Although she signed up for photography as an easy art credit, freshman Annabella Graham did not anticipate her photography being selected for Beginnings, a gallery exhibition hosted by Webster University.
Graham says it was thanks to what she learned from her Photography 1 class.
“In the beginning, it was a lot of trial and error,” Graham said. “We were really learning how to use our cameras. But Ms. Benner, our teacher, was really helpful. All students kind of understood that you can manipulate your camera to do whatever you want.”
Graham came across the exhibition from art teacher Emily Benner, who introduced it in class.
“Webster University reaches out, asking us if we have students who should be entering their work,” Benner said. “I encouraged all my classes to edit and create something they thought was a worthwhile entry.”
Before Graham’s photo was submitted and selected for the gallery, it was just a part of a long exposure assignment in Photography 1.
“It was a 20-second long picture essentially. You would sit five seconds in front of the camera, five seconds to the side of the camera and then five seconds to the other side,” Graham said. “It would almost look like shadows of the person were in the photo, but instead it was just the person at different angles and a long photo speed.”
Originally, Graham hadn’t even planned on using the photo for the class assignment. However, after editing and messing around with it, she decided to make use of her photo by trying out the Webster University exhibition.
“It doesn’t really stand for anything. It was just kind of a fun photo, but I liked how we centered it around the camera,” Graham said.
Even though Benner says she didn’t know Graham all that well that semester, she was very glad Graham got to experience being selected for Webster University’s show.
“One perk of [the exhibition] is that Webster makes a very, very nice quality print of their photo. So when you walk into this gallery, they are very fine prints and you are among some really strong photographers,” Benner said. “It’s a really well put on show.
Based on the work ethic and dedication Benner noticed from Graham in her class, Benner says the recognition her student got was well deserved.
“Over the semester, [Graham] has always put good effort into her work. She always tries to problem solve and do things well and in interesting ways, so she really worked for that,” Benner said.
Beyond just showcasing her own photo talent, Graham says she felt like her photo being selected showcased Lafayette’s photography talent as well.
“It’s a lot more advanced, a lot more free will. Lafayette’s photo program is really nice because it’s a lot like a free experiment,” she said.
