Photo by Jocelyn Martinez.

By Johana Lastor

Mr. Peña, a teacher at Passaic High School who teaches Fine Arts and Advanced Drawing and Painting, is the advisor for the Photography Club, one of the newest clubs that Passaic High School has this year.

According to Mr. Peña, the entire club started when “a student by the name of Pamela Quezada came to me with an interest in starting the club.” Since PHS does not currently offer a photography course, Quezada went to Mr. Peña and explained her vision for the club. “She wanted me to support her in her vision and also being the club advisor since I have a background in photography.”

Photo by Diana Dominguez.

Foremost, Mr. Peña mentions that purpose of the club is “to be able to give students the opportunity to express themselves artistically and visually through the lens of the camera, not just traditional drawing or painting.”

He states that when students get the opportunity to attend the meetings, students will “learn how to understand a camera and develop a sharp eye for shooting photography and at the same time gain knowledge of the elements and principles of art and design which apply to photography.”

Mr. Peña hopes to achieve “a body of work created by the students in the club and hope that they can walk away learning and new skill or master the skill of photography.”

With the new knowledge that the students learn from the meetings, he hopes that the members can “take it beyond the classroom and share their skills and experience with the world and become successful photographers whether it is as a hobby or potential career.”

Mr. Peña assures that he hopes to “display students work throughout the school and hopefully it will inspire other fellow peers to want to become part of a blossoming club.”

Mr. Peña states that his primary goal as an advisor is to “engage the students to want to become better at photography through guiding them, encouraging them to practice the craft as much as possible.” He mentions that he assures his students who attend the meetings to “make every shot count.”

Photo by Kimberly Martinez.

When asking Mr. Peña about his interest for starting the club, he gave us some personal information by stating “I’ve always liked photography I am a professional photographer outside of teaching.”

Furthermore, he mentions how he has always been asked about photography through the high school in past years, and “how come there is not a course or a club?”

Fast forward to this year, he states,“You have to start somewhere, so now that we have a club going we now have a foundation to work off of and take it towards the right direction.”

In essence, Mr. Peña mentions how he is aiming to “establish a serious club where student will use it has a stepping stone to better themselves and grow artistically using the camera.”

If you are interested in joining the club, make sure to stop by G-138 to talk to Mr. Peña!