Image by Sydney Arroyo, junior 
In This Issue
Co-Op: SNL
Project Home
Assignment Photography
HS Contest Reception
News
Quick Links


The winter season is off to a great start. The 2013 Drexel Photography High School Contest work represents some of the best high school photographers that we have seen to date; the opening reception details are below. Additionally, we have Accepted Student's Days on February 22, March 9, April 6 and April 12. In the event that you cannot make any of the dates, we would love to have you visit the facility, feel free to contact Elizabeth Timmons to set up a personal tour. 

Co-Op: SNL
Expanding Experiences   
 
Junior, Sydney Arroyo, is spending her Co-Op in New York City in the Photography Department of Saturday Night Live. We reached out to Sydney to hear about her experience, below is her story.
 

My name is Sydney and I am spending my co-op as an intern in the photography department of Saturday Night Live. Writing out that sentence takes me back to fifth grade, when I had to fill out a questionnaire about my future. I remember writing something along the lines of being famous like Annie Leibovitz. I naively thought that it was a wish that could easily come true. But, here I am today working for the famous photographers Maryellen Matthews and Dana Edelson at SNL, a show that I've grown up loving! I must say, I have never experienced waking up in the morning and being excited to go to work until I started working here. There's a quote that says, "If you love your job you will never work a day in your life." Well, I can say that quote is true. Working at Saturday Night Live for these photographers has truly been a dream come true and it has really showed me that I made the right decision with photography.

  

Sydney was credited on SNL's website.

 

While working at SNL I have the opportunity to work hands on in the field while being introduced very exciting and talented people, one's I would not have had the opportunity to meet outside of this position. As a photo intern I am shooting behind the scenes photos, photographing at pre-tapes (the digital shorts for the show), setting up the shoots for the bumpers (the fancy photos of the hosts and musical guests), printing and editing photos, archiving work and more. I still cannot believe how much I get to do. This co-op has taught me what photography is like as a career and I've really enjoyed it. Every week is a new, exciting adventure and I cannot get enough of it! Co-op is truly what you make of it and I have already learned a lot from my experiences; in fact, I don't want to leave! I am so very grateful for the experience. 

 

Saturday Night Live is just another example of the wonderful network of co-op opportunities that the Photography Program has curated for our students. 
 
Project Home
Student Outreach

 

 

 

Seniors Shan Cerrone and Steven Yen are active volunteers with Project Home, a unique place among homeless outreach centers in that it works specifically to rehabilitate those in need to get them off the streets and back to their self-sustaining lives. Project Home provides community services such as their open format art program where residents can draw, paint, sculpt, or work on any visual mixed media of their choice using the program's resources. 

 

 

Volunteering at the art program is a great way for the students to use the design skills they have learned to help those who either already have plentiful talent, or are just looking to release some creative energy. Every Monday, Shan and Steven volunteer at group sessions mentoring residents with their art, helping them with supplies, or to provide a listening ear and give human interaction.  Several times a year the Project displays exhibitions of Project Home's members artwork around Philadelphia; recently at the Free Library on the Parkway and in the lobby of the URBN center.  Coordinating the exhibitions provides the students with real world gallery experience that consists of helping the residents to select which art they want to hang, how to price it, and then framing or matting their art to install at the various spaces.  

 

"It's an incredibly rewarding experience to work with those in need in such a creative space, and actually seeing the impact you can have on the community with just a few hours every week," said Shan Cerrone. In addition to working directly with the program participants on creative projects, the students provide photography for PR, help the participants connect with creative networks to further their artistic career, and doing video interviews of participant's stories and anything in between.

 

Photographs by Shan Cerrone
 
Assignment Photography
Faculty News

 

I am happy to announce the addition of Jason Varney to our adjunct faculty roster. I am committed to providing our students with the best education and industry experience and Jason will be a great addition to our faculty.
 
Jason Varney is teaching our Assignment Photography course, bringing his expansive commercial and editorial experience to our students. He is an alumni of the Photography Program and is a Philadelphia-based food, travel, and lifestyle photographer who has worked with everyone from celebrity restaurateurs to local farmers. Jason's work has garnered praise from many of Philadelphia's leading magazines and restaurants since 2007 and can now be seen in regularly major national publications including Bon App�tit and Travel & Leisure. Jason has traveled the world on assignment but is equally happy shooting recipes in his studio. His body of work includes cookbooks, hospitality branding, feature stories and covers for national print magazines, and advertising campaigns for major food brands. Some of his clients include Citizen's Bank, Food Network, GQ, Hershey, Lostine, Samsung and UPS.
 
Photographs provided by Varney Photo
 
2013 High School Contest
Join Us!  

I would like to personally invite you to 2013 Drexel Photography High School Contest Opening Reception on Saturday, February 8th from 1-3pm. We will be exhibiting the work at our photography gallery located at the Photography Facility located at the NE corner of 33rd and Arch Streets, from February 8th to March 10th, 2014. We are looking forward to seeing you on the 8th!
 
Alumni, Faculty and Student News
Press and Shows

 

Michael Froiofacility manager, will be presenting his lecture, From the Mainline: A Contemporary Survey of the Pennsylvania Railroad, on Sunday, February 9th at 1:30pm. Mike received a jurors award for one of his Mainline Project pieces in the Photography 33 Exhibition at the Perkins Center of the Arts; the show runs from February 1st - March 28th.

 

Niko Kallianiotis, adjunct faculty, will be showing his body of work titled Pikroglykimalon in the Fine Arts Photography Gallery at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA from March 3rd - April 14th. Additionally, Niko was recently interviewed for an upcoming feature article in Top Photography Films - an Online Photography Magazine.

 

Andrea Modica, faculty, is currently exhibiting several of her prints at the Art Intersection in Gilbert, AZ until March 1st as part of their exhibition titled "Eternal Platinum - Contemporary Platinum/Palladium Prints". Andrea is also teaching a class at ICP, The Interpretive Portrait, on February 15th and 16th as well as speaking at the Colby Museum of Art on March 5th. She had her photograph titled "Pine Plains, NY" published in Jill Enfield's new text book, Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes: Popular Historical and Contemporary Techniques

 

Jason Varney, adjunct professor & alumni, recently completed the photography for the cookbook Gluten Free Pasta by Robin Asbell and ad campaigns for Hershey, Auntie Anne's, Lostine and Pilot & Captain. Additionally, Jason has work in the February issues of Food & Wine and Garden & Gun and the March issues of Cooking Light, Delta Sky and Philadelphia Magazine.  

 
Alumni, please don't forget to let us know what you are doing.  We would love to hear (and feature) any exhibitions, new work, contests, articles, or anything else that you have been doing.  Send us an email or catch us on Facebook with your news today. 

  

Sincerely,

Paul Runyon, Sr.

Program Director