If a picture does say a thousand words, then the students of Barrhead Composite High School’s (BCHS) portrait photography program returned home from their trip to New York City with enough words to fill hundreds, if not thousands of novels about the city.
From May 18 to May 25, ten BCHS students departed to New York City (NYC) on what has become an annual photography pilgrimage.
BCHS Com Tech teacher Bruce Tyrrell said New York is a favourite destination for the annual portrait photography trip because it offers a wide variety of photography educational opportunities that are hard to find anywhere else in the world. This trip marked the fourth time the program visited NYC. The other popular destination for the trip is Vancouver, B.C.
The reason why Tyrrell chose NYC was the opportunity for the kids to work with famed photojournalist Ben Norman, who among other things is known for his work as a regular freelancer for the New York Times newspaper.
Originally they were scheduled to do a photo shoot with the photographer at his downtown studio, however, at the last minute, he was called away for an assignment to Quebec. Despite the complication, the students still had an opportunity to talk to Norman when he reviewed their work.
Students pay for the trip through the sale of the photography photo packages.
Unlike other schools that bring in professional photographers to take the standard graduation photo in a mass one or two-day event, the portrait photography class takes the photos. About half of the funds go towards the annual trip and the remainder goes towards buying equipment for the Com-Tech program.
In addition to lowering the amount of money, students have to pay for the course, taking grad photos is a good learning experience.
He said the purpose of the course is to teach students from the beginning everything a professional photographer goes through - from arranging a photo shoot to learning how to take the photographs and properly editing them, to the business behind running a successful photography business.
The first place on the itinerary was Time Square.
“It is a great introduction to the city,” Tyrrell said, adding the time of their arrival did pose some shooting challenges. “It was Saturday night and the square was packed.”
And although the time of their arrival posed an issue creatively, he said the evening was the best time for them to experience what would become their main mode of transportation, the NYC subway system.
“It’s not rush hour, so it is a good time to introduce them on how to buy their metro system, how to use the subway mapping system and the app,” Tyrell said. “By the end of the trip, they became experts on how to navigate the city.”
However, the most important thing about the subway system Dylan Scheffler, Grade 12, Lysette Umwali, Grade 11 and Carrisa Verhueul, Grade 12, said that they learned that isn’t mentioned in the NYC tourism guides is never get on an empty subway car.
“There is a good reason why it is empty,” they said.
Verheul noted one empty car that had an especially foul odour.
The next day students explored Midtown Manhattan taking in such sights as the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, and the library, before taking in a Yankees game.
“It was touted to be a pretty good game,” Tyrrell said, noting the Yankees were hosting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which at the time were battling for top spot in the American League East. “And it was depending on who you were rooting for.”
After being close for six innings the Yankees went on to a lopsided 13-5 victory.
After the game, they took the Stanton Island Ferry going past the Statue of Liberty.
The next morning the group took a bike tour of Central Park before going to a shoot at the Empire State Building. Built in 1931, the 102 story skyscraper provides 360 views of Midtown Manhattan.
What Verheul found most interesting is how many water towers adorned neighbouring buildings. Scheffler noted the towers aren’t decorative or left over from a bygone era.
“It is because the gravity delivery system actually provides better water pressure,” he said.
They then headed to New Jersey’s Hamilton Park for a night shoot of the NYC’s skyline.
“The conditions were just perfect for a long exposure night shot,” Tyrrell said.
Although the students were excited about the possibility of taking such an iconic shot, they were less enthusiastic about packing their tripods on the subway, after what was already a long day.
“It makes it hard to sleep,” Verheul said.
The next day, after an image review, the students were given some free time to explore the Dumbo district of Brooklyn.
While there some of the students took the opportunity to dip their foot into the Atlantic Ocean at Pebble Beach, including Scheffler.
“It wasn’t nice,” he said, noting the water was freezing.
Tyrrell interjected although other classes had visited the iconic bridge, this was the first time any of them actually walked across it.
Your welcome,” Umwali joked, noting she suggested the trek.
Of course, no trip to NYC would be complete without taking in the Statue of Liberty, the Natural Museum of History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
To enhance the educational component, for each of the venues the group visited, one or two students were drafted to be the group’s tour guides.
“They had to research it beforehand, plan how to get there and even make changes on the run,” Tyrrell said.
One of the more difficult aspects of the trip is finding unique ways to shoot iconic locations.
“There are certain photographs you take just because you are there,” Tyrrell said. “Our Statue of Liberty pictures or Brooklyn Bridge pictures look the same you see on postcards or from the work of countless of other photographers.”
Scheffler interjected, saying in these circumstances the only way to shoot something unique is street photography, or incorporating local people into your work.
That being said, the students did have a chance to photograph attractions that many photographers outside of NYC have done, such as the Vessel which is part of Hudson Yards.
The Vessel is all stairs: 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings spread out across 154 interconnecting flights of circular staircases that ascend 150 feet, or 15 stories.
“They call it the stairway to nowhere,” Tyrrell said.
