Artwork offers glimpse of the 'big picture'

UP CLOSE—Jeff Dewey, a history teacher at Oaks Christian School, examines a student's photo on display at the school's Advanced Location Photography exhibit in May. A photography exhibit titled "The Big Picture: was presented by Oaks Christian School's advanced Location Photography class on May 28 at the Westlake school.

The free exhibit showcased the work of 10 high school photography students.

The class, which is offered to experienced photography students, gives them the opportunity to travel to and take photos in four locations annually: Mammoth Lakes, Joshua Tree, San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. According to class instructor Karla Chouhan, the trips allow the students to explore their natural talents and find their own style of photography.

"With my decades of travel experience, the locations, the lodging facilities and the sharing of ideas are necessary ingredients in creating an environment for success," said Chouhan. "Following each trip I see a progression in the students' work that could not be achieved without travel and the close interaction amongst one another."

"The trips have been an amazing learning experience," Oaks senior Ben Fischinger said of the class. "There's nothing else that would allow me to go to these places with such a tightknit group of people, just to take photos."

In addition to the students' work, the exhibit featured videos showcasing each student, live music and refreshments. Postcards, prints and pre-orders of a coffee table book, all produced by the class, were available for purchase.

Proceeds from the exhibit went to support the Crossroads Community Center, an outreach center for children in San Francisco. The students met the children at the center during their photography trip to that city.