In This Issue:

Exposures - Pine Ridge

Upcoming Events

Our Mission Statement

Current Classes

Intermediate Class

New Board Member

Thanks to our Supporters

Wish List

Profile: Zach Stephens

Photo by In-Sight student Elise Huston

Past Issues:

Winter 2005 Fall 2004 Fall 2003 Spring 2003 Fall 2002 Summer 2002 Winter/Spring 2002

In-Sight Profiles: ZACHARY P. STEPHENS
by Phayvanh Luekhamhan

The Hallmark Institute of Photography (Turners Falls, MA) will welcome an In-Sight student this fall -- Zachary P. Stephens. His studies there will focus on portraiture and other studio work, which he hopes will gain him entry into the realm of fashion photography.

Zach came to In-Sight as a senior at Brattleboro Union High School, where he began his study of photography. His friends introduced him to the In-Sight program, and he has taken the Incentives class and an Alternative Processes class. Even though both classes were focused and structured, he was allowed room to experiment and to learn about photography his own way. "The freedom helped out a lot," he said. This was different from his high school photo class, in which he had to complete specific assignments. At In-Sight, he was able to learn from the teachers, but also from other students.

Asked about the direction his work is going, he responded that he wants his photos to be seen as fine art - regardless of subject matter. Zach has photographed everything from dilapidated shacks to the natural world to the body; the real work is in turning it into an artistic print. His new focus on portraiture will also follow in that vein. One of his favorite photographers is Irving Penn, a Vogues fashion photographer, whose prints, whether fashion or product oriented, "look artistic, [have] a feeling behind" them.

In September 2002, Zach had a solo show at the Putney Co-op, where he sold a couple of prints and was invited to show his work at the Sacketts-Brook Gallery in Putney. His work has also been on display at the Hooker-Dunham Theater and Gallery in Brattleboro. One of Zach's photos was featured on the "thank you" cards sent to donors of this year's annual In-Sight fund drive. Zach has clearly been busy with photography, and he plans to stay that way. He'd like to work for a big magazine or advertising company and start up his own studio, while working on fine art photography on the side.