Gabrielle Lim '23
20 May 2022
Student Exhibition Photo Gallery
19 of Passaic Valley’s Photography students were selected to submit their work to Pingry High School’s annual Student Exhibition in the Hostetter Gallery. The selected students from Mrs. Melanie Vasa’s Photography Class received recognition for their photographs by displaying their work in an official exhibit open during school hours. The exhibit began on February 18, 2022 and continued until March 26, 2022.
2022 marks the gallery’s 26th celebration. Every year, the school holds the regional ‘Photo Show’ to encourage students, expose them to the art of photography, and gain recognition for their work. The event hosted the following high schools: Columbia, County Prep, Passaic Valley, Pingry, Ranney, and Rutgers Preparatory.
Students were required to submit appropriate pictures of anything or anyone and assign a title to their work. PV students took a range of digital and film photographs, including landscapes, portraits, and nature scenery. A common trend was black and white photos that displayed low-light features. “If it’s digital, I print it out [and] if it’s film, I already have [the photo] from the student. Then we have to matte our pieces to put them in the show but we don’t frame them,” said Mrs. Vasa.
After receiving an invitation, Mrs. Vasa evaluated all her students’ work from the beginning of the school year and chose which to submit to the gallery. “Starting from the beginning of the year, I always keep an eye out for work to put into different shows, including our own Art Show and then, when the [submission] announcement comes, I look through my stock of student work from September on,” said Mrs. Vasa.
For opening night, Pingry High School held a reception where students and outside visitors came to see the gallery for the first time. At the reception, students and photographers talked about their work and some students received merit awards for their photographs. “The judge will speak and the people in charge of the Art Department and the Photo Program at the Pingry School will speak about the work. They have refreshments and parents, family, friends, guardians, everyone’s invited to it,” said Mrs. Vasa.
The featured students were honored to have their work recognized. “I would like to tell Miss Vasa thank you for encouraging me to submit my photograph to the gallery so that others can see my work,” said Liana Autore ‘22.
Mrs. Vasa saw this as a fun learning experience for all of PV’s future photographers. Students learned not only about the professional world, but also explored the deeper meanings behind what may seem like a simple photograph. “[I learned] that many pictures can be very different. There’s a lot of photos and pieces that a lot of people make that seem normal, but there’s so much meaning behind it,” said Joselyne Grillo ‘22.
