IS 230 Photo Class Creates a Visitor's Guide to Jackson Heights

26 Apr 2011, 11:20 AM by keith

The students from IS 230's after school photography club have been working with teaching artist Elise Rasmussen to produce a guidebook for their Jackson Heights neighborhood.  Students have been exploring the unique and diverse aspects of the community through neighborhood walks to shoot pictures for the visitor's guide.  They have broken up into a staff of "departments" that are each responsible for content pertaining to a specific aspect of the guidebook, such as attractions or restaurants.  The departments will also write brief articles to go along with their images, and everything will be compiled into the book celebrating and documenting Jackson Heights.  Each student will receive a printed copy of the visitor's guide in May.

Recently, the group went on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to examine the work of photographers Steiglitz, Strand and Steichen, as well as the museum's displays of contemporary photography.  Students each took inspiration from one of the pieces they viewed, then went on an outdoor shoot in Central Park to capture an image in response to the piece they studied.  

Additionally, these young photographers have been developing skills for being professional artists, such as editing and titling their work, and creating their own artist statements.  Elise and the students have maintained a rotating display in the school over the course of the year so that students can share their work with the school community.