By Jason Estrada
A local center teaches students to look at the world differently through photography, and photos taken by students at the Transition Services Center will be on display throughout Iowa City.
The exhibition, called Unique Angles: A Photo Exhibit, will be available for the public to enjoy until May 30.
Lisa Ortega, a co-teacher at the center, said the program teaches life, job, and educational skills to students. It offers special-education students ages 18-21 with skills to increase their independence.
“My thought is that having a creative life and a way to express yourself creatively is a great life skill to have,” she said.
The inspiration of the exhibition came from her passion of being a photographer. Ortega said she believed students would enjoy learning about photography in a different way than occasionally snapping a photo with a phone.
“I gave them a workshop about how you can use photography to express yourself and how you can take pictures from interesting angles, show part of something instead of all of something,” she said.
The students went around town with their phones, tablets, and borrowed cameras and took pictures seeing things in a different way, she said. The students sent Ortega their photos, which added up to 1,700 pictures. Ortega chose one from each student to display for the exhibit.
Tenisha Robinson, a Transitions Services Center student, said she attended the workshop because she loved seeing photos of people and nature and has been taking photos since she graduated from high school in 2014.
“I love taking pictures of nature, and it’s just something that calms me and brings me to peace, I guess,” she said.
Photography is a hobby for her, so she found the workshop to be eye-opening to the world around her, she said.
Center Student Sarah Benson said she wanted to attend the workshop because she likes taking photos and has a creative mind.
“I started taking photos a lot when I was little about 6 or 7, and I got ahold of my mom’s digital camera,” she said.
Benson said she takes photos only for fun because she thinks she’s not the best at photography, and she has never taken any photography classes.
She said she tries to take photos of things people see every day from odd angles to make them unique.
Exhibit locations: Iowa City Public Library — April 25 to May 1, MidWestOne Bank, 1906 Keokuk St. — May 2 to May 8, MidWestOne Bank, 110 First Ave., Coralville — May 9 to May 15, Old Capitol Town Center — May 16 to May 23, Transition Services Center Graduation Ceremony on May 24 at the main office of the Iowa City School District and the second floor of Eastdale Plaza from May 25 to May 30.
