Gallery • 4 Photos

Isaiah Chavez

The Photography program has recently been in the spotlight, with student work receiving recognition in local art shows and exhibits.

The Annual Countywide Student Art Show will contain amongst its collection Photography student, senior Emily Gonzalez’s work. Her photograph, titled Perspective, depicts an upwards shot of the clear sky seen through a basketball hoop. The idea to create this particular photograph came while she was engaging in the sport.

“I thought the sky looked pretty at the time and a basketball hoop was there, with me practicing at the time,” said Gonzalez. 

Students’ work, which all incorporate the use of mirrors or similar see-through objects,  will also be showcased at the Miami International Airport, with the gallery there focusing on the theme of “Dreamscapes: Untold Magical Stories.” 

Junior Isaiah Chavez designed and captured an image of a person sitting in front of a tree, holding up an empty frame to their face. Through the use of photo editing, instead of seeing their face through the frame, what you see is the part of the tree the subject is sitting in front of. 

Chavez said he was captured by photography for a variety of reasons.

“Having an artistic outlet is a way for me to showcase my inner thoughts in an abstract way, and photography is a great way to do that,” Chavez said. “There’s also an aspect to photography that you don’t see in all other forms of arts, and it’s this difficulty curve that makes it fun to learn it.”

A photograph designed by senior Paris McKinney will also be making its way to the gallery, with the photograph using a mirror to show a student’s view of some of the trees on campus. 

Senior Emily Alvarado designed a picture that showed a student holding up a glass fish tank over their face, with animated koi fish swimming in it.

“I was trying to create a fantasy-like feeling,” Alvarado said. “The editing process was the most important part. It’s my best photograph and I learned a lot in the process of creating it.”

Additionally, more of Krop’s student artwork will be heading to the YoungArts showcase, including the work of junior Amelie Sole-Lorenzo, who has found a niche in photography.

“What I mostly do is take pictures of eyes and incorporate them in my photography work,” Sole-Lorenzo said. “My theme is for people to feel like they’re being watched.” 

For the YoungArts competition, she designed a picture of somebody’s eye with a variety of plants embedded in it. The photo presented a challenge when Sole-Lorenzo was taking it, however.

“I had to use this thing called a macro lens and had to get it focused and really close to the person’s eye and get all of the eye texture,” she said. “It took around 7 takes.”

Junior Jennifer Orsima’s work was also selected in the YoungArts competition, with her designing a collage of a car, with the collage having a vintage theme.

“I found inspiration by looking outside and seeing a car, which I thought would be nice for a photograph, and so I took different pictures of the car at different angles. I’ve always liked the vintage look, so when editing the collage, I tried to make it look vintage,” Orsima said. 

Although there are many differences in each of the students’ photography styles and work, there is one thing Photography Teacher Krystal Leal agrees the showcases bestow on the students.

“[Being showcased] is an honor, and the students’ work shines and stands out,” Leal said.