Redwood Photography

Humanizing Project, By Isaac Zavala

izavala — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 19:34:55 +0000

When I was asked to make a project on a teacher I respect, Mr. Cain came to mind in a snap. He’s the kind of teacher who creates an easygoing environment while still keeping things productive. His laid-back attitude doesn’t mean he’s not paying attention—if anything, he’s one of the most observant teachers I’ve ever had. He notices the little things, whether it’s a student who needs help or someone trying to sneak their earphones in while he’s teaching. Instead of calling people out harshly, he handles everything with a level of respect that makes his class feel like a place where students actually want to learn.

Joselin Lara/ Adrian Hinojosa/ Nathaniel Peña/ Isaac Zavala/ Mr. Cain/ Albert Patino/ Sienna Doyle/Correy Greenhill

Beyond his teaching, Mr. Cain is someone who knows how to balance work and life in a way that’s honestly encouraging to see. He’s proof that you can work hard while still making time for the things you enjoy. What really stands out, though, is his ability to make learning fun without losing sight of the bigger picture. He has a way of keeping lessons engaging while making sure we walk away actually understanding the lesson. Mr. Cain isn’t just a great teacher—he’s someone who leaves a lasting impact on his students, and that’s something truly worth appreciating.

Self Reflection: Teacher Highlight Project

eabney19 — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 19:27:48 +0000

This was a pivotal project for me as a photographer. I branched out from what I’m used to. That usually being nature and the outdoors etc.

My choice was Ms. Martinho, a beloved math teacher at Redwood. I am familiar with her, but some people are not so I wanted to spotlight her so people can get a look into her life and personality beyond teaching.

Through this project I learned that I should branch out more with my pictures but also more about teachers I didn’t know about. This project was more than taking pictures of teachers, but more so of getting to know them on a deeper level, which I feel like was not only achieved through my project but also the rest of my class.

Humanization Project Reflection

mlobue — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 19:53:22 +0000

The beginning of this project was slightly intimidating because I had to pick an adult to follow around and document. But when I came up with the idea of doing Mr. Miller, I was really interested in capturing him in his element. The great thing about having Mr. Miller as my photography teacher is that I had a lot of preexisting photos of him taking pictures which was super helpful but I first started with planning my shot list and interview questions. I then interviewed him and got a 22-minute long interview which was awesome because I had a lot to work with. I then put my camera together to take a few more photos that I would need for my project. I was happy with the pictures I gathered and how different they were. Some were taken inside, and some were taken outside there were also some that were monochrome which was nice because it was different than all the rest providing lots of variety. I wish I could’ve been able to get out to a girl’s soccer game because Mr. Miller told me he loves to take pictures of soccer. So it would have been nice to capture him doing something he is passionate about. One of the biggest things I struggled with was designing the two-page spread. I’m not very good at designing something from scratch without a template. I have always struggled with creativity and making something visually appealing using just my brain. So designing the page was definitely hard for me. I was able to solve this issue by asking a few classmates for ideas as well as looking at a few examples that were on the Google Drive from other students in class. Something I learned is AI or chat GPT can be helpful tools when used correctly. Reading through a seven-page, 22-minute interview wasn’t the most exciting task, but putting it into chat GPT was super helpful in pulling out quotes I needed. It’s important to know that AI is a great tool but it shouldn’t be used to cheat or do work for you. I used it to manage my time efficiently, not to do work for me. If I were to do this project again I would take time outside of school to catch Mr. Miller doing outside-of-school things such as taking pictures of soccer as well as other activities he might do.

This Image captures Mr. Miller being himself as he takes a picture for a project in photography class. It shows him not caring what others think and doing whatever it takes to get the best shot.

Staff Documentation Reflection

nantolin — Sat, 01 Mar 2025 03:19:45 +0000

At the start of this documentary project, I was very anxious to pick my teacher and one that came to mind was Mr. Arruda my chemistry teacher. I was planning to choose him for this project because he was one of those teachers where you could talk to without feeling too scared about what you were gonna say. I planned out my images by roughly sketching out what I wanted to shoot, I then went over to his classroom to shoot a couple of images that I could knock out during his prep period. During fifth period which is the period that I have him in, I came in with my camera and took a couple of photos of him teaching the class. I wanted to capture the essence of my subject by finding shots of him working with other students in his space to show his determination and strive as a teacher. Some details that I am most proud of in my photos are the ones where he’s teaching the class and he’s helping someone one on one and I got a really nice shot of that. However, I feel like I could’ve done better with focusing and messing around with the other settings as I felt as though these images weren’t as good as I thought they would be. One significant hurdle I faced was trying to get good images without it feeling to forced or posed, however it worked just fine and I got really great photos. I resolved this just by taking photos as he was in his nature and told him to pretend like I wasn’t there. One thing I learned was how to properly interview a person and it’ll help me along the way to improve my social skills in general.

This is one of my favorite images as it captures Arruda in his natural environment where he’s teaching a kid. If I could start over, I would most definitely want to take more pictures and maybe expand on my interview a little more. I personally enjoyed this project and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Documentary Photography

jfigueroa — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:28:59 +0000

By Jose Figueroa

When beggining this project I already had my ideal teacher in mind. I chose someone that i had grown a relationship with throughout my junior year, Mr.Aruda. I had the idea in mind that I was going to take my pictures during my photo class and the period that I had with him to catch the perfect moments that I would need for my project. When going into my photos I was really proud of the moments that I was able to capture. They presented good moments that showed who Mr. Arruda really was. The only problem that was faced was the lighting. I had to learn to adjust to capture the feeling of his classroom. Along with that the biggest problem I faced was getting into the position quickly to be able to capture my moment. To help with this I stayed ready with my camera to my eye and shot multiple and just decided to go through them later to get that perfect picture. Along with this project i learned more and more about him from my interview. It gave me a better idea on his life not just in school but out of it as well. This helps me in my future by realizing that there is more to someone that just a what you see from their face.

Above is probably my favorite image that I took throughout this project. It shows him in his space grading and working on getting his stuff done. It shows how organized he is and how he shows intrest in the subject that he teaches. The next time I get the opportunity to do some sort of project like this I think I would try to do more than just pictures that are school related. I would get some outside of school doing things that he enjoys doing in life.

appriciation post Mrs Duerre

kenzie — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:15:20 +0000

With this project I was doing for Mrs. Duerre a lot of problem accured and a lot of things went right. such as I felt very confident with who I picked because ive known guerre since my freshman year when I took her class. I want people at redwood to see how great of a teacher she is. I planned to go see her during my photography class when she also has class. I took shots of her everywhere in her class. I love the pictures that I took because it shows how much she loves teaching her students and how she has a great heart for what she does. there’s a lot of beautiful pictures I took. I feel like I could have told her how to pose and do a lot more pictures. trying too get a perfect date that would work for both me and her that wouldn’t get in the way of her teaching time. I also brought the wrong lens the first time I went to go take pictures of her. but I also just had to come back another day. I learned how truly hard it is to be a teacher ebacsue there are so many things that you gotta do right and when someone is off task it takes away from the whole class. its important because people see how hard it can get for teachers because people think its easy. my favorite photo is her in the front of her class smiling and laughing with her students it was a very wholesome moment within her class. this photo stands out to me because it shows the true love she has for American sign language. if I had to spend more time doing this I would take more time on my interview and asked more questions about her teaching style. Thank you for taking time out of your day and reading my blog.

Kenzie cantu

Project Reflection

strujillo — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:06:52 +0000

At the start of this process, I was nervous about approaching my teacher, but I later on realized it was a good opportunity, not just for me, but for him too. The workflow I planned was to plan the days I was going, and what questions I was asking, and I took pictures of him doing his thing throughout the time I was there. Some self-critique strengths and weaknesses were, my strengths when I captured him being authentic with his students throughout the entirety of his class. My weakness is, that I felt like I could’ve managed my time better by focusing on the digital stuff I gathered overcoming a challenge. One main challenge I was scared of was interrupting him or getting in the way of anything my method was to analyze the process of his teaching working around him like I wasn’t there. A takeaway I learned was that it is important to focus on the project, and fully engage in all conversations and interactions this lesson is important and teaches a life, lesson and the skill to be present with others. My favorite image, a picture of Mr. McDonald talking with one of his students eye to eye. This photo is welcoming, showing his humble personality and love for students. My final thought is that I would explain the project in simpler terms to my teacher. I would also schedule an actual time to meet with him to have a deeper conversation and to get to know him better.

Super Teachers!

nmiller — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:05:17 +0000

Reflection on my Humanizing Project

mescovedo — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:53:17 +0000

The Process

At the beginning of this project, I was very nervous and didn’t know what step to take. While this was assigned, I was absent and fell behind. I was planning to talk to Mr. Woodbury to interview him and set up a day to take pictures. I was hoping to get a couple of portraits in it and the rest of him interacting with his students. The interviewing went well but I wish he gave me more in depth answers. With the pictures, the portraits came out dark but I was able to mostly fix the brightness. The other pictures were fine but I wasn’t creative enough to know what to. In my opinion, I was able to capture Mr. Woodbury’s personality and essence in my pictures.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Parts of my photos I liked was how Woodbury interacts with his students and the bond he creates with them. Some of my weakness in my pictures is the grain and darkness in them. I didn’t notice it in the moment till I checked them after I left. The lighting was weird in his class and the sun was super bright. I want to improve on knowing exactly how to fix my brightness.

Overcoming a Challenge

The biggest hurdle I faced was trying to angle my camera where it fits everything perfectly. Also, I struggled with knowing how to position or stage a picture. I’m not an experienced photographer when it comes to taking pictures of people and trying to capture a certain feeling. My teacher and I mainly just went where the wind took us.

Key Takeaway

Something I learned was how easy it can be just to talk to someone – I don’t need to be shy or awkward with my subject. Also, by letting Mr. Woodbury do whatever he felt like with the pictures was great because I was able to capture is personality. This lesson was important because it has started to get me to come out of my shell and stop being shy. This will influence my future projects by being more creative.

Favorite Image

My favorite image is when Mr. Woodbury is doing a thinking face. I like it because it gives off a serious feeling or a different vibe from the guy who is always so energetic.

Final Thoughts

Next time, I want to think carefully about the lighting and frame my pictures better. I want to take closer looks at my pictures to make sure they’re giving the effect and look that I am wanting. Overall, this experience was a big step in me getting myself out there.

Documentary Reflection

aubri.diaz — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 22:54:29 +0000

When I received this assignment I was exited to let my creativity and pictures to humanize a teacher that I have lots of respect for. This project had many parts to it, so planning was vital in the process of creating something I was proud of. For example, scheduling interviews and knowing what the best time was to go into their class and take pictures. This project has let me realize that documenting and taking pictures can let others see great things, and in this case see teachers for their hard work and nurturing personalities. Im very grateful for this assignment because it let me show others the respect that I see in the teacher I picked for this assignment. One of my favorite pictures I got of Mr. Cox was him standing next to now of his students showing him how to do something and its my favorite because he mentioned in his interview that his favorite thing about his job was creating bonds with his students and helping them learn important skills.