Knysna-Plett Herald | Pen Pals 2012

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Pen Pals 2012
07:23 (GMT+2), Thu, 31 May 2012

Once again for the second year we are running PEN PALS. In 2011 we decided to teach seven matric school kids the art of photography. Interviews were held over a period of two months where all those interested in being a part of the project applied and had to sell themselves to us.

The aim was to find six matrics with the will and desire to learn the creative art of capturing light. We received many applications and decisions were not easy. In the end we decided to settle on seven of the applicants instead of the original six.

The guys from Olympus South Africa generously donated the cameras for the project. We are using the Olympus Pen, as the practical size and quality of the camera will work well for the beginner users.

Also, some of the students have never used a camera before, bar that of the cellphone, the easy handling and functionality of the camera makes it a great starting point for any user. Tudor, the agents for Olympus have also generously donated SD memory cards for the cause.

Various other donations have also been received from private individuals such as computers and donations to purchase tripods etc. Foto First, Knysna also offered to sponsor printing to host an exhibition at the end of the project . The mix of students are as follows: one Xhosa girl, a young refugee from the Congo, a coloured girl, a coloured guy (who has also been voted the top sea scout in SA) one white guy and two white girls.

Three of these kids have never used a camera before. Besides the photographic training they will also be trained in Photoshop and basic computer skills. For this year, we have a strange mix - seven girls and one boy and yes, they are not all in matric. We hope to sponsor a gallery for them as we did last year, however that will depend on donations, so if you feel you want to assist or help with the running costs of this project, please contact us. We are also planning to find a game lodge that will host our team for a weekend, but we will keep you up to date with the progress of the project.

Next week we chat about our thoughts on Feather Photography!

Cheers,
Ian & Warren