Kate's Passion Project

From Pixels to Poems

Hello, my name is Kate and I am going to introduce you to my Passion Project.

Have you had something you’d always wanted to try but never really decided to try it? For me that was photography. Luckily at Selwyn House in Year 8 we are given the opportunity to choose one or two of our passions and create a project including it/them.

I have always loved writing poetry and I have always wanted to try photography, so for my Passion Project I decided to include both. I am planning on publishing and selling a poetry and landscape photography book, with a theme of trees, and donating the proceeds to ‘Toitoi - A Journal For Young Writers and Artists’ because Charlotte Gibbs, the creator and operator of Toitoi is extremely dedicated and only makes money when someone orders a book.

I feel like it would be nice to donate there because it is an amazing opportunity for young artists and writers. The Creative Writing program at Selwyn House is always entering into Toitoi.

So far I have written 6 poems with a couple on the go and taken many photos in different places like Queenstown, Tekapo, Christchurch and Pegasus. It was really cool because different areas have different feels and it’s easier to write about things that have feeling.

I have talked to Jo Grams, a photographer who does classes at the school, about the camera I should use (I had two) but she said I should use my phone because the cameras were very automatic and were harder to customise. I talked to her again and we discussed editing apps and online publishers. She gave me some of her favourites to check out.

Something I have learnt while doing this is the line of thirds, don’t put something in the middle of the frame keep it in the top or bottom half and when taking horizon photos keep the horizon line straight, not angled. Also that not only sunny days make for good pictures. You can get interesting photos if you take them on snowy, rainy or cloudy days.

Check out and support Charlotte, the founder and operator of Toitoi by clicking HERE.

Take a look at my Passion Project Blog by clicking HERE.

To see my Passion Project iMovie, click HERE.