

Now the student's cameras are ready to be loaded with a piece of photographic paper in the darkroom which serves as the "film." The students then take their cameras outside and remove the paper and tape covering their openings and let the light expose their paper for 2-5 minutes, depending on how bright a day it is and how large their pinhole was made. Then the students return to the darkroom, open their cameras, and develop their pinhole images. The images they get are actually negatives and are upside down and backwards, see illustration of the concept below.

The students should be posting their first images in the next few days, please give them some feedback!

Making Pinhole Cameras

Our first project this year is making pinhole cameras. These can be made out of pretty much any used household container that has a removable top.  The students learn how they can make a basic camera by making the container light tight (blocking light entry with black tape and painting it black inside to minimize light reflections). Then they make a hole in the box using a pin or small drill bit. The opening is covered up with a piece of black paper held onto the camera with tape.

Below is a pict of 5th grade Stetson Shutterbug Rashawn Pittman with his pinhole camera and first image.

Darkroom Video!

Here is a special treat, my students' first time in the darkroom developing their photograms. Those people who have been in a darkroom before know the magical experience of watching your first print appear in the developer. Now, thanks to our new night vision-equiped video camera, you can experience it along with them. You also get to see the entire development process from start to finish.

Darkroom Up and Running!

After what seems like an eternity, our darkroom is finally operational! For our first lesson the kids created photograms using objects they found lying around our unused 4th floor. The kids were very excited about their experiences and look forward to posting their first images next week. Stay tuned!

Thank You / Gracias!!!!

Here is a video of my students writing thank you notes to all those who have helped us. In their own words they show their appreciation.

Donations!!!

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Karen Miller, Joanne Elliot (and family), and David DiDonato for their wonderful generosity of darkroom equipment and cameras. Because of them we are well on our way to having the necessary equipment we need for our students. We still need more, however. If you have any photo or darkroom equipment you are not using we will put it to good use!

Painting with the Whole Group

We are finally making a dent in the painting now that the whole group met today for the first time.

Paint it Black

Yesterday we started painting our darkroom. Our first day it was just the boys. Guess what color we picked?

Ready to Paint

Here is part of the group in our completely cleaned out space. We are now ready to Paint!

Cameras and Darkroom Equipment Needed!

This darkroom hasn't been used in over 10 years.

The Stetson Shutterbugs of Stetson Middle School are in need of cameras and darkroom equipment. We are rehabbing an ancient and closed up darkroom in our school and will be offering classes on traditional B/W photography, digital photography, and film making to our students. We would greatly appreciate the donation of ANY photo equipment, but are particularly looking for manual film cameras, enlargers, trays, tongs, chemistry, and other miscellaneous darkroom equipment. So if you have some old (or not so old) cameras or photography equipment you are not using we could definitely use it! Please contact Tony Rocco at chicodecali@yahoo.com.

Keep checking in on our blog for progress reports on the rehab of our darkroom and for photos from the students.