Walnut Street Students Go Behind the Lens
Students at Walnut Street School learned how to make photographs, their research project for the school’s International Baccalaureate Exhibition.
The famous photographer Ansel Adams once said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
And so it was that a group of 5th grade students at Walnut Street School – with the help of DMPS photographer Jon Lemons – learned how to make photographs.
It was all part of their research for the school’s upcoming International Baccalaureate Exhibition, the capstone event for the IB elementary school experience in which students explore a range of topics, from robotics and video games to food and the environment, and share their work near the end of the school year.
Four students – Jaida Kenworthy, Gracie Le, Damian Miller and Mia Mordini – decided to make their focus (no pun intended) photography. According to teacher Katie Briggs they were to explore three areas related to photography:
- Why people take pictures
- How to take pictures
- How photography has changed
Earlier this month, Lemons put on a workshop for the students. He worked with them on some of the basics of how a camera operates, what F stops and exposure settings mean, and even the fundamentals of film photography. Lemons brought an array of cameras for the students to use in getting some hands-on practice, from a Rolleiflex (a classic film camera) to a Canon 5D (a professional digital camera). Afterwards, everyone went for a photo walk through the nearby Pappajohn Sculpture Park to practice some of their new skills.
Lemons has since developed the film photos taken by the students, which will be shown at the IB Exhibition this Friday, April 21 from 3:30 to 6:00 PM at Walnut Street School (901 Walnut Street).
If you’d like to see the students photographs, as well as them learning their new art, be sure to view the slide show below.
