Benjamin Wang ’27 Effie Goebler ’29
Photography has always been an important part of EA, whether it’s taking a picture for the EA Instagram, photographing a sports game, or taking a photography class. Where would we be without it? It’s about time that we spotlight this unsung hero of the art world.
Upper School art teacher Ellen Erikson describes photography as a medium that expands what we can see through the naked eye and also what we can feel—it helps to connect us. “It has the ability to show us things that we simply cannot see with our own eyes,” she explains. “Through the invention of photography, we’ve been able to understand the world and our universe in ways that we never would have been able to without this tool. It allows us to tell stories, capture moments, and document history… photography as a medium is so multifaceted that it is a science, and it can also very much be an art.” Furthermore, she comments, “Photography can have a profound effect in the way that we see and understand the world around us…More than anything, photography can just teach us another way to communicate, another way to feel, another way to express like an internal dialog and put imagery to things that maybe we can’t put words to.” Erikson feels that the camera can, in essence, become an extension of ourselves.
Students also point to photography as a key part of EA life because it strengthens our community. Student photographer Emily MacIntyre ’27 explains, “It brings a lot of people together, like some of my friends I would have never been friends with [without photography], because they’re just not in my grade, or they’re seniors… I met a lot of my senior friends through photography, or people who graduated through photography, and it’s something that we all could kind of come together with.” MacIntyre continues, “It’s something that anyone can do. It’s something that everyone can have access to and learn.” Photography can also unite us because you don’t need to have a special talent to take a photograph – anyone can take a photo, so there’s no pressure to excel at it unless you want to, and a fun hobby never fails to connect people.
Max Boyko ’28, who specializes in sports photography, adds that it can help with the process of self-expression: “It [photography] helps students express themselves in a way that painting and other forms of art can’t, because it helps them make art out of an everyday situation, whether it be students in a classroom or something out on the green, and I think it really helps students unlock that creative part of themselves.” Additionally, he notes the importance of photography as a means of preserving records: “You can’t debate a photo, because proof is in the picture, and it’s a way to share history.”
Not only is photography about connecting people, being creative, and documenting history, but as another student photographer, Ben McHale ‘28, remarks, “photography can also record random moments. “I love capturing free spring moments of emotions and movement. I think it’s really cool.” Photography doesn’t need to be deep all the time; it can be silly, too.
When asked why photography is such an integral part of EA, McHale reflects, “It’s the only art of the four arts that can capture people so clearly and people’s emotions so vividly. A painting can’t capture the same emotion that a photo can, because that photo can be so in the moment.” This fact is why photography is so special for countless people: it shows the truth, whether it’s sad or happy, goofy or serious, and each photographer can incorporate their own personal flair. Erikson gushes, “I just love photography so much that teaching other people how to do it barely feels like I’m working at all.” Photography may be different from other art forms, but when it comes down to it, they are all rooted in the same passion and love for the craft.
