The early summer finds me teaching photography to middle school students. While all have access to digital snap and shoot cameras and most use Iphones for their selfies, there is a demand to learn more about the “real” photography, namely putting analogue film into cameras which will let you manipulate or control the exposure.
Usually I bring my 50 year old Hasselblad to the first class and try to give them a short run down on the technical aspects of exposing your film, but too often have to realize this is a hard concept to grasp without going through all the motions yourself (and a lot of trial and error).
Some of them will fix their parent’s old cameras and hopefully become proficient, others will just stick to their fast and furious Iphones with the reliable delete function. In any case, it is always inspiring to see their unique ideas come to light. Check out my newest facebook cover photo which was taken by one of my students. First typed the sentence on an old typewriter, spelling errors and all, than photographed and quickly shared via social media. I do like the motto and would like to make it my own.
Gabriele Lange 