Photographs capture moments that tell stories.

Creating Exposure through the Arts (a non-profit that empowers students through creative expression) has concluded its Culture Blocks Program, which ran Aug. 31-Feb. 25. The free after-school teen program focuses on teaching teens photography, videography and journalism includes creating two newsletters and two photography exhibits. The Feb. 28 show “A Night of Images” at Google Fiber in Uptown explores “What Matters” as well as additions to the existing “Inked” series.

“Under that umbrella is a Black Lives Matter movement, but also it included voting,” Creating Exposure Founder Mark Pendergrass said of shots that included individuals creating and posing with signs. “It kind of opened up the opportunity for students to see what was important for people as they were getting their signs. What was important for them to say? What was important for them to make?”

Adding to the “Inked” series, students in the current class told the stories beyond the artwork on skin.

“We shot a couple new models,” Pendergrass said. “We have encountered a couple of new people with interesting stories.”
Among those stories is that of professional soccer player Bilal Duckett, who posed with his Charlotte Independence teammate David Spies.

“My dad’s actually… not a photographer, but he’s always thought of himself as photographer by hobby,” Duckett said. “When I was younger, I went out and bought a camera. He taught me about different lenses, apertures, shutter speed—little bits. I’ve always been a little bit interested in it myself.”

Said Pendergrass: “They were doing some cool soccer tricks that enabled the students to get a feel of a commercial shoot capturing athletes in their element.”

Photography offers more than a quick selfie or a shot with a smartphone.

“It was very refreshing being a part of this class, because you come in, and yes it’s a photo shoot, and they are trying to get you set up in certain ways, but you are sitting through this class, in a way, with the kids,” Duckett said. “You’re learning more about photography—using light to get different effects in your pictures. You see the way that these adults are donating their time and investing in these kids who are learning about an art form. You can go a thousand different directions with photography. It can either be a hobby, or you can pursue it professionally. It’s really cool getting to see these kids exposed to it in such a technical and ground up way.”    

Said Pendergrass: “Being on the opposite side of the camera and really learning how to, but also focusing on the subject has been a true paradigm shift for them. When they’re in the moment, I haven’t seen any of the kids take a selfie in that moment—even when they’re meeting people like Bilal and these professional athletes. They’re still engaging each other to say ‘hey, take my picture.’ They’re realizing that they have a responsibility as photographers to capture a moment—to capture an image, and how can they make that image better.”

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