By : Amy Sylvestri : 7/9/08
A dozen San Leandro teenagers are learning photography and exploring their hometown as part of a special summer program at the library.
Each week, the 12- to 18- year-olds meet as part of the “How I See it: My Place” program. They learn basic photography techniques and also how to express themselves through images and writing.
The program was funded by a grant from the California Council for the Humanities and San Leandro is one of only 21 cities in the state that received digital cameras, photo paper, and $1,000 cash from the council. Kelly Keefer oversees the program, teaching the middle and high school students a new aspect of photography each week.
Keefer hopes the kids will bring their own perspectives and create something original. “The goal of the program is always transforming,” said Keefer. “By the end, the exhibit may be about San Leandro as a whole or it may be about these photographers as individuals. This project is not just about photos because the kids themselves will make a decision about what they have to say.”
During a few of the 10-week program’s classes, local professional photographer Roy Barloga will guide the students.
To show the kids how cities change over time, Barloga passed around some of his photos from Rome, New York, and New Orleans and told them how to get that type of perspective on their own city.
“Get down on the ground, stand on your tiptoes, climb up on the building, breathe onto the lens and fog it up to take a blurry photo, try anything,” said Barloga. “The most important thing, way beyond what you learn technically, is just seeing. Not looking, but seeing things in a unique way and making that interesting for other people.”
After some brief instruction at the beginning of each class, the students walk around the city to take some shots of historical buildings, interesting sights, people, and each other.
The kids quickly took Barloga’s advice, squatting down in alleys between houses, checking out each other’s cameras, and discussing shots with each other.
Arielle Clarke, 17, scaled the deck of one home to get a shot of a neighboring house, later she moved on to snap a photo of some graffiti on a street light.
Because Barloga wanted the class to focus on contrast during that day’s lesson, many of the kids took shots of barred windows, alarm systems, and satellite dishes on homes built in the 1920s.
“San Leandro is a really pretty place and sometimes people fail to acknowledge that,” said Catherine Casuat, 15 as she took a few shots. “ This is chance to see more of it.”
The students will continue to meet weekly during the summer, culminating in a special final “How I See It:” exhibit of their work on Saturday, August 23 at the Main Library.
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