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Photography – An Expression of Art
2019-05-08 | By German International School The Hague
Create the idea, seek the image, catch the moment! That is the creative process students engage in when they participate in the popular German International School The Hague Photo Competition.
Students take the theoretical elements they have learned as part of the art curriculum and apply them outside the classroom taking photos to enter the contest. The results are varied and a treat to the eye.
Each year, a different theme is chosen and students are invited to send in their entries. The topics have ranged from “Nature in the City” to “Winter Light” and “Big and Small”. It is fascinating to see how students interpret the various themes and how different the results are from one another. “I’m always excited to hear what the theme of the contest will be and then fascinated to view the interpretation of others,” says one student. There are almost no rules and no limits to the students’ imagination. There is only one stipulation: photoshop is not permitted. It is the student’s eye and artistic sensibility which are at the focal point and not their ability to technically alter an image.
Photos are taken with professional cameras but also with mobile phones. The camera allows for higher quality photos with sharper contrasts but students explain that the mobile phone allows for a degree of spontaneity which would otherwise not be possible. Thanks to mobile phones, taking constant photos has become a part of daily life. However, taking photos with a camera and spending hours observing the same motif with different light and perspective still attracts young people today.
Students are encouraged to observe the world around them with fresh eyes. The photos demonstrate how they perceive their surroundings and how they have learned to artistically design an image. The creative process begins when the photographer finds a motif which then becomes a work of art. One of the photographers who regularly takes part describes it as “catching a moment that is unbelievable.”
The goal of creating the beautiful out of normal everyday life is the art of a photographer, and the annual Photo Competition at the German International School The Hague encourages its students to do just that.
Students perceive their surroundings with fresh eyes
- Artistically
- Creatively
- Voluntary
- Honoured by their school
- Observe the world around them with other viewers
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