OCHS student photographers take portraits of residents at The Shores in a learning experience for all involved
OCEAN CITY — It was a true intergenerational project.
Photography teacher Adriana Palmer had a group of her teenage students shoot portraits of residents at United Methodist Communities at The Shores. The models at the assisted-living residence could be their grandparents or great-grandparents.
“It was always my dream to have the young generation talking to the other generations,” said Palmer, who teaches art and photography at Ocean City High School. She organized the project.
Palmer thanked those residents at The Shores for participating in the project with students from her portrait photography class.
“The idea behind doing portraiture is connections,” she explained. “It’s not about how perfect the picture is, but how you, the photographer, connect with the subject.”
Palmer said having the students converse with people who are two or three generations older “is amazing because they answer questions about life because they are in a different stage than (the student photographers).
“I think it’s nice to see how you can give a little bit of guidance,” she told the models, who gathered in a common room where all of their portraits were displayed.
Each poster continued several photos and brief answers on a few topics such as “Love played a big role in my life,” “I can find joy in rainy weather,” “In difficult times I find peace,” “A book title about my life would be …” and “My advice to students is ….”
“The beautiful part of it is they answer the questions that we gave them about life. You can see there are a lot of similarities. Everybody has a lot of ideas about what is important in life and I think it is very important for these young guys to see that, how different it is at their age and at your age,” she said.
Palmer also pointed out the tangible nature of how the project culminated — large, physical prints.
“We take a lot of pictures,” she said, “and where do they stay? On a phone.” Having the display of poster-sized work was a way to give everyone a chance to see them together.
The students and their models were gratified by the project.
“Something I really love that also translates to theater is just telling a story, and this was such a great opportunity,” said Emma Saul, 16, a sophomore from Upper Township. One of her images was a detailed portrait of her model’s hands.
“It,s 94 years of stories of life and love and laughter in those hands,” Saul said.
“Just to hear that from someone older than you and connect with someone who has a different life experience, that’s really meaningful,” she said about what she took away from the project.
“I was so grateful. And just to make them feel special, they’re models and they’re all beautiful, so it was a really fun project,” Saul said.
“I’ve known Miss Palmer for a long time and I’ve taken her class multiple years. She told me about (the project) and I thought it was a really cool idea,” said Kira Rinnier, 18, a senior from Sea Isle City.
“I live with my great grandparents. They’re 96, so I thought it was kind of cool to, like, get into something that I’m familiar with, people I can relate to in a sense.”
Photography may not be in her professional future, but for Rinnier, who is really into the arts, she may continue it for fun “to go out and capture the world and everything and people and hear their stories, get to learn about people.”
Isabella Gonzales, 17, a junior from Marmora, found the project a learning experience beyond the photography aspect.
“I have a love of photography and I just love interacting with people. I also love this community and what it has to offer. You know, so many beautiful people here (at The Shores),” she said.
She photographed Sylvia. “She was amazing. I love her so much.”
Gonzales said she learned that “everyone has a story. Everyone has their own morals and everyone’s just different, but they’re all together in some sort of way, so it’s really interesting.”
She plans to keep up with photography, perhaps as a club activity at college, but wants to study forensic science.
Scarlett Garrett is a 15-year-old freshman from Ocean City who takes part in the school’s photography club with Palmer.
“I saw the permission slip (for the project) on one of her tables and it looked interesting and I got my friend to do it with me. It was really fun,” she said.
Garrett “learned a lot about the people that we photographed and their past, what their thoughts are on everything. And it was just really fun working with them.”
Garrett foresees more photography classes in her future.
Addison Lyons, 17, a junior from Ocean City, said she loved photography when she was a kid and when she had a chance to take a photography class, she did. That led her to this project.
“I learned a lot from it, like how different times were back then and what people think nowadays,” Lyons said. She added the seniors at The Shores also had the chance to learn more from her about her generation.
Callie Lenko, 17, a junior from Ocean City, had taken the portrait photography class and wanted to take part in the project. Her takeaway was “that you don’t take things for granted and live in the moment.”
Model Doris Polanski enjoyed being photographed.
“And as you can see, I’m not camera shy,” she said. She “very much” enjoyed working with her photographer. “They did a very good job.”
Polanski noted she is an artist herself who works in acrylics. (She said she has sold some of the work she has done and donated the proceeds to The Shores.)
“It was something different in my life,” said model Joe DiMassimo. “I can’t believe that I’m doing it, you know? And I met some nice people and hey, it makes me happy.
“I thought the results were pretty good. I think these kids did a great job. The pictures were wonderful,” DiMassimo added. “Maybe some of these kids can go on in their lives in photography.”
“Miss Palmer was telling us about it and I just thought it’d be fun,” said Gigli Ripa, 17, a senior from Brigantine. “I like taking pictures of people. I think it’s fun and I like talking to people and meeting people.”
She said her model, Joe, “was fantastic. He looked amazing. Joe made it a great experience for me, but everyone I talked to, they had such cool stories. One of them was a veteran. They all had life stories that you collect over time.”
Ripa said she and her friends simply enjoyed sitting and listening to the stories from their models. “We were like, whoa, you guys are cool.”
She definitely plans to keep photography as a hobby.
“When Adriana first approached me about asking our residents to model for a portrait project, I wasn’t too sure I could get anybody to participate,” said Michele Musto, the volunteer coordinator and external marketer at The Shores.
“It’s a pretty big commitment because you are meeting with a photographer and you’re being vulnerable sitting there and having your picture taken and then we didn’t get to approve these pictures. They just went right to print,” she said.
“I think our residents who did agree really took a chance on understanding that the photographers were going to do their best to be respectful and show them in the best way,” Musto said. “So at first I was reluctant, but now I’m so excited that we did it. It really wound up really exceeding my expectations.”
“I thought it was great. I loved doing it. I loved the kids that were here,” model Ginny Scheetz said. “It was just a nice age where you could talk to the students and they could find out who we are.
“A lot of them don’t have grandparents around anymore so they don’t intermingle with older people. And we don’t have young ones around, so we don’t get to intermingle with them. This brought us both together,” Scheetz said.
“They did a super job. It was a very good project,” she added, saying Palmer deserved credit. “She worked hard to get all that together and bring the kids here.”
– STORY by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
Photos in gallery courtesy of OCHS photography teacher Adriana Palmer. The photos are by her students.
