College has always been a great place to further horizons, participate in organizations and create life-long memories. Bellevue College is no different, especially with the photography program and the Photography Club. A little over 50 members strong, the club has weekly meetings to “talk about techniques and tips in photography” says Chad White, the advisor for the club. Their goal; “relate visual communication” through photography.
The Photography Club is “outside the class learning” says White, allowing the students the “opportunity to see things in a new and in a different way.”
Recently, the club organized a trip to the Olympic National Park for Earth Week. Members who went camped, hiked and took photos. Mainly because a “good way to use photography is a means to see what else exists outside of this area.” With events like this through the Photography club students can “see new things and experience new things,” says White. The “club trying to expand its horizons” says Westley Evers, president of the photography club.
“It’s the first exhibition with a major theme.” Through this excursion they produced a set of images for the Earth Week Exhibition. They are now “looking forward to having more trips in the future, maybe Mt. Rainer.”
But photography “is not just about beauty” says White, students “take pictures of things they want to have an implied meaning behind.” Photography club creates the best atmosphere for that since it is also “social interaction and connecting using photography”. According to Evers, “photography hits on almost every aspect of what we do as humans, if you’re mechanical minded there is physics behind cameras and if you’re creative minded there is a whole creative aspect to photography.”
Not only is the club beneficial artistically but socially as well. Due to the “large amount of members, it’s a great opportunity to make friends,” says White. Evers first joined the club “to meet new people” and now considers the club members “really good friends beyond the club”. According to photography student Brandon Baker, the best part about photography club is “being around a bunch of artists.”
The club is a “tool catered interest where students can learn from each other”, says White. Having the ability to learn from peers makes the club that much more fun and creates a less stressful environment.
Another good part about the club, BC students get to be “around a bunch of creative people you can learn and work off of to gain new knowledge,” says Baker.