Photography is a medium for expression and creativity. Especially during the pandemic, being able to save and embrace the small joys in life holds even greater meaning. In periods of stress and worry, photography acts as an escape from the harsh realities of life. Whether students wish to further pursue photography or simply capture happy moments in time, taking pictures is evermore important to preserve memories that can’t be explained in words. 

Freshman Joanne Yoon found her sentimental value for photography amplified because “someday, like 100 years from now, I want people to know what COVID was like,” Yoon explained. “I want them to know how we expressed ourselves during this age.”

For her, photography is simply a way to creatively pass time and capture simple aspects of life that may go unnoticed. “I find that photography is relaxing and that it helps me to see the beauty in my day-to-day activities,” mentioned Yoon. She highlighted that it does not take a particular aspiration to pursue photography in the future to find the beauty in the art.

For senior Tori Pearson, the start of the pandemic heightened her interest in photography. “I used to not care much for capturing pictures of everything, but now I think it’s important to capture the things I want to keep with me,” said Pearson. She has been able to find more hobbies, and photography has enabled her to “document all those hobbies artistically.”

Though she also doesn’t plan to pursue photography at a professional level, Pearson believes taking photos can help to appreciate and remember things that she had enjoyed at some point in her life. That way, she can look back and reminisce about her joys during such a turbulent time.

Aryana Bhasin, a junior and current Photo 2 student, stated that photography also began as a casual pastime for her. Now, she has found passion in the subject: “I like how it’s genuinely a different art … learning to include fundamentals of art can take a snapshot and turn it into a gorgeous photograph.” Enrolling in Photography at Centennial allowed Bhasin to take compositional and artistic skills and apply them to personal ventures.

Bhasin believes photography allows for freedom to express herself, and feels most proud of her abstract work. She especially enjoys shooting film photography and experimenting with photoshop, and hopes that photography will “always provide a creative outlet for myself and allow me to capture meaning in each photo.”

Whether it be capturing photos to hold on to and reflect back on fond moments, or turning mundane objects into a work of art, each of these students has found a creative voice through photography. In the age of advancing technology, anyone can learn to take a photo with their phone and document their favorite hobbies, events, and people in a wonderfully artistic fashion. 

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In the gallery below, Yoon (1-3), Pearson (4-6), and Bhasin (7-9), shared some of their work.

Gallery • 9 Photos