Monday 12 April 2010

Day One with the students in Overcome Heights

Day one with the class was daunting to say the least, but I need not have worried

They were engaged, involved and questioning

Out of the class of 12 only 6 had taken a photo before in their lives

Think of that, just for a moment.

Some 16 years after the end of Apartheid ,South Africa is still a land of great contrasts, with the gap between the haves and the have nots seemingly as great as ever

I will never forget the moment when they held the camera’s for the first time. 6 Canon 400D’s donated by a reader of this blog, which will remain here when I leave, under the stewardship of ‘True North’

It was a very moving moment to see the joy and excitement on the faces of youths who simply have never had an opportunity to express themselves in such a way before

The plan is that these youths and others will continue to document their community long after I have gone

Normally I start a class with getting everyone to set their camera’s on manual to get an understanding of the way a camera works.

I ran through some of the basics but it soon became clear that there was a real imperative to get them out taking pictures as soon as possible

What to expect? I really did not know

Quite frankly I was amazed with what they came back with in just under 2 hours, but I will let you and the wider world be the judge of that, and DO remember some of these kids have never held a camera in their lives before….



So what will today bring? Who knows? But it will be a special day when they get to see their work on my laptop today. There will be more pictures too

10 comments:

Paul Hurst said...

I agree - amazing results from a group who have no experience of photography. What a fantastic start.

Paul Hurst
www.paulhurstphotography.co.uk

Virgilio said...

Great start. Nice to see happy faces in front of the camera and I'm sure happy faces too behind the camera.

Justin Sutcliffe said...

Really fascinating stuff. Amazing to see how these young students are expressing themselves visually for the first time. Looking forward to following the progress of your workshop.

Paulo Rodrigues said...

Wow these are great. What a great project Drew

Kevin Halliburton said...

These are fantastic Drew! It's amazing what happens when excellent students encounter an exceptional teacher. I'm actually a bit humbled. I wouldn't dare post my first attempts at photography next to these. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I would post anything from my first year next to these. Great work guys!

Alex said...

I get the feeling those 6 400Ds will be loved by someone long after all the ones over here have been resigned to the scrapheap.

Nice work. :)

Unknown said...

Some stunning pics .. great work Drew

Pol said...

Love the basketball shot!
Enjoy the trip. I know they will learn a lot from you

Unknown said...

Thanks guys

It is a real eye opener in a good way

We are so privileged in out lives

Cheers

Drew

Gordon The Photographer said...

Some talent on show there. Strong, strong compositions! Great