The commercial photography team attended the Association of Texas Photography Instructors Winter Conference. The event was held at The University of Texas at Arlington  Feb. 20-22. They competed in on-site contests with many other schools in the area.

“I thought our results were pretty good. We generally place well in our contests at the ATPI Winter Conference,” photography adviser Clint Smith said. “Its always hard for me because we had won some of the events before. Even though we beat out other schools, sometimes it’s hard for me to say, ‘That was a real good job’ because I know we should have won. But overall, the kids worked really hard and they did a good job.”

The team of seniors Israel Arias, Kelsi Brinkmeyer, Alyssa Olalde and Ashley Tyson won second place for school portfolio. The team of juniors Brianna O’Shaughnessey, Misty Morris, and senior Sara Rogers won third place for school scavenger hunt.

“Our photography program, to be honest, is one of the best, if not the best, in East Texas,” Rogers said. “Our real competition is against Allen High School, and we also compete with St. Mark’s, so it was really cool to go to walk around and be one the more prestigious groups.”

The team didn’t come home empty handed for their efforts. They won a new Canon 70D camera kit to take back to school for their use.

“The camera we won at ATPI is a different model than what we use, but it will still be extremely beneficial to our program,” Tyson said. “It has a flip out screen, and we plan on using it as a video camera for our advanced video students. The lens that comes out with it is also prime for video, so we are excited and appreciative to have this new gear coming into our closet.”

However, this wasn’t not the only thing they received. The group became much closer through this trip.

“It’s more like a bonding experience for us because a lot of the stuff they teach us there, we already know or getting a little bit of help and going into depth,” Rogers said. “It’s like a family aspect. We get really close, all hangout with each other, go to eat every night, so its’ like being a part of a family getting closer.”