In recent years, there has been an explosion of photography into the high school scene. From budding amateurs to shutter-seasoned veterans, a multitude of students have taken up the hobby as a creative outlet that they can use to share their creations with the world. These Hayfield students boast different equipment, settings, and stories, but they are all united through their shared love for photography.

Owen Kashawlic 

  @_shotbykash_

How long have you been shooting? What inspired you to start?

“I started shooting around August but I started taking pictures in July for my baseball team. I started shooting because I got hurt playing baseball, so I had nothing to do with my team and wanted to contribute. I picked up a camera my parents had and then eventually got a good camera right before school started.”

What equipment do you use?

“I use a Sony Alpha 6100 and I have a couple lenses along with a mic and some other accessories.”

What is your favorite thing to take photos of?

“I think just sports in general. I mean I’ve played sports my whole life and I know how to capture the emotion in the game. I know what the good moments are in sports, so I think it makes me conditioned to capture those moments.”

How has photography impacted you?

“I think I was pretty down when I got hurt in the summer and had to take time off, and I still haven’t played baseball since July. But I think this kind of got me out of that mental state so that I could still contribute to my team over the summer but also contribute to my school and to my community.”

Wilfrido Romero-Vail

  @willy_frido

How long have you been shooting? What inspired you to start?

“When I was in 7th grade I started doing Photography Club with Dr. Kinder. What inspired me was that my mom told me I had to find something that interested me, and I liked technology and stuff related to that so I took

up photography. To this day I still take pictures with Dr. Kinder.”

What equipment do you use?

“Right now I’m using a Canon EOS 70, which is actually the camera that Dr. Kinder was loaning me for a few years until last year he decided he would give it to me so that I could do my own photography.”

What is the hardest part for you?

“The hardest part is definitely the editing, because you’re trying to find the best edits for every photo. Not every photo comes out very well, and people want the results quick, but they can be dark, blurry, and more.”

What do you hope to gain from photography?

“Right now I’m trying to start a little business. I’m just taking it little by little. I did a wedding recently and got paid for that, and honestly I’ll probably just try to start a photography business so that I can take pictures for every single type of event.”