There is just one week left until the June 30th deadline for students to submit to The Energy Project: Through a Young Lens.
Below are some recent images that we’ve received from students from across the country, who were asked by their teachers to photograph what energy means to them.
Look for more new images to be posted in the student galleries in the coming weeks, with the best pictures being exhibited in a special students-only show this October at the Henry’s Photographic, Video & Digital Imaging Show in Mississauga.
“Nothing can compare to the energy that flows through the human body. For my photo, I chose to show just that – the energy the human body possesses, from the science and chemical reactions that create energy in the brain to the sheer power it takes to push from the ground and leap into the air,” says Jane Haggarty. A Grade 11 student at The Country Day School in King, Ontario, Jane executed her idea by photographing her dancer-friend Lizzy Paul doing various jumps atop a reservoir. Lying on the ground to get an angle that made Lizzy look like she was high above the trees, Jane took dozens of pictures to get this shot. “A 16-year-old girl possesses enough energy to throw her body into that air and has the strength to control all her muscles and limbs,” Jane says. “Energy is responsible for talent, it is responsible for intelligence, it is responsible for everything.” Photo by Jane Haggarty, The Country Day School.
“Carter McKee used kinetic energy to throw this ball down the stairs. Gravity will do the rest and pull it to the ground,” say Rahul Arora and Carter, Grade 5 students at Bayview Glen School in Toronto who worked together to make this picture. Photo by Rahul Arora and Carter McKee, Bayview Glen School.
“Water is the stuff of life,” say Rachel Foley and Amy Qiao, the Grade 5 students in Anthony Chuter’s class at Bayview Glen School who photographed this leaf. “Photosynthesis is an amazing process where plants convert water and sunlight into energy. All life depends on it for energy and life.” Photo by Rachel Foley and Amy Qiao, Bayview Glen School.
‘This (photo) isn’t about electrical towers or recycling initiatives or solar panels – it’s about life’s cycles and mothers and their young,” says Joanna Becket. “(It) has something to say about our most natural sources of energy.” It was during a Loyalist College multiple picture assignment on a 58-acre sheep farm near Foxboro, Ontario that Joanna captured this moment between an Arcott purebread ewe and her lambs. It was lambing time at farm run by former teacher and school principal Elwood Palmateer and his wife Barb, and at last count 34 lambs had been born over the course of a few weeks, Joanna says. “Lambs were everywhere, from newborns birthed during the night to week-old toddlers bouncing on shaky legs. I took this photo in an area called the ‘community creep,’ where the mothers and their young spend time until the lambs are strong enough to go outside . . . I thought this was a perfect moment. The triplets’ frantic scramble for position, their boney legs and backsides jutting out at odd angles from beneath the ewe. The direct, knowing look in the mother’s eyes in the moment may be subtle and a bit quirky, but I think it captures energy and motherhood in a compelling way.” Says Joanna: “Mothers everywhere will get this. And with any luck, it will make them laugh.” Photo by Joanna Becket, Loyalist College.
Jason Chan says his photo illustrates the varieties and the amount of candy children eat – “especially during Halloween. Candy is a common and large source of energy because of the amount of sugars and glucose in the candy itself,” Jason says. “It is also one of the most enjoyable sources of energy.” Photo by Jason Chan, Toronto Montesorri Schools.
Grade 11 student Sarah Mantella says she photographed Kerrigan Brown surrounded by RedBull energy drinks because she wanted to make a statement about our addiction to energy. “When asked to take a photograph to represent ‘energy,’ there are a variety of different interpretations. I thought about energy and the problems that society is facing trying to diminish the amount of energy we use. (But) I feel that the extreme difficulty in this comes from our addiction to it. I wanted to make a statement . . . in a much more literal sense,” Sarah says. “The message in the photo is that if we continue on in the downward spiral of today’s energy addiction, we will all face the inevitable – the crash of our quick-paced addiction.” Photo by Sarah Mantella, The Country Day School.
“Every day people waste energy,” says photographer Shayan Shakeri-Nezhad. “When people waste, then power plants must generate more power and release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which causes global warming.” The Grade 5 student at Bayview Glen School asks: “Can we reduce our energy needs?” Photo by Shayan Shakeri-Nezhad, Bayview Glen School.
“Using alkaline batteries is not energy efficient,” says Victoria Bysfield, a Grade 5 student at Bayview Glen School in Toronto. Victoria, who spelled out ENERGY WASTE! with the batteries, says we should use rechargeable ones instead. “Over (the) long term you save money by recharging them over and over again,” Victoria says. But also, to dispose of used alkaline batteries, “you have to send them to a special recycling plant – and you have to keep buying them.” Photo by Victoria Bysfield, Bayview Glen School.
Elmwood High School student Katherine Dow took this photos in front of a Subway restaurant on Talbot Avenue in Winnipeg. “With the water rising, people are freaking out. Water, in Manitoba, is a huge energy force, and that’s proven with floods and currents.” Photo by Katherine Dow, Elmwood High School.
Katherine Dow took this picture of herself on the bridge going over The Forks in Winnipeg. “My hair is blowing in the gusty wind,” says Katherine. “Wind is a big energy force.” Photo by Katherine Dow, Elmwood High School.
Jenny Reddick, a Grade 11 student at The Country Day School in King, Ontario, photographed her sister Lyndsay on the swings. “To me, energy is youth. When I think energy, I think of sugar highs and playgrounds, This shot was taken at the park near where my sister and I grew up. Anytime we would have too much dessert and get all hyped up on sugar our mom would take us to this park to run off all of our energy. The thing was, it was like we had an endless supply of energy. Those were the days when I would use every element of the playground countless times until it was time to go home. And even then, I would run all the way home. Being a kid is about having the energy to do whatever you want. We could do anything when we were little.” Photo by Jenny Reddick, The Country Day School.
