On Sunday May 4, the RCHS Photography III Honors students will host their second annual Barn Burner event, a one day art show inside a barn, featuring student’s photography.
The event will be held at The Barn at Wade’s Mill, 55 Kennedy Wade’s Mill Loop
Raphine, VA 24472 and will run from 3-5 p.m.
Throughout the entire school year, photography students have been working hard on their Project Based Learning (PBL) projects. Students will curate and display their own photographs in a culmination of all the work they’ve done so far in high school. This serves as a public display of their projects that they have been working on throughout this year.
Photography III Honors students Georgie Willis (12), Alya Hogan (12), Makaylie Poulin (11), Jade Hudson (12), and Photography IV Honors student River Jenkins (12) will be showcasing their work during this event.
“[In my project], I focus on my individuality and the aspects that make me, like my community,” senior Alya Hogan said. “I have three different projects for my book that I will be presenting and it goes in the order: who could I be, my community, and how can I present nostalgia for the people close to me.”
As with Hogan, junior Makaylie Poulin is focusing on a topic for her PBL that is very personal to her.
“I am focusing on what I am going to miss when I leave for college and mix it with family adventures. For my second question I worked on how the military affects a person’s life. My first question focused on emotion and things that are out of place,” Poulin said.
One of the photos that Poulin took of Veterans Day ended up winning the Silver Key award. This project takes a lot of time for the students to complete. Poulin shares what her favorite part of her project is.
“My favorite part of my project is it tells a story and shows my life. I really love the process of finding a good image and finding my main focus,” said Poulin. “I want to take photos that inspire people and make them want to do photography.”
Senior Georgie Willis was inspired by the area around him for his PBL.
“I focus on the beauty of my area and the things that are unique about it. I would say my favorite part of this project was highlighting cool parts of my area that are otherwise looked over or unseen,” Willis said.
Jade Hudson shares that this project has helped her discover beauty from unexpected places and turn it into beautiful photos.
“My project focuses on showing that things people usually see as unpleasant like abandoned buildings, old cars, or run down areas can actually be beautiful. I take photos of these subjects in a way that highlights interesting details, lighting, textures, and angles,” said Hudson. “Instead of just showing what’s broken, I try to capture what makes it unique. The goal is to change how people see these kinds of places and help them realize that beauty isn’t always obvious.”
Senior River Jenkins is the only Photography IV student in the class. He has chosen a project that reflects parts of himself.
“My project is focused on more intimate portraits of myself and people around me, as well as alternative film processes. My favorite part of my work is that I can experiment and try new, fun things in the darkroom and continue learning,” Jenkins said.
This event only runs for one day only and is free and open to the public, so come out to support the RCHS photography students. In addition to the art showcase, there will be free gelato donated by Pronto, live music by a RCHS student jazz brand, Half-Brassed, a food truck will be there as well, and Food Connoisseur based out of Fairfield as well.
