Rachel Zwarenstein – Year 9

During this past year, the Photographic and Digital Media (PDM) students have been embarking on an exciting adventure looking at new and intriguing topics and techniques. As a Year 9 student, it was my first year doing PDM as an elective and we learnt that there was more to taking a photograph than just a click of a button. We learnt how to use a range of compositions to make our photos more eye-catching, how to balance the exposure of our photos and how to use light to our advantage. To see my work on display was a fun and new experience that made me realise that, with the insights and advice of my teachers, I could achieve more than I had anticipated.

The exhibition contains a range of different topics that makes the display unique and special. The Year 10 PDM students looked at Domestic Realism and used a variety of cameras including digital and 35mm film to take their photographs. The Year 5 students studied ‘Art and Illusion’ by exploring the effects of reflection, transparency and refraction, using their iPads to take and edit their photographs.

Finally, the Year 9 PDM students studied ‘Still Life’ and ‘Urban Landscapes’. We used a digital SLR to take the photos of the Paddington Reservoir and to take our ‘Vanitas’ photographs. We also used a medium format camera called a Holga loaded with 120 colour film to take the photos of the Armoury and a film SLR camera loaded with 35mm black and white film to take our White Bay Power Station photos. When we returned to school we were taught how to develop our own photos.

 Rachel Zwarenstein