EXHIBIT DAY

Like music, photography is a universal language. And like singing, every person can take a picture. I have had the incredible opportunity to see my class of photo "explorers" at the Salvation Army in Durham grow into real photographers, as they've progressed from taking pictures to learning how to make
photographs throughout during a program I call "PhotoTeach."

Over the past 10 weeks, my kids have integrated the elements of composition, such as framing, lighting, color, perspective, lines, shape, texture, etc., by taking photographs each week. Through the lenses of their cameras, they have creatively expressed their inner joys, struggles and voices.

Today was the big day I've been long awaiting...it was EXHIBIT DAY! UNC Chapel Hill professor Jock Lauterer and I "huddled" early this afternoon, as we typed, arranged, scraped and rearranged photos in preparation for the exhibit. We really had no idea what to expect, and let's just say--it's always an adventure.

It has certainly been an enriching and enlightening journey--I learn more from the kids than they learn from me. Every class taught me something new about what life must be like growing up and living in inner city Durham.

It's so rewarding to see the immense growth these kids have produced since day one. When I first introduced the digital cameras three months ago, they didn't know the front of the camera from the back of the camera, nor where the on/off button was located.

Today, when they came in and saw their prints on the walls, they were ALL smiles. They pointed, laughed, poked fun, admired, and showed off their photos displayed on the cinder block walls. It was that sort of feeling that makes you all giddy inside and makes everything feel so rewarding and worthwhile. They now understood that there were different kinds of lighting, that you could move to take photos from a different angle, that some photos look better in color and some in black in white, and that photos have the capacity to tell stories.

After they (and other Salvation Army kids, staff, and visitors) viewed their photos, I presented each of my kids with a certificate and card to "formalize" the event a bit more. Their smiles, hugs, and comments--like Claudia's, "So, will I ever see you again?" were priceless.

This program was made possible through UNC Chapel Hill's School of Journalism & Mass Communication, supported by a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and by a partnership with the Salvation Army's Boys' & Girls' Club of Durham.