“Photography captures and preserves a moment in time that would otherwise be lost,” Ryan Au ’12 said in his Chapel talk last week. If there could be a simple mantra to the loose organization of photography enthusiasts who have been meeting during lunch periods this past year, this would be it. Led by two Webb seniors, Ryan and Rita, the Photography Club rose from dormancy in order that students could meet to discuss technique, style, and share inspirational photos with each other. In all, more than 25 students were involved with the budding group, and the future certainly looks bright.

From the first day the group met, it was abundantly clear that the group desired to travel off campus for photo shoots. Shouts of “Times Square!” or “London!” or “Las Vegas!” continually erupted from students. While all of those destinations were fantastic ideas, there was a place much closer to Webb that has everything a photographer could ask for: a beautiful beach, superb sunsets, and a Ferris wheel on a pier. Santa Monica, here we come!

Despite weather reports to the contrary, we were greeted with heavily overcast skies upon our arrival to Santa Monica. The sun was still shining, but a massive cloud bank rolling in off the Pacific Ocean made our original intention of sunset photography impossible. While there was a short moment of disappointment there would be no painted sky sunset to photograph, the group quickly switched to experimenting with portraits of tourists, or panning shots of the roller coaster. Some were simply mesmerized by the grand sea, lost in thought.

More trips like this will take place next year when the Photography Club rekindles itself under new leadership. Southern California is a photographer’s dream, and we will be sure to take full advantage of it and I look forward to sharing our results with you.