The Nexus

Tim Chu
Judging light and other elements, Katrina Peterson (12) looks through her viewfinder. As a photographer, Peterson has trained herself to see everyday surroundings not as they are, but as they would appear through the viewfinder, and to express different human emotions and varying ideas that are not normally noticed at a first glance.

Katrina Peterson (12) wandered around Old Town, searching. An hour in, she finally came across a Spanish artisan sitting at his pottery wheel and was immediately inspired.

Her inner photographer kicked into gear as she gazed into the view finder of her digital camera.

Angle: straight on, up-close. Color: brown, nearly monochromatic. Composition: subject, background, and dead space in harmony. Click.

Picture perfect.

Ever since she was 10 years old, Peterson harbored a passion for photos. She favors street photography, where she goes downtown or to a local park to shoot the hidden interactions among those around her.

“There’s nothing that defines the perfect photo,” Peterson said. “With street photography, you’re looking for that decisive moment when everything naturally works together. You have to get it as it is happening and capture it instantaneously.”

Peterson said that as a photographer who take pictures of scenes from everyday life, she has begun to view people and objects in the world from varying perspectives.

“Usually, most people look at something straight-on and in the most obvious way,” Peterson said. “But when I look at something, I take it from a bird’s eye view or from extreme angles. Each [angle] reveals something new and emotes different feelings or expresses different ideas.”

Unlike Peterson, Lisa Lee (12) and Josh Montez (12) work with studio photography, where the conditions of the photo are more easily controlled and intended themes, are more clearly portrayed.

“My favorite is studio portraiture,” Montez said. “What I like about it is the fact that my subjects are people and are real. They’re something everyone can relate to. I look for expression and for the photo to tell a story.”

Lee brings her own style with her use and understanding of bright color palettes in fashion photography.

“Fashion isn’t just high-end couture but about expression of one’s self,” Lee said. “I enjoy fashion photography because it allows me to enhance my expression of personality and ideas in photos by utilizing a secondary medium: clothing.”

Lee’s photography is motivated by the ability to see something from fresh perspectives and present a variation that the audience may not have been aware of before.

Montez is similarly inspired by a photographer’s ability to shape someone’s outlook.

“There’s something different between showing someone something and telling them about it,” Montez said. “I write and talk a lot as well, but there’s something about writing that’s almost alienating and difficult to connect to in terms of interpretation. Since people are very visual, photographers can enter a more intimate world where they show people something that might surprise them or catch them off guard.”

Montez said that his photos have also developed his own artistic current of thought.

“In a sense, being a photographer really does change the way I view the world,” Montez said. “Photography makes what you think but aren’t sure of more clear. You have a profusion of theories about what you perceive. When you let them out in photos, it helps you see exactly what you were thinking about in the first place and ultimately sharpens your observations.”

Peterson said possessing the eye of a photographer contributes to her ability to dig beneath the surface and come up with previously hidden profundities.

“Everyday objects are so ordinary and people never take a second look at them,” Peterson said. “But with photo, you can take something conventional, put it in a new light, and change it into art.”

Lee agrees, for the goal of a photographer is to invoke a sense of awe and curiosity in his or her audience.

“Before [I was a photographer], if I saw something pretty, I would just take it for its face value,” she said. “Now, I’ve opened my eyes to my surroundings and see its potential for a beauty that is worth preserving.”