Teens in Focus

The Huntington has long offered classes and family programs for a variety of ages—from preschool series for ages 3 to 4 to after-school programs for ages 5 to 6 and Saturday workshops for ages 7 to 12. But this fall, The Huntington debuted a couple classes for high school teens, including a two-part class in November called "Focus on Photography." Teens 14 to 17 years of age could sign up for one or both Saturday sessions—one on portraits and the other on landscape photography.

The results, said instructor Bia Gayotto, were impressive, as indicated by the accompanying slideshow from the landscape session. Following an opening discussion, Bia encouraged the budding photographers to walk through the Desert Garden to get up close and personal with the plants and flowers. They practiced a number of new techniques—such as experimenting with lighting, framing, background/foreground, contrast, textures, and patterns. They all took their time, in silence, often taking different photos of the same subject many times. They then walked over to the Chinese garden, where they were able to get a view of a garden that incorporates water, architecture, rocks, and animals.

Together with the portrait session—where the Huntington Art Gallery provided the perfect backdrop to create personalized portrait galleries—the Teen Workshop was a great success. Look for listings of programs for kids—and teens—in future issues of the Calendar or on the Huntington homepage.

Julianne Johnston is youth and family programs coordinator at The Huntington.