4-H shows kids how to use photography

Nearly 50 kids gathered in the Washington Extension office for a full day of learning photography skills.

In years prior, Washington County 4-H has held one- or two- hour sessions helping kids become better photographers. According to Amy Green with Washington 4-H, photography has been a persistent interest for kids, which is why they decided to expand the session from two hours to six and make it avalaible to kids from surrounding counties.

'For 4-H we are constantly working with colleagues to see what the needs (and) interests of our kids are,” Green said. 'Photography is just a huge interest because it's more accessible to people, especially with digital or phones. It doesn't matter if you have a $9,000 camera or just a little click and shoot, you can participate.”

Each of the kids involved brought their own camera to the event and participated in classes teaching principles such as perspective and rule of thirds. They were even learning during lunch where they were treated to seven community members who have used photography in their careers.

One of these included Clay Whisler with the Elliott Realty Group. At 24 years old, part of the reason Whisler feels he's been able to access photography in his job is because he's grown up in a generation that incoporates it. Though his method of photography is less conventional than most, as it requires a drone.

'I'd only been in real estate probably four or five months before I started with drones,” he said.

With his equiptment, he's able to take aerial videos and photos of properties clients might be interested in. Though operating can be frustrating when windy or overcast, he finds the work rewarding.

'(Drone photography) hasn't quite caught on yet,” said Whisler. 'It's something we can do a little bit different for our customer that not every realtor can do.”

Other speakers represented photography for uses such as marketing and magazines from other Washington professionals, all some of Green's local contacts. With this variety, Green hopes to be able to show kids the breadth of what's possible in the medium.

'I thought, ‘let's try to get as many (speakers) as we can,'” said Green. 'You only know what you know based on what they've seen and we want these kids to see as much as they can.”

Eighth-grader Mariyah Kron caught her interest in photography from her mom about four years ago.

'It's really cool to catch all this stuff that doesn't seem important that can be,” Kron said.

The best photo she's taken, comes from when her aunt used to live on the Mississippi River. Her family would go out to visit on the Fourth of July and she managed to capture the image of a firework reflecting off the water.

What she's most enjoyed is learning more about how to use her camera. Being able to see how capturing an image from a different angle can change a picture and then being able to put that into practice during the photo scavenger hunt was her favorite part of the day.

'Several (of our panelists) have said, ‘I wish I would have done this when I was young,'” Green said. 'So it's really great that they're able to share their stories and really spark some interest.”

At the very least they've managed to spark Kron's interest enough she said she'd want to come back next year.