Photographs taken by Newbury Park High School students are on display at a local beauty supply store and salon as part of an ongoing exhibition of their work.
For the past year, Rodney Ketchum, owner of Newbury Park Beauty at 2092 Newbury Road, has been showcasing the work of the high school’s photography students, changing the display every three or four months.
Newbury Park High photography teacher Eric Lindroth said Ketchum selected the 18 photos on display from several hundred submitted by his students.
“He’s been very supportive of the high school, and this has been a great outlet for the students to show their work,” said Lindroth, who teaches a darkroom class, digital photography and advanced placement photography to 350 students.
“It’s an honor for them to be here, and then the community comes in and sees the work, and it’s a great promotion for the school. It’s a good thing for Rodney, too, because he gets people in here,” Lindroth said.
The current photo exhibition will last through the summer until the beginning of the new school year and features still life, portraits and candid shots.
Danya Migdali, 18, who plans to attend Moorpark College in the fall, has two photos on display.
“My favorite type of photography is portraiture,” she said. “I love to capture people and capture their true emotions in candid portrait shots. You can smile for a picture or you can capture someone’s smile for a picture, and in my opinion, there’s a difference.”
“I was really honored when they told me I’d been chosen,” said Kaelyn Curran, 18, who has a portrait of her friend Taylor Erickson on display. “I don’t really think my work is as amazing as other people’s so I am proud of myself. I feel like I accomplished something.”
Tyler Chandler, 16, has a close-up shot of a lily in the show.
“I took it the first day I got my camera, and I was messing about in the backyard and that one came out, and I guess I got lucky with it,” said Tyler who will be a senior at Newbury Park in the fall.
Russell Haggard superimposed three photos to create an unusual picture of his best friend with an umbrella against a mountain backdrop.
“It’s a lot of fun to take pictures and put my own twist on life,” said Haggard, who plans to study computer science at Azusa Pacific University.
Ketchum said he chose photos that just popped out at him when it came to selecting which ones to put on his walls.
“We see it as a contest and the winners get displayed, so I think it gives the students that little bit more drive to get that hot shot,” he said.
“The school has art shows and it’s displayed for a week or a day or whatever but it’s at the school. Here, this is a business where all kinds of people come in and their art is displayed just as if it were in a gallery or something,” Ketchum said.
