Outside the Lens programs empower teens through photographic arts

By Will Bowen | Downtown News

“Give a kid a camera and change the world” is the motto of “Outside The Lens,” an educational organization dedicated to helping young people learn the art of photography — with a social consciousness.

Outside The Lens (OTL) will be offering two classes, which are open to all youngsters, aged 14-19, this July at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCASD) on Kettner Street in Downtown San Diego.

“We teach kids how to take better photographs so they can tell a more powerful story,” said Rachel Lebowitz, chief educator for OTL. “We try to help them find their own unique voice and encourage them to understand that their participation in their community matters and that they can make a difference.

“We also help kids acquire a visual literacy so they can decipher and make sense of all the images society daily bombards them with. Our overall aim is to help create a more just society.”

“Portraits in the Urban Jungle” is the title of the class on Friday, July 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at MCASD. The cost is $105 for museum members and $135 for non-members. The purpose of this class is to help students learn to master the settings of a camera, such as aperture, shutter speed and exposure, so that they can take a better portrait picture. The class will be held on the outside portions of the museum, such as the terrace and patio.

In addition to the technical aspects, students will learn the social and interpersonal dimensions of portraiture, such as how to create a safe space and build a good relationship with their subject so they feel comfortable.

“We teach students how to ask their subjects questions so as to bring out their essence. This will help them to better capture the subject’s personality on film,” says Lebowitz.

A second class, entitled “The Perfect Exposure,” takes place on Friday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a cost of $105/$135.  Here students will learn to work with natural sunlight and the external flash on their camera to create a better picture. This class will feature quest instructor, Heather Elise, a local professional photographer.

“Outside The Lens” was founded in 2001 by current Executive Director Elisa Thompson, while she was offering classes in photography to the children of migrant workers at the Department of Migrant Education. Thompson was educated at University of California at Santa Barbara, The Art Center of Pasadena, and the Brooks Institute. She has served as the lead educator at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in Balboa Park and also worked as a commercial photographer for companies such as Quicksilver and Roxy.

Thompson is assisted by OTL Program Director Niki Even. Even earned her bachelor’s from the University of San Diego and her masters in education from Azusa Pacific. Her background as a primary school teacher serves her current position well.

Chief Educator Lebowitz has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University, where she spent a year in the Education Abroad program in Israel interning for ABC News. Lebowitz originally came to “Outside The Lens” as an Americorps volunteer and stayed on after her appointment was over.

OTL features a number of highly interesting programs in their curriculum. “Here I Am” mixes the self-portrait with poetry; “Pieces of Me” addresses identity issues with photographs and short essays; “Picture It Healthy” is all about what makes up a healthy lifestyle; while “Picture My Planet” focuses on environmentalism and ecology and “Water in Focus” is concerned with clean water supplies.

The literacy through arts program targets disadvantaged or underserved youth who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn the skills of photography or to tell their story through pictures. Some of the children or institutions that have taken “Outside The Lens” classes include: the children of migrant workers, the Barrio Logan College Institute, The Monarch School for homeless kids, as well as numerous high schools and middle schools. This summer they will also be offering classes at The La Jolla Historical Society and at Gillespie Elementary School.

“Nowadays almost every kid is at risk, not just those of the underserved communities,” Lebowitz said. “This is because of the budget cuts in art, music, and photography that run across the board in almost all the schools.

“We offer kids an unparalled opportunity to acquire some priceless skills which can last a lifetime … skills such as ‘Photovoice’ — or the ability to tell a powerful and pertinent story with the camera; and, ‘Visual Literacy,’ the ability to look, to see, to unpack and deconstruct the images that we are confronted with each and every day. You just won’t find these offerings anywhere else.”

The programs, based on California state curriculum, also offer aspects of literacy, global perspectives, environmental sustainability, technology and healthy communities. Themes build upon one another to foster and strengthen the program’s participants within themselves, their families, society, the environment and the world.

For further information:  visit their website at www.outsidethelens.org, email them at [email protected], or call 858-349-7678.