It is said that beauty and art are in the eye of the beholder.  Indeed, photography is an art form like no other.  Anybody can create their own masterpiece just by gazing through the lens of their camera and taking a picture of what they see.  In this way, the photograph becomes art as if they were a painter standing before their canvas.  As Mrs Ritchie, our guest speaker, said, “No photograph is ever wrong”.

The Media Committee held a photography workshop on 12 May with Old Girl Pauline Dodd Ritchie as the guest speaker and presenter.  Mrs Ritchie showed us beautiful photographs taken over many years and shared helpful tips which the girls are all eager to use in our own photography. 

As Mrs Ritchie entered the room, she was warmly greeted by a full classroom of girls who were eager and the girls were awe-struck into quietness with sighs and exclamations every now and then as a new photograph caught the attention of the group.  The group was inspired by her amazing skills and her photoshop techniques.  It was the stories behind the photographs that really got the group immersed in the photograph. 

It was a learning experience for all and very informative.  Mrs Gerber joined in fully with questions and disbelief at the art before us.  Maame Mends Brew in Grade 11C said: “I didn’t really want to get involved in photography but I learnt so much thanks to Mrs Ritchie and I can picture myself as a photographer.”  Perceptions of photography were definitely changed and Nicole Rhodes said, “Photography is a totally different world… I will never look at the power of a camera in the same way. “  All spoke of being inspired and Taybah Teladia said, “I will definitely bring all the new interesting tips that I learnt into my own photography and will start using photoshop”. Mrs Gerber said highlights for her included seeing what can be achieved with photoshop to add a person into a group photograph, give a farmhouse an make-over and new roof and change a dark shadow into a brightly coloured photograph.  Seeing all the photographs made us realise that once you look at the world through the eyes of a photographer, you come to appreciate autumn leaves, little bugs and you see beauty all around you as your eyes have been fully opened.

A huge thank you to Mrs Ritchie for taking the time to speak to us and organise all her photographs into a presentation for us.  It was a wonderful afternoon and we are looking forward to her return to share more with us!