Click photo to enlarge
Stephanie Haberkon (Courtesy of Rebecca Hennings)
 
Rebecca Hennings concentrated on composition and texture when she stood along the Bear Lake Road near a grove of aspen trees.
Rebecca Hennings concentrated on composition and texture when she stood along the Bear Lake Road near a grove of aspen trees. (Courtesy of Rebecca Hennings)
Photographic instructor Bob Campagna had a record turnout of nearly 50 student photographers from five schools in the Thompson R2-J district.
He picked a theme for them — the 100th anniversary of Rocky Mountain National Park.
In October last year, vans were used to transport small groups of students into the park with stops at various locations. Their black-and-white, film-based work will appear May 13 at the Harrington Arts Academy, 575 N. Denver Ave. in Loveland, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Stephanie Haberkon, an eighth-grade student at Turner Middle School, saw some large rocks pointing to the sky and this attracted her to capture it on film. The sky was perfect and the sun provided just the right lighting.
Of the eight students on this trip, none of them took the same scenes.
Of her instructor Campagna, she said, "He showed us what was good and what to look for in a composition."
Haberkon is interested in going to college and possibly looking into interior design as a major. This was the second time she took a class in photography.
When she is on her own, she uses her smartphone to take images and likes close-ups of flowers.
Katie Runions goes to Lucile Erwin Middle School and is in the seventh grade.
Near Milner Pass, there was a large lake plus a few small ponds. She was attracted to a marshy area and viewed it like a miniature environment. Her shot was a close up while her fellow students spent their time taking landscape views.
Runions had been in the park before and commented that it was nice to view the scenery from a photographer's point of view rather than as just another visitor.
She hopes to continue taking classes in photography in high school. With college in mind, her interests are in the arts including music, sculpting and photography. She says, "I want something that allows me to express myself."
Rebecca Hennings goes to Bill Reed Middle School and is in the eighth grade.
Her group of students traveled up the Bear Lake Road. They pulled off near a grove of aspen trees.
It was October and the trees had lost some of their leaves. This caught her eye from the standpoint of composition, and what she liked was the stark black-and-white nature of the trees.
Using the rule of thirds, she framed her photograph with one tree close and the others forming a background. She printed many of her other images taken along the way but liked the composition of this one the best.
As for the use of film, Hennings says, "Digital is better in some ways, but film is really art and takes skill."
She plans to keep photography as a hobby and would like to go on to college to major in either graphic design or become a veterinarian.
This is her second class with Campagna and of him, she says, "He was really great and knows about photography. He is also an awesome person too and knows how to teach."