Building on themes from the POV documentary Portraits and Dreams, community members told their story - or that of our region ~ through photography. Original photography was submitted to WSKG in the following themed categories of 'Portraits', 'Dreams', or 'Community'. Here's a look at submissions depicting life in rural/suburban New York and Pennsylvania. Thank you to all participants.
Community Member Photography
BEST OVERALL
Home 1 | Genevieve Pedulla
COMMUNITY
Top Honor | Jonathan’s Tricks | Darlene Gold
Honorable Mention | Millie 4CLS | Jaclyn Praskavich
DREAMS
Top Honor | Working Toward the Dream | C. Bangel
Honorable Mention | March Sadness | C. Bangel
PORTRAIT
Top Honor | Snow Portrait | Gregory Milunich
Honorable Mention | Hercules | Jane Walker
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Student Photography
Gabrielle Backman, Chenango Forks High School “I chose this image because just the overall aura drew me to it. Her smile along with the setting and pure joy made me want to recreate this photo overall. I also felt as though it would be an interesting photo with the newer camera, showing how although the feeling of the picture hasn’t changed, it has also advanced through technology. I also felt as though this was the photo where I looked the most like her. Yes, back then she talked about how her family only had two actual good cameras, one she was allowed to borrow and the other was off-limits. In this photo, it is actually a duo photo, her father let her borrow one of the cameras when she and her friend went to the beach. She took a picture of her friend taking a picture of her, and vise versa. So somewhere out there, her friend still has the photo of herself taken by my mom, just like my mom has the photo she took after they exchanged them. My mom back then took pictures for memories, she often took pictures of her friends, occasions, or landscapes for memories in the future. I can say that I take pictures for the same reasons, I take pictures with my friends for days. Maybe when I’m older that way I can look back and somewhat remember the amount of fun I had had with those special people in my life. Although we both also enjoy taking landscape pictures to remember that there is beauty in the world if you know where to look.”
Cecelia Barry, Chenango Forks High School
“The one with me and Liv is from 1969, my great Aunt Rita and my great
Aunt Teresa. I picked that photo because it is one of the only pics we have of my Aunt Rita because she died at a young age. Yes, my parents took photos for different reasons than we do. The dresses in that photo were handmade so the photo was taken to show off the dresses. Now we just take photos to take photos.”
Gabriella Dietzman, Chenango Forks High School
"I don't know who the younger kid on the far left is, next on the left is Ernest Fassett who is my great-great-uncle, the girl is Helen Fassett who is my great-grandma, and the right is Miles LaRue who is my great-great-uncle. I think my grandma said that the picture was taken in 1922, and it was taken in either Montrose or Stephensville in Pennsylvania.
I chose this photo because it was shocking to me that my grandma's mother knew my grandpa's uncle long before either of my
grandparents were even born. I also choose it because the people in the photo are close to my age. I'm not sure why they took this photo. All of the people in it have been dead for at least ten years. But I talked to my grandparents and they seemed to have taken pictures for similar reasons to me. They said they took them because they were happy, or because they thought something was interesting, or because they wanted to remember it.
The change in technology has changed the way we take photos because my parents and grandparents said that half the time they would get the envelope with their photos and have no idea what the picture was of or there was nothing in it and it was all black. But today all I have to do is retake the photo and keep the ones I like and get rid of the ones that aren't great. "
Kaylee Maietta, Chenango Forks High School
"I took this photo because it was one of the rare moments I realized my dog Duncan was looking straight at me. Dogs are so compassionate, kind, and communicate with us even though they can’t use words. They pick up on our emotions, our moods. I took this photo because I wanted to remember that, at this moment, I felt as if we were connected, and he understood me. I wanted a photo that showed how calm and caring my dog is."
Tirzah Miranda, Chenango Forks High School
"I chose this photo because my mom looks so happy in it! Sunflowers are also my favorite flower, so I felt a connection to the photo. My mom took so many pictures to keep precious memories. She’s big on making scrapbooks and has always taken lots of photos to remember the fun things that she’s done. This one was taken during her senior trip to North Dakota. Ironically, my picture was taken for my senior year! It’s cool that we both have pictures to document our senior years. My mom and I stumbled across this picture looking for another picture of me from when I was younger. I kept this picture because it was so close to the one taken for my senior pictures, but also to the one taken when I was a child.”
Alanna Tompkins, Chenango Forks High School
“I picked this picture because it shows similar situations and the same
technology is being used but it has evolved for around 20 years. I also had the same cabinet used in my mom's picture. We talked about how I used my phone to take this photo and how I was posing for it. But my mom just happened to be talking on the phone after having returned from living in Taiwan where it was completely normal to sit like that. Her friend saw her sitting abnormally and took the photo with her camera. Yes, I think our photos are taken for the same reason. For memories or if something looks fun or interesting. My mom's friend had a nice camera, like a 35 mm Canon or something like that.”
Share your creations on social media using #PortraitsAndDreamsPBS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl5KgVCsSrc&feature=youtu.be
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.