High Schoolers Go On Assignment With National Geographic, San Francisco Chronicle And The Fostering Art Program

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2005 -- National Geographic photographer Sam Abell and San Francisco Chronicle photographer Fred Larson will give 15 San Francisco high school students a unique opportunity to look at their city in a new way during National Geographic PHOTO CAMP 2005. From June 19-21 the students will fan out across North Beach, parts of Chinatown and the Embarcadero as they shoot, edit and design a portrait of Zip Code 94133, based on National Geographic magazine’s monthly ZipUSA feature.

The photographers will brief the students on their photographic vision and techniques, accompany them on assignments, critique their work and guide them through the process of creating a story. Some of the students are members of the program Fostering Art, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building healthy and lasting relationships for current and former foster children and youth.

“Our photographers who take part in the PHOTO CAMP program are delighted to help mentor a new generation of photographers,” said Terry Garcia, National Geographic’s executive vice president, mission programs. “PHOTO CAMP gives young adults the opportunity to see the world in a different way -- through the lens.”

Abell and Larson will be assisted by Kathleen Hennessy, picture editor at the Chronicle, Kurt Mutchler, picture editor at National Geographic magazine, Susanna Frohman, photographer for the San Jose Mercury News, Carlos Gonzalez, photographer for the Chronicle, Justin Sullivan, photographer for Getty Images, and Lauren Reid, a University of Miami photography student.

The National Geographic Society Education Foundation, whose mission is to prepare children to embrace a diverse world, succeed in a global economy and steward the planet’s resources, is sponsoring PHOTO CAMPS 2005 in Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in partnership with VisionWorkshops of Annapolis, Md., and the New York Times. Cameras have been donated by Nikon.

Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. It reaches more than 285 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and its four other magazines; the National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; radio programs; films; books; videos and DVDs; maps; and interactive media. National Geographic has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy. For more information, log on to nationalgeographic.com; AOL Keyword: NatGeo.

VisionWorkshops is a mentoring program based on the foundation of photojournalism and is based in Annapolis, Md. The program encourages youth to find a voice through the use of photography and writing, and to convey their perspectives to others through VisionWorkshops’ public exhibitions.

Fostering Art is a unique program of A Home Within, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building healthy and lasting relationships for current and former foster children and youth. Fostering Art opens the world of creative expression to foster youth, enabling them to record their experiences and show the larger community about their lives -- what living and growing in foster care means to them. As an art form, photography is especially suited to capturing connections between individual internal experiences and the surrounding external world. The connection is continued and enlarged when the work is displayed to communities that might otherwise have no way of viewing life in foster care. Visit www.fosteringart.org for more information.

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Sarah Clark

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National Geographic

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