Le projet « Teens with a camera » est né d’une idée toute simple : croiser les connaissances acquises par les élèves avec leur regard sur le monde.
La séquence s’inscrit dans la notion « Art & Power » qui est au programme dans le cycle Terminale et où les élèves ont appris à analyser des photos pour en comprendre les messages cachés. Plus précisément, il était question de comprendre en quoi la photographie a contribué à l’émancipation de la femme. C’est ainsi que l’art de photographier devient symbole de pouvoir : le pouvoir d’expression de sentiments, le pouvoir de critiquer et de dénoncer des injustices, le pouvoir de dévoiler au monde des réalités que seuls certains connaissent.
C’est ainsi que, par certaines photos marquantes, des photographes anglaises ou américaines, telles Dorothea Lange (photo de la Grande Dépression), Annie Liebovitz (portraits de stars, notamment la photo de John Lennon trois heures avant son assassinat), Christina Broom (portraits des Suffragettes et des manifestations à Londres) ou Margaret Bourke-White (première femme à être montée à bord d’un avion militaire et qui a photographié les camps de concentration lors de la libération) sont arrivées au-devant de la scène et ont brisé des conventions d’époque qui voyaient plutôt la femme comme un être fragile qui restait à son domicile. Mais non ! Ces femmes extraordinaires ont été des pionnières et leurs photos sont encore connues aujourd’hui.
Les élèves ont appris à décoder les symboles, analyser les effets de lumière et d’ombre, lire les visages portraits dans les photos, mais aussi comprendre des époques différentes et apprendre en quoi une simple photographie peut en dire long.
À l’issue de la séquence, les élèves ont pris leur caméra et ont communiqué, à travers une photo seulement, ce qui leur tenait à cœur. Ils pouvaient faire passer un message, dénoncer ou critiquer quelque chose, mais aussi partager un moment de joie ou d’émerveillement.
Bien entendu, il ne s’agissait pas, ici, de faire un concours de photographie, mais plutôt d’être dans l’échange et le partage d’un moment fort.
Les photos des élèves de Terminale de Mmes Hagwood et Seyler ont été exposées dans les couloirs du 1er étage, face au bureau de la Vie Scolaire, ainsi que dans la salle de travail, pendant trois mois.
Je remercie tous les élèves pour leur investissement dans ce projet.
Jolynn HAGWOOD
This is a picture of my horse Shamrock de Brève (but he also answers to “Petit Tonnerre”). I took this picture after a lunging session in February 2020. I practice horse riding for 10 years now and it’s a beautiful hobby. In my view horse riding is not only a way to do sport performances but also an opportunity to connect with an animal and create a real link. What I like the most is to spend time with him no matter if I ride or if I just take care of him. He makes me feel happy and even if he can’t speak with words, he says a lot. I love to plunge in his look, observe his reactions and behaviors because he’s very expressive and incredibly funny! It is comforting to have something I can hold on to when things in my life turn bad or go too fast. He helps me take a break and you can trust me: it’s important! When I go to the stable all my troubles and thoughts disappear. For me he is a sort of lifeline.
If I had a message to convey with this picture it would be: do things with passion, things you truly love because life is short and it’s so amazing to have something that you can rely on.
Bungee jumping
This photography that I would like to explain is surely one of the most beautiful and symbolic that I have.
This bungee jump of more than 40 meters was a completely crazy experience! First of all, the landscape around me is amazing. Then, my position is a bit classy (I think), and finally the sensations experienced are unspeakable.
It took courage but above all mental strength to jump. Even if, deep in the heart of us, we know that the risks are practically inexistent, we still have this mental barrier, this fear that blocks us from reaching our objectives. Unfortunately, it’s in all of us and if it didn't exist, I am sure that the world around us would be a much better and more cheerful place.
When I look at this photo, I think back to that moment when I had to clear my head and mind, when I was preparing to let myself down, and the moment when I was in the void. This last moment is synonymous with freedom, it's like a dream come true.
The next step for me is skydiving, an even crazier dream!
If there was a message to pass on through this photo, I would say that you have to dare, that you shouldn't be afraid to fall. Sometimes it is necessary for people not to think in order to achieve wonderful things. Once again, photography allows us to describe emotions through a simple image, to remember good
memories and with this photo, perhaps make us want to do the same thing.
I took this picture in Bergen during my second travel in Norway with my family, three years ago. When I look at this picture, I remember exactly the moment I took it. It was on a boat, there was a lot of wind, we heard the engine of the boat and I was litteraly freezing. But everything was so calm, so peaceful. And the landscape ? The landscape was as in a dream, everything was blue or white. This picture makes me want to go back there. I think how Norway is such a beautiful country, and how its people are pleasant, generous and honest. I remember my first trip in Norway : it was a road trip, and it was my first time in this country, it’s when I fell in love with it. I relive in my head the walks between fishermen’s houses in the city, afternoons drinking hot chocolate in a cosy coffee shop ; but also the hiking in the mountains. That evening in Bergen, we were in a restaurant, it was dark outside and the only source of light was candles, we couldn’t even see what we were eating. This picture means a lot of memories to me, and I would like to create new memories in the same place in the future.
I chose this picture because I like to take pictures and especially macro photography.
This photo can’t be analyzed in a « traditional » way : it hasn’t any guidelines. We can only say that it’s centered on the subject, and that yellow is the dominant colour.
So, many interpretations are possible.
For me, here’s what I wanted to show in this picture :
Usually, we don’t pay attention to bees, or they scare us. They can often appear like insignificant, almost vulnerable insects, because of their small size.
We see here one bee in all her gorgeousness, because she covers almost the whole picture and we can see pollen in its hairs, she’s spoiling.
I think it’s important to show bees « working » : we don’t realize how important they are to our world. They are essential for the development of fruits and vegetables, for example.Without bees, it would be a disaster ! The proportion of people with nutritional deficiency would be higher, as mortality. It is our duty to preserve our fragile but so essential environment.
