As an eighth grader, Alex Hunter looked over the selections for a ninth grade art class. Ceramics, sewing, studio arts — none seemed particularly appealing. So, he thought back to his family’s roots.
“My grandparents were both photographers in high school. My grandmother was a news anchor, and my grandfather was a photojournalist,” Alex said. “They met each other in a darkroom, and they’ve been married since then. I felt like the only option I wanted to choose was photography.”
Even if his initial decision wasn’t fully made out of personal commitment, it wouldn’t stay that way. Alex’s passion for photography has grown as he realized it was both a way to express himself and to find success, particularly as he begins to receive recognition for his work. This began in his ninth grade year.
“After the class had continued for some time, I took a photo that I really liked,” he said.
The photo was a long-exposure shot of a train, which Alex’s Beginning Photography teacher, Devin Wideman, entered into a regional art exhibition.
“I ended up winning third place,” Alex said. “It’s kind of from there on that I started seeing it as an opportunity, and it was something I started doing more and more.”
In Mr. Wideman’s eyes, this was a turning point for Alex.
“This was around the time he was really getting interested in photography and pushing his skills beyond what we had been doing in class so far,” Mr. Wideman said. “When he won third place, it was awesome, given that he was a freshman in the Beginning Photography class. I think from that point on, his interest in photography really just took off, and he’s just gotten even better since.”
Now a sophomore in Mr. Wideman’s AP Photography class, Alex has continued expanding his skills.
“As a photographer, he is very well-rounded in his skill sets, and he can take on so many different types of photography,” Mr. Wideman said. “I think his work is very dynamic and professional. There’s like a polish to what he does.”
Alex especially enjoys using his friends as subjects, since he feels comfortable asking more of people he knows to get the perfect shot.
“It’s very easy to ask them to move around and do things I might not be as comfortable asking other people I’m not as familiar with,” he said. “It makes the process a lot easier, and it can lead to better photos, because it’s not as stressful.”
He is particularly fond of the collection of photos he took on a trip to Toronto over spring break, his first venture into travel photography. He made one collection of street photos and another collection at Niagara Falls.
“I used a lot of skills I’ve built along my way, and it was my first time traveling to a different place and actually putting those skills to use and seeing the product,” he said.
This summer, Alex has earned a scholarship to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s photography intensive, where he will spend a week learning from the university’s faculty and alumni. He’s most excited to meet new people who share his interest.
“We have a space here at Lab, where we can talk to people who are all interested in art and other different types of studies, but there will be people who are specifically really interested in photography, and from all around the world,” Alex said.
Mr. Wideman looks forward to seeing how Alex’s unique style will develop.
“He has a really good balance of photography in a way that is both practical and artistic, if that makes sense,” he said. “You’re seeing what’s happening, but then he also can do it with this artistic lens on top of it.”
Alex doesn’t plan on stopping. Over the past two years, his pastime has evolved into a passion. Whether it be in his summer intensive or through taking on photojournalism as a junior, he looks forward to where photography will take him.
