30 List: #15 Teach Photography, #8 Exhibit My Photos

Posted on 11.05.09 to 30 List, Personal, Photography by Joan

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I was asked by one of Rie Ink’s interns, Ze Hou, to help out with a photography project — teach children with autism (from the Little Garden Schoolhouse) photography and photograph them in action. This will lead up to an exhibition of my photos and the kids’. I think it will be awesome that we get to see the world through their eyes.

Project Beautiful Minds is a project done by students from the Singapore Management University (SMU) who are taking a module in Leadership and Team Building. You can read a write-up of the project by the Straits Times here.

I was very nervous about teaching the kids. Although I was a teacher for seven years, I taught Speech and Drama, not photography. And I’ve never taught kids with special needs before, although I have encountered one or two during the span of my teaching career.

This was a good stepping stone to teaching photography though — I didn’t have to go into the nuts and bolts about photography. I just had to expose them to the wonderful world of taking pictures, got them used to the concept of photography and how to handle a camera. (I’m headed to International School of Singapore next week to conduct a week-long photography course!)

The kids had a lot of fun! I hooked up my camera to my computer and they could get an instant preview of pictures they took with it. They were very delighted and kept on asking to photograph more! I sent them out on a mini assignment (with help from the SMU students) and it was my turn to be delighted with the results.

The next day, we took the kids out on a field trip to the Botanic Gardens, where they were each given a disposable camera and were pretty much given free reign to walk around and photograph what they want.

It was magic seeing some of their personalities come out during the process. I was particularly touched by Jordyn, a cute six-year-old, who really has a knack for photography. I saw the stuff she photographed during the small assignment on the first day and was impressed by her creative eye. At the Botanics, she seemed very much in her element and went through the film roll quite quickly. One of the SMU students lent her a digital camera, and the little shutterbug continued taking photos with much joy.

Taken by Jordyn.

This was taken at the Botanic Gardens after baking in the sun for a couple of hours. But I still love what Jordyn captured, despite me being very sick and exhausted. I was very sick for two weeks since that day — ended up going to Gleneagles A&E one night because my head wouldn’t stop hurting for more than 24 hours straight.

That’s Jordyn reviewing the photos she took of me!

So yes! The exhibition is going up next week! I’m not putting up all the photos here so that you’ll have stuff to see at the exhibition. Do drop by if you can and thanks in advance!

Details are:

Venue: Singapore Management University Gallery
(Level 1, School of Economics and Social Sciences)
90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903

Date: 10-12 November 2009
Time: 0900 – 1900 hrs (10, 11 Nov), 1200-1700 hrs (12 Nov)

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