By larry ramer
Staff Writer
Marco Caracappa, 12, (r) shows his work — an abstract of a door — to friend James Spinella, 12, during an exhibit of photographs by members of the Cedar Drive School’s photography club.
A group of students at the Cedar Drive School in Colts Neck had the opportunity to learn about and experience artistic photography this spring, largely due to the efforts of Carmela Caracappa, a professional photographer who lives in the township.
Pictures taken by many of the students who participated in the club were exhibited at the school on a recent evening.
Caracappa decided to launch a photography club, which most middle schools do not offer, because she felt students would benefit from an activity that allowed them to appreciate art.
"Children take art in elementary school, but there is no time in the day for that type of activity in middle school. I was concerned about the need for an extracurricular art program in middle schools," she said.
PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI Graham Elliott, 9, takes pictures of some of the photographs on display, then views them, at the Cedar Drive School, Colts Neck. The school’s photography club held its first exhibit in the media center.
Marge Maguire, a resource teacher at the Cedar Drive School, and Pat Elliot, the parent of a student, helped Caracappa run the club, which met three times after it started in April. The club had 22 members last year and will meet twice a month when school resumes in September.
Students learned about the basics of photography when the club started and then advanced to more advanced topics. Caracappa began by showing the children how to load film into the 35 mm cameras that were used for the course. She then taught them how to control the speed of a camera’s shutter and the size of its aperture — the hole through which light enters a camera. These two factors determine how much light is included in photographs. Another topic covered was depth of field — the amount of distance one can see in front of and behind a subject in a photograph.
The children used black and white film exclusively because Caracappa felt that colors distract beginning photographers from more important considerations such as shapes, angles and focusing on the subject. After instructing the students on the basics of photography, Caracappa asked them to take pictures of ordinary objects in creative ways.
"They went out and took pictures of objects such as doors, trees and entrances. I told them to focus on their point of view and to take pictures of what they see," Caracappa said.
Connie Jannarone, 14, took this photograph that was on display at the exhibit.
The students exhibited "amazing creativity" for their age, she said. For example, one student took a picture of a door lock, while another took pictures of a tree from several angles.
Bryan O’Malley, 11, a Cedar Drive School student who participated in the club, said he took pictures of trees and skateboarders during the school year and plans to continue using his photography skills while the club goes on hiatus for the summer.
"I’m going to take pictures of the beach and ocean during [my] vacation," Bryan said, adding that he enjoyed the club and plans to join it again in the fall.
Caracappa’s son, Marco, 12, also attends the middle school and participated in the photography club. He learned about photography for the first time and said the club helped him to understand how people can see objects in entirely different ways.
"Someone can take a picture of the same door from a totally different viewpoint, by using a completely different angle, for example," he said.
Marco said he’s planning to become a sports photographer over the summer.
"I’m going to take pictures of my brother’s soccer and baseball games," he said.