Six students in BJU’s Art of Photography class were able to display their photographs in an art exhibition at Jackson Marketing Group at the end of last semester as a final class project.

Students Tatiana Bento, Kaitlin Davis, Caleb Fleck, Abby Ray, Brooke Waters and Desiree Wood chose their three best photos from projects throughout the year to be displayed at the off-campus exhibition. Mr. Terry Davenport, the instructor for The Art of Photography, also participated with his students in the exhibition with a couple of his own photos.

Ray, a junior Christian ministries major with a photography minor, said since the class focused on black and white photography, all of the photos in the exhibition are black and white. Bento, a junior business administration major and also a photography minor, said that conveying a message through just black and white was challenging but rewarding.

According to Ray and Bento, throughout the semester the class frequently went on field trips to picturesque areas, such as downtown Greenville, a farm, an old car lot and an outdoor outfitter in Travelers Rest, in order to shoot photographs for the class projects.

Ray’s favorite part of photography in general is to go out and shoot with her camera. She said the more difficult side of it was the extensive amount of editing, which is done via two editing programs: Photoshop and Lightroom. “This class definitely pushed me a lot,” Ray said.

As part of the editing process, Davenport said, “The students manipulated exposure, contrast, composition and an overall mood to come up with artistic and communicative photos.”

According to Ray and Bento, the students printed their own photos, cut their own mattes, custom made or bought their frames and then matted and framed each photo themselves. Bento said she loved the hands-on aspect of this photography class, being able to matte and frame her own pictures and seeing it all come together in a finished, professional product. “It was a fun process,” she said.

Each student was also able to write his or her own artist statement, giving some biography of themselves and stating the philosophy behind their work and overall view of art.

“I’m extremely proud of how these students developed and grew through the semester in their abilities to see and choose subject matter that not only reflects their personal interests and artistic conviction but communicates well a unified thought,” Davenport said.

Although BJU doesn’t offer a photography major, a photography minor pairs well with many different majors. Last semester’s Art of Photography class alone contained a diverse group of majors, including biology, criminal justice, business, Christian ministries and theatre arts.

According to Davenport, the exhibition will be displayed until the end of February.