From taking photos in classes such as Photography and Varsity Photo to making videos in Digital Media Production and LHSNN, Loveland High School offers its students a lot of options to express their creativity through a camera. However, not everyone gets the opportunity to take these classes. That’s why the Photography Club, led by Santiago Medellin (12) and James Barrett, came to be. “There are a lot of kids who are interested in photography, but they don’t all get to take the [classes at LHS], so this is a way for them to come in [after school] to use the facility,” Barrett said. Not only that, but freshmen, in general, can’t take any photography classes at LHS, so Photo Club is their only opportunity to use the equipment. “Everybody has a digital camera in their pocket so why not learn some of the extra things it can do and how to have more fun with it,” Barrett said.
LHS Photo Club started over 2 decades ago, but has been off and on ever since, according to Barrett, the teacher advisor for the club. According to Medellin, the club currently has five members, but is always looking for more members. The club has already had one meeting, where the members got to learn how to do light painting, which uses a longer exposure time and a moving light source to create a painting effect, according to adobe.com. To start off, Medellin is more focused on getting his members acquainted with the equipment through experimental projects. “As the year goes on, we will go over the fundamentals [of photography],” Medellin said. Additionally, the club will soon start exploring videography, rather than just photography.
Barrett, in general, leaves the leadership of the club to Medellin, but tries to make sure that the projects they are working on in Photo Club align with his photography classes. “We do the kinds of things we do in [Photography] class, but on a lighter level,” Barrett said. The club is much more relaxed than the classes during the school day and it gives its members more creative freedom than the guidelines and rubrics that class assignments give. Barrett even plans on rewarding the club’s creatively ambitious members with pumpkin carving and cookie parties.
Pertaining to the future of the club, members will eventually start making their own individual projects based on the prompts or lessons for particular meetings and will showcase some of these projects at the LHS art show on November 5th.
Loveland is one of the few schools that gives their students the opportunity to express themselves through the endless possibilities of thousand-dollar cameras, microphones, lights, and production studios. Through Photo Club, students get to experience this without costing themselves any money and without the stress of strict deadlines and grades. The club meets every other Thursday and you can email barretja@lovelandschools.org or 23medesa@students.lovelandschools.org if you have any more questions.
According to Barrett, “It’s the coolest club around.”
Comments