SANDY FEET AND NEW PERSPECTIVES AFTER “LENS AND LEARN” EVENT
WITH PICTAGE AT THE SANTA MONICA BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
Local youth take a trip to the historic Santa Monica Pier with a group of volunteer professional photographers, kids and adults return with new eye on creative expression
(SANTA MONICA, July 15, 2010) - At 10:00 a.m. temperatures were already starting to climb. Inside the Santa Monica Boys & Girls Club it wasn’t just the hot weather, it was anticipation for a day at the beach….with cameras. Last Thursday Pictage, located in Torrance, CA, brought 14 professional photographers who are clients of the company and 20 digital SLR cameras for photography lessons and a hands on learning fieldtrip. Waiting for them at the Club were 79 eager seven to twelve year olds, ready to explore the beach through the viewfinder of a camera.
Before venturing out the children attended a classroom session covering photography basics like composition, light, and perspective. Cameras were passed around so kids could get familiar with handling the equipment. The crew then walked down to the Santa Monica Pier and broke out into small groups, each with two photographers, Club staff and a Club volunteer. Teams were given assignments, a scavenger hunt of sorts, and had to photograph subjects such as “red”, “happy”, reflections, and motion.
Cameras began clicking and smiles abound as children in brightly colored Club t-shirts spread out over the pier and surrounding beach. Pictage had a video team on hand to capture the fun, the Bui brothers Lan and Vu, a Southern California duo that shoot conceptual and promotional photography mostly for web personalities and professionals. The brothers adopted digital SLR video shooting -- using single lens digital cameras to shoot video -- as soon as it came out and were part of the team that shot the first U.S. television commercial on a digital SLR camera. For the Lens and Learn event they equipped three Club youth with digital Flip Cameras and a new iPhone with video capabilities to shoot their own view of the day. Pictage will produce a video using the footage and photography from the day along with a photo book for each of the children.
Photographer Justine Ungaro was with a group of younger aged Club Kids for the adventure. “I'm not sure how much photography they actually learned,” laughed Ungaro. “I know they had a great time and I think that's what is most important. I had a few little ones hanging on me at the end and as hard as it was for them to say goodbye to me, I think it was more difficult for me to say goodbye to them.” Ungaro specializes in wedding and portrait photography with a little bit of music industry commercial work thrown into the mix. In February she traveled to Port Au Prince, Haiti with a non-profit group to document the work of a team of volunteer medical professionals. While she took just 1600 frames, less than a typical wedding day assignment, she says she brought back so much more.
Pictage is a full service agency that provides marketing, customer service and fulfillment services to professional photographers like Ungaro and the Bui brothers freeing them to focus on the creative aspects of their businesses. It is also a community-minded company, seeking out unique ways to foster collaboration between their clients and the communities in which the photographers work. This is the second time the agency has partnered with a local Boys & Girls Club to provide a Lens and Learn event. The first, in March of this year at the Las Vegas Boys & Girls Club, was such a success they sought out more. When word went out to their Los Angeles based clients, photographers responded with enthusiasm.
“It’s really an honor for Pictage to partner with Boys and Girls Clubs for these amazing Lens and Learn events. Watching the photographers we serve, who volunteer their time for the day, interacting with these great kids in such a fun and meaningful way is moving. Watching the kids reactions, seeing their smiles and hearing their laughter is all the encouragement we need to want to do these again and again,” shared Jim Collins, CEO of Pictage.
The Santa Monica Lens and Learn event was a collaborative effort for the Club as well. NY&C Pizza on Wilshire Boulevard provided piping hot pizza for the 120 or so participants and employees at Google’s local office, a local independent photographer, and members of the SMBGC Volunteer Council took time out from busy schedules to pitch in.
“When people sign up to volunteer at the Club or support the Club with a generous contribution they do so because they want to give back to the community and impact a child’s life. Once they have been into the Club and spent time with the members they realize it is a two way street,” remarked Aaron Young, CEO of the Santa Monica Boys & Girls Club. “We deeply appreciate opportunities like the Lens n Learn event where we can collaborate with our business partners, volunteers, the kids, the community and create that mutual benefit.”
During a wrap up session back at the Club kids and photographers shared how the day had altered their perceptions of themselves and the world around them. Some of the children were interested in becoming photographers themselves or working more with their creativity. They shared that working with the pros and the camera equipment had given them confidence in their ability to express themselves and make decisions. So after a day of creativity, sunscreen, and cameras it was kids and grown ups alike that returned with new perceptions.