Pen Pals is another great community project by Fleming, following the Ball and Pen project.
"This time round we have decided to teach seven matric school kids the art of photography," explains Fleming.
Interviews were held over a period of two months during which all those interested in being a part of the project applied and had to sell themselves to Ian and son, Warren Fleming.
"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 tough going. In the end we decided to settle on seven of the applicants instead of the original six," said Fleming.
Olympus South Africa generously donated the cameras for the project. Said Fleming, "Again 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 before used a camera, bar that of the cell phone, and the easy handling and functionality of the camera make it a great starting point for any user."
Tudor, the agents for Olympus, also generously donated SD memory cards for the cause. Private individuals also made various other donations, such as computers and donations to purchase tripods etc., to make the project possible.
This included Foto First Knysna offering to sponsor printing photos for an exhibition at the end of the project.
The mix of students included, amongst others, a Xhosa girl, a young refugee from the Congo and a young man who had recently been voted the top sea scout in South Africa.
"Three of these kids have never used a camera before. Besides the photographic training they were also trained in Photoshop and basic computer skills," says Fleming.
The Pen Pals graduates are Thierry Pinyabu, Jason Alie, Erin Keefer, Mitchell Sohn, Shanice Muller, Jamie Eray and Asemahle Tayi.
Says Pinyabu (17) of Percy Mdala High School: "It was fun and very interesting."
Erin Keefer believes it has set her on track for pursuing a professional career in photography. "At last I got to experience what a real photographer would get to do. We learned so much! One of the highlights for me was when we had a photographic excursion into the forest - photographing water, the deep forest and coming out the other side in a community where we got to shoot interesting scenes with all kinds of people."
Fleming confirmed that he will be offering the Pen Pal course again next year. "It’s been an incredible journey and I loved it!"
Shanice Muller (middle) with her proud mum, Irene (left) and aunt, Joyce Bouw on graduation night. "Once I got over my initial nervousness, I really enjoyed myself and made new friends. This will definitely help me towards my career in fashion design," she smiled.
ARTICLE: ANOESCHKA VON MECK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
