A short four years ago when I was looking into Tabor as my future home, I was intrigued and impressed by the photography program and its opportunities. I loved how important student photography was to the school, and I knew I would thrive in a community where I could grow through taking on such a responsibility.
After diving into photography my first semester at Tabor, I eventually joined Tabor’s Photopool. Photopool is an afternoon activity where six talented photographers assign, plan, and take an assortment of photographs of Tabor life. Tabor supplies all of our equipment which allows all photographers to shoot what we feel inspired by without any hardware issues. We meet daily along with our photography teacher to plan future shoots, learn special shooting techniques, discuss lighting issues, and edit our pictures. Our work is used across campus, on the website, in the school’s magazine, and other promotional material. We also collaborate with student publications such as the yearbook and The Log, our student newspaper, to provide the photos they require. This program is unique in that we are responsible for coordinating the shoots, editing our photos and delivering the final work we are assigned. I quickly discovered that the amount of effort I put into photography would translate into better pictures. Therefore, my love for the art motivated me to go the extra mile for the betterment of my photographs.
Each Wednesday and Saturday this fall, I was rarely seen without my black camera bag as I covered the soccer and field hockey teams home games; I am now an avid fan! On many other days, I discreetly tried to capture the moments at All School Meeting and other school events such as the Hall of Fame celebration, and even last spring the bittersweet moments of graduation. Joining Photopool has definitely instilled in me a strong drive to take great photographs. Each of us snap countless photos and then settle into the Photopool studio, richly equipped with 6 Mac’s with Photoshop and Lightroom editing software. As a group we take time editing, cropping, and delivering our pictures for each assignment. My participation has encouraged me to listen to other photographers as we give and receive criticism to each other in order to improve our craft.
I have grown dramatically over my years at Tabor and photography has been a valuable part of that growth. I undoubtedly could not have grown as much without the other great student photographers and our teacher mentoring me through my process. Throughout my years as a Tabor Photopooler, I have been challenged, rewarded, and inspired by the program. As a result, I have found a skill and passion that I can enjoy all my life.
