Austin, Texas, usa
100CAMERAS X MARTIN MIDDLE SCHOOL
100cameras X Martin Middle School is a part of a 8 class course that is custom designed by 100cameras to equip passionate creatives with the tools to empower youth in a community they care about with the opportunity to learn how to process their stories and create change. Pictured here is a 100cameras student during the course.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
100cameras X Martin Middle School is based in Austin, Texas USA and in partnership with Martin Middle School (MMS). The school community is at the crossroads of the city’s history and culture and its growing technology and creative industries, with ninety-two percent of its students' families working hard amidst the challenges of economic disadvantages in a rapidly changing neighborhood landscape due to gentrification and the influx of people moving to Austin. These drastic changes are all quickly changing both the visual and experiential aspects of the area adjacent to the school.
Martin Middle School operates a Family Resource Center on campus to ensure parents and guardians have the support they need to help their children succeed in school and life. Established in 2016, MMS has an ongoing and robust photography program which provides a creative and innovative STEAM platform to students who live in and around the historic, downtown Holly neighborhood. As a result of student and community interest, the photography program is growing and expanding into other media such as film and audio.
As reflected by Patty Steinwedell, a local leader, professional, and dedicated classroom volunteer, “The unique 100cameras curriculum combined creative exercises encouraging highly personal examinations along with a classic aesthetic design approach. Having an alternative to the larger class size, the smaller group of students spoke freely about their processes, their own photographs and about the ideas and interpretations of the master photographers that were used in presentations for exploration and varying points of view in the photographic arts. They left the program not only knowing more about photography, but also about themselves.”
“I am grateful that the students were given this program so that they could think about photography in a way that slows down the pace, allows self-reflection in a smaller group and lastly, for the freedom...to simply photograph things ‘out there’ that they found interesting.”
MEET THE STUDENTS
“There is no ending road when you try a lot.”
“I like combining man-made with natural objects.”
ABOUT THE PROGRAM LEADER
Dianne Murray, Teacher and Photography Class Lead at Martin Middle School, has spent the last four years developing Martin Middle School's photography program. Recently, the addition of a new studio space opened up opportunities for further photographic studies in portraiture and product photography along with video production.
Patty Steinwedell and her husband David brought the 100cameras program to Martin Middle School after seeing the tremendous impact 100cameras can make and wanting the MMS students to be able to experience it.
“I always feel that students’ stories are an important integral part of their growth as creatives and as humans just going through this life. To pop in an SD card that a student brings in and witness shots you never in your wildest dreams could imagine that student shooting was always an amazing surprise. I was just so happy that students that I have known for 3 years could grow so much in their creative thoughts and execution.”
STUDENT IMAGE GALLERY
“The students named their practices in the class as ‘kindness, refinement, effort, respect, promptness, and consideration of each other’. They also stressed they ‘wanted to be in the moment and proud of their accomplishments’.”
Follow us on social media to see images from the field as captured by the 100cameras X Martin Middle School team and the student photographers.