While Through the Lens was designed to introduce Bow Valley students to photography, it has also created a few powerful spin offs in the process.
One is helping to instill confidence and self-esteem and the other is a progression from still photography to film that will be celebrated tonight (Feb. 17) at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff as part of Exposure 2011: Calgary Banff Canmore Photography Festival.
Beyond Through the Lens: From Stills to Movies, features the award-winning films of three Through the Lens alumni Kevan Funk, Julie Hutchings and Martin Lenes.
Funk won Best Short Film at the Calgary International Film Festival for his film A Fine Young Man, while Hutchings received the Best Student Shortwork Award for Irradiate at the Whistler Film Festival 2010 and Lenes – along with Michael Grant – took third place for Best Local Film in the 2010-11 Reel Youth Film Festival at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
“I think it is really inspirational that these past participants of Through the Lens have gone on to study film,” said Craig Richards, Through the Lens organizer and Exposure chair.
“I see Through the Lens as one of a thousand building blocks for people and whether or not they go on to study film and become photographers I think that this program instills creativity and it instills self-esteem.”
Richards added filmmaking is a natural extension of the annual photography program, but it was not one he saw coming.
But now that Through the Lens participants have moved into film, he said he hopes to see more students follow that path.
“And what I hope it does, it might inspire kids in Grade 10 to 12 who are saying ‘I don’t know what to do’ to maybe go ‘hey wait, I didn’t even think about film’,” he said.
“This is all of us in the Bow Valley to come out and celebrate what these kids have done and what they are achieving.”
Hutchings and Funk will be at the Whyte Museum to discuss their films and their experience in Through the Lens.
Lenes will join them via Skype.
Beyond the Lens: From Stills to Movies begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $2. Whyte Museum members are free.
