A Showcase for High School Photographers

Student photographers from high schools in Burbank and Glendale have won what Robert D. George hopes is a strong dose of encouragement. Presently on the walls of his Burbank photography gallery hang 25 pictures by finalists in the first annual Kodak/Photo Art Gallery Student Photography Contest, awarding young artists a rare helping of money and recognition.

It comes at a good time, agreed George and his gallery director, Eileen Webb, who said that student photography scholarships have been drying up in recent years.

“We hope the students will be encouraged,” Webb said. “Photography is an expensive thing to do. And a lot of people probably stop because it costs so much to do.”

The Eastman Kodak Co. co-sponsored the contest with the gallery, providing award certificates redeemable for Kodak products. By participating, the company hopes “to reward the students’ efforts, and stimulate some excitement,” said Jason Ness, a Kodak sales representative who will be presenting the awards during a reception at the gallery Sunday.

Ness said Kodak already offers teaching materials to high school photography programs. And one potential offshoot of the contest is the donation of photography supplies suitable for young people.

“The student market is something we put a lot of value in,” he said. “The earlier we can influence a consumer’s attention, the more likely they are to continue as one in the future.”

The Best of Show award, worth $150 in photographic merchandise, went to Monica Sanchez, a junior at Burbank High School, for her surreal multiple image of a ghostly face floating above what appears to be swirling ocean waves. Other subjects range from portraits to desolate railroad tracks and nature scenes.

“They didn’t perceive the world with these pictures as they do every day,” Webb said. “They used the camera to explore a different way of looking at things.”

Student James Riehl won a third-place award worth $75 for his picture titled “The Opinionated,” documenting an anti-war protest at Crescenta Valley High. Tony Habib of Glendale High also won a third-place award for a stark image peering up inside a radio tower.

About 100 students submitted work to the contest, but organizers said they are hoping for a much larger turnout next year. George added that rather than expand the contest to include submissions from other cities, he is hoping to see the schools in Burbank and Glendale “grow into what we offer.”

The contest was open to students from grades six through 12 attending public or private schools in those cities. Webb said some area teachers included the creation of a contest entry in their photography curriculums.

Virtually all the work submitted was black and white, the single exception being a blue-tinted, fish-eyed view of a Volkswagen Beetle by Burbank High senior Christophe Scannavino.

“I wondered a little bit about it, and I’d kind of hoped we would get some color,” George said. “But my intent was to start small, because I didn’t want to get inundated. That’s why we limited it to Burbank and Glendale.”

The Photo Art Gallery, which is adjacent to the nearly 40-year-old Photo Art Shop, marks its first anniversary in June. George, 36, became owner of the store in 1989, after studying photography and art at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah.

The most recent exhibition there was “Sculpture Projects,” a group show of works by professional photographers Steve Jensen, Robin Lasser and Suzanne Olmsted that closed April 28. The student show, George said, was designed partly to bring a younger audience into the gallery, while showcasing their own developing talents.

“I thought they were darn good,” George said. “I’ve really been surprised by the level of photography taught in the schools here in Southern California.”

The Kodak/Photo Art Gallery Student Photography Contest continues through Sunday at 150 S. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank. Award presentation for students is 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Information: (818) 846-0673.