Student work that works

Emily Yousfi and her Holga

It has been awhile since I last posted. Mostly, that’s because I’ve been involved in finishing off the semester, finishing a book, walking the dogs and generally feeling too mellow to post.

I thought I’d exhibit some of the work my Holyoke Community College students have created this past fall. Above is a double exposure using a plastic camera by Emily Yousfi. She was in both my Photojournalism and my Digital Fine Art classes. She mostly shot film and did not use Photoshop to manipulate her results. Nor did she let the concept of Photojournalism limit her ability to make pictures stemming from her personal vision.

Portrait by Jessica Smart

Digital Fine Art student Jessica Smart brings us from the joy of plastic to the pleasures of point-and-shoot. Her pictures are about the ongoing moment.

From the Big E by Manda Robillard

Photojournalism and Digital Fine Art student Manda Robillard created an “old school” photojournalists image. It almost makes me want a Bud.

Musicians by Roberto Deza

Rob Deza offers a very interesting example of the arc of an art student. Last spring he couldn’t make a successful picture for Advanced Photo. I knew he was a good photographer from his previous work in my Inside Post-Industrial Holyoke class, so I waited him out. This fall he was in Digital Fine Art and made a creative breakthrough that may lead to a successful career in photo and video. He was enlisted by National Geographics to work with them in Holyoke and he got a tempting job offer from a studio in LA, CA stemming from his fashion and glamor photography.

Kristin Hanley photo

After the roar of the classroom has subsided and the grading is completed, which pictures do I go back to just because I like them? Kristin Hanley was my Digital Fine Art hipster. She photographed her friends with generous cooperation from the photo gods. She photographed them simply hanging out, and simply partying their booties off.

Partying with Kristin Hanley

None of the above pictures are by my Basic Photo students. They worked in film which did not get transferred to my computer. Below is one picture of Basic student Digno Ortiz that I made in the studio. He is a boxer and offered to spar with our model, who also boxes. The students made many wonderful b/w film pictures during this studio session. This is just one that I happened to make on my DSLR.

Thea and Digno duke it out