Chagrin Falls Photography Fieldtrip
At Chagrin Falls High School, students feel extremely fortunate to have such an outstanding digital photography program. The class consists of a final exam field trip to two different locations at the end of each semester. This allows the students to demonstrate their recently learned tools and techniques. Towards the end of the semester, the students visited Public Square and the Rockefeller Gardens in order to capture their creative images and, in the process, learned about the history of these sites. When the buses arrived at the center of the city of Cleveland, Public Square, students eagerly began their search for the most ideal subjects to be featured in their exams. After only a short time admiring the location, each and every students grew aware of the enormous amount of traffic constantly coming and going from Public Square. Many photographers attempted to portray the congested and repetitive feel in their images. From the location receiving notoriety through an exhibition of electric streetlights, to the placement of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument commending the Civil War veterans, the students began to sense the vast history of the tattered city. The subsequent trip to the Rockefeller Gardens commenced after a delicious lunch in Tower City. The Rockefeller Gardens sat upon a section of land in which John D. Rockefeller donated to the city of Cleveland. Cameras in hand, the students browsed the large amount of plant life and neatly composed displays. The photographers felt surprised when they found out that people initially wanted the Rockefeller Gardens to house plants destined for the city parks and to not permit the public to view the plants. Even though the gardens did not contain the excitement of the city, it displayed an overwhelming beauty that all students reproduced in their pictures. Both locations inspired the students to capture the beauty and grandeur of the surrounding environments. The photographers all appreciated the special opportunity to apply their skills in the unique places, and with the immense amount of attributes to each, they believed that opportunities for inspiration at the locations never ceased.