Editor’s Note: Because this article features middle school artists, only first names are used to credit images and identify students in order to protect their privacy.
This school year, a small group of New Trier High School yearlong digital photography students have been collaborating with Joseph Sears Middle School photography students on an ongoing project, taking double exposure photos with a plastic film camera. While New Trier has been working with sender schools and doing outreach programs for years, this partnership started this fall after a Sears teacher reached out to New Trier photography teacher Jennifer Jackson about doing a joint project. The group met for the second time this school year on Jan. 30.
The students photographed the neighborhood between Sears and New Trier, capturing the physical space, as well as bridging the gap between students of both schools. For the project, the high school students photograph a shot and then pass the camera over to their junior high partner to capture a similar subject, but from a different perspective. Because the camera is double exposure, these two images overlap, highlighting the similarities and differences between both photos.
“It’s the space between,” Jackson said. “Not just the space between our campus, but the bridge between junior high and high school.”
Because the Sears classes change based on trimester, the New Trier student will work with different partners as the year continues. The next group of Sears students will begin editing the pictures earlier students took, then the high school students will edit the original photo, creating two different edited versions of the original photo. The final project will be a series of three images, with the first being the unedited image, the second edited by a Sears student, and the third by a New Trier student.
“It’s an evolution,” Jackson said. “It’s about the growth and passing the baton and a sense of collaboration.”
Jackson and Sears art teacher Annie Wood demonstrated how to use the film camera, which was new to both New Trier and Sears students as they had previously only worked with digital photography. According to Jackson, after learning the basics, the New Trier students excitedly took over and began teaching each other.
“When meeting the Sears kids, I wasn’t afraid to speak out and introduce myself to them,” sophomore Audrey Limacher said. “The kids themselves also made it really easy to connect with. They were all so nice, friendly and very creative people.”
Though Jackson and Wood were nervous the students would be shy, the ice was immediately broken by get-to-know-me slideshows made by both the New Trier and Sears students to introduce themself to the other students.
“They are natural mentors,” Jackson said. “I saw awe in the faces of the junior high kids, awe that they’re working with a high school student and they trust them to be a part of their project. It was adorable to see the interactions.”
Limacher easily connected with the students, using her experience as a coach, mentor, and older sister to help bond with the younger students and make them feel comfortable.
“I still remember how much I loved the feeling of when I was younger and someone older showed that they were interested and enjoyed my company,” Limacher said. “I want to be that person to the Sears kids. I want them to feel excited, included, and respected.”
Due to a cancellation because of cold weather, the students have only taken photos together twice, but there are visits planned in the upcoming months to take more pictures and begin the editing process.
While junior Ilana Styles looks forward to growing her relationship with the younger Sears students as the partnership continues, she is most excited to see the final product of this collaboration.
“We still have a ways to go until we are there, but I have a feeling that it is going to be something that will be cherished for years to come,” Styles said.