PhotoTEACH continues...

10/30/08
On the way to teach our photo class this morning, Miriam and I stopped at the Accra Mall to pick up the developed film for our students---which going to the Accra Mall (a busy, high-traffic shopping area crowded commonly with more obronis than most places) undoubtedly meant that we came across the Niger street children and beggars (well, they of course spotted us first).

One of the little boys seemed to recognize me, as I picked out the word "photo" sandwiched between sentences of Hausa. He told his dad something to the extent that I was the "Photo Girl". That made me smile. I had enough Polaroid film with me in my backpack, so I figured--what better time than now to share it with these beautiful children?

Their eyes danced with amazement at the instant buzz that popped out a picture of themselves, and they all started congregating excitedly (which was a beautiful transformation from their stone sad begging expressions).

One of the fathers was sitting on a mat in the middle of the dusty ground, as he gleamed at the photos held in his hands. He held them with the most sentimental touch, cherishing the Polaroids of his children as if they were the only treasures he had.

The boys kept saying "Thank you, Madame." "Thank you." But the thank you goes out to all of you who made this possible.

Photo class was extremely productive today. Miriam and I were so pleased with the lesson and with the students' participation and comments.

We used their developed photos and cardboard L-shaped pieces (cropping tools) to teach about cropping when taking a photo. We pointed out fingers that crept into the camera lens, ambient light versus artificial light, what constitutes a good portrait, horizontal and vertical orientations, the horizon line, etc.

I was SO encouraged at the results of their photos. I can already see so much progress in the students, by what subject matter they're choosing to photograph, by the angles they choose to use, etc. They seem to be implementing pieces from our lessons, more and more with each project.

The students added new vocabulary terms to their journals and asked Miriam and me a few camera/photography specific questions. We taught for an hour and fourty-five minutes--which was our longest lesson yet, but flew by so quickly!