A new club has begun and is already on the rise. Photography club is an upcoming club where students can hangout after school and learn about photography.
On Tuesday, March 15th, a meeting was held after school to begin this new club. Not only was there talk around the school about this new club but it was also advertised with posters that were hung up. These posters caused students to join to learn photography. But, is it really a good time to make a club with the unpredictableness of COVID?
“We had actually hoped to start earlier, but we decided to wait until this quarter so we could do some outdoor projects. As for the unpredictability of the schedule, so far this year has been pretty predictable, plus it’s not the type of club that necessarily needs to have continuity between weeks. We can work on one concept one week and a different one the next,” David Witt, the second sponsor of the photography club said.
Not only is Witt helping sponsor this club but there is the main sponsor, Dr. Brett Erickson. Erickson is a teacher who would not have come to Hastings High if there wasn’t an opportunity for a club like photography club. Not only does he teach Yearbook but he also teaches many classes of English like Witt.
“I always thought such a club would be fun, but I already have the Table Top Club. When Dr. Erickson asked me last year whether or not I would consider helping him sponsor the club, I thought it sounded like a great idea. He is an experienced and accomplished photographer, so I’ll be learning almost as much as the students!” Witt said.
As a new club, students don’t know what is going to happen in the club and will figure it out along the way. They also have the opportunity to be taught by someone who is a professional on the topic of photography.
“I hope to understand and grasp the process that my predecessors in making a photograph. And also to know how to make some of the older printing processes,” Sophomore Erik Briones said.
There are a multitude of clubs that are available and give students more opportunities in general. Clubs can teach students life skills, help improve academic performance, aid students in gaining teamwork and leadership experience, and more.
“I decided to join the photography club because of the teachers who are involved in it. I have a great relationship with Mr. Witt and Dr. Erickson, and so when they teamed up it was a no brainer for me to join,” Junior Joshua Torres said.
Erickson is someone who has not only been the head at one of the top 10 liberal arts photography programs in the country but he’s also done Santa Fe’s workshop. A Santa Fe workshop is a one week class at the world’s most prestigious learning organization. There are never more than 200 photographers worldwide and a person has to be invited. Erickson was invited by Sam Abell who worked for National Geographic as a contract and staff photographer for thirty-three years. Erickson has a passion for photography and for teaching students and giving them opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible for them if Erickson and Witt hadn’t decided this club needed to be a reality.
“The paper is permeated by the image and it’s this organic feeling and it looks like no other photograph in the world and the objective with that it’s just that students suddenly they realize the preciousness of that piece of paper that is almost only two dimensional when you turn it to its face, it feels deep. Suddenly photographs become magic. If anything we want students to do is to say wow, that is a little piece of magic,” Erickson said.
