AP photography is on display in the Lafayette Library from March 24 to June 9. The gallery is open every Monday from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. The exhibit showcases work from each of the four district high schools.
Traditionally, the exhibit is open to all photography course levels, but photo teacher Collette Sweeney limited it to AP students this year. “Many of them are seniors and since they were only taking a small number like 5 or 6 [entries], I thought my AP students would be good candidates for that and get some experience,” Sweeny explained.
There was no trouble narrowing down the entries because not everyone wanted to participate. Sweeney said, “They were busy with other things and not all of them had their prints printed around the time that they were due. So part of it becomes how to manage demos. Either you have it printed, matted, and ready or you don’t.”
Shah Saarah, Lindsay Wong, Natalie Seideman, Mallory Faldt, Hanna Schoenberger, and Katherine Friedman are this year’s contributors to the exhibit.
“Ms.Sweeney suggested it to me and the AP photography class, so I decided to give it a shot,” Schoenberger said.
“[The photo I chose] was from a lighting project when we went into the lighting lab. It would show how different lights make different shadows on your subject,” Seidmann said.
Schoenberger had a more provocative photo. “[The photo] I submitted was a McDonalds box, with green beans inside it, and I wrote ‘Think Outside The Box’ because it’s supposed to be healthy,” she said.
“Our teacher helps us choose ones that she thinks will do well in competitions, and I like black and white portraits,” said Seidmann.
Sweeney said, “The space is limited, and that is part of what the Library says. They only have one wall, and they’ve been asking a few of our teachers in the district, and some have responded, some haven’t.”
There was also a larger exhibit of student work on display at the Orinda Library, but that has since been taken down. Schoenberger also participated in the Orinda Library exhibit, where she won an honorable mention award.
According to Seidmann, “It’s nice to show off your hard work and have people recognize it and hear what people have to say about it.”
