Artist, teacher and photographer Bob Campagna is always amazed when novice photographers make everyday subjects "become alive and beautiful."
It is this enduring amazement that has sustained Campagna's role as an educator and artist-in-residence for more than 30 years. This month, he will share his artistry, skills and expertise with children in Solon.
On July 13, 20 and 24, Campagna will conduct photography workshops at the Solon Public Library as part of the Summer Reading Program. Registration is limited, attendees must be going into fifth grade or above, and participants must bring their own digital cameras. The goal of the workshop is to learn how to use a digital camera, have lessons in photo editing and make a final product using digital images.
Though Campagna's nationally-recognized career has been made through his film photography, this workshop series will be taught using digital cameras, simply because there were no nearby darkroom facilities available. Still, Campagna said, the basic concepts of taking a good photo can be learned using any kind of camera.
"Whether digital or black and white photography, if you are an artist, you can find ways to be creative in both mediums," said Campagna. He starts out teaching some basic skills, but he lets his students take initiative when it is time to click the shutter.
"First, people have to have an understanding of the language and concepts of photography," he said. "I start with the simplest of terms, I show them the finished result, and then together, we study the journey in between."
Campagna began his personal photography journey in Mt. Vernon in the late 1970s, where he worked for the Mt. Vernon Sun newspaper. It was enough of a start to help him open his own studio, Abbe Creek Gallery. Since 1980, Campagna has traveled the Midwest and throughout the world, photographing everything from simple people to majestic landscapes, creating exhibits and photographic series featuring subjects such as barns, doors, bridges and faces. He has taught over 300 workshops to youth, adults, collegiate and community groups.
Campagna now resides in Loveland, Colorado with his wife, who is a teacher in a district where Bob has served as an artist-in-residence, teaching 30 workshops in the last nine years. However, he returns to Iowa frequently to conduct photo workshops and visit relatives, including his children, grandchildren and his mother.
"I haven't forgotten Iowa. I have reasons to be here. It's where my history is," he said.
Always one to appreciate history, Campagna prefers creating photographs on film in his darkroom, particularly for film's superior archival quality.
"With its silver-based processing, if treated right, film photographs will last about 2,000 years," he said, taking a page from Ansel Adam's basic guide to photography, "whereas digital technology's best archival rating is for about 125 years."
And it is the techniques employed inside the darkroom that Campagna said he and his students find most compelling.
"I value the process of making a photograph. In a dark room, that's a very rough-edged process, while a computer is very precise. With digital photography, you can't manipulate the subtleties like you can with film. Besides," he added, sitting at a computer all day is "bad for your posture."
That's why Campagna uses a hands-on-the-camera, eyes-to-the viewfinder approach to teaching.
"I'm not a great lecture-style teacher," he explained. "I give students a lot of chances to 'see' on their own, and communicate through their own eyes with their own interpretations."
Solon student Mattie Cook recently completed a College For Kids photography session with Campagna at the University of Iowa. She vouches for Campagna's teaching style.
"Bob teaches us new aspects of photography, like how to move around from different angles, look for designs and vary your pictures. He somehow has a way of opening your eyes, and you find yourself saying, 'Oh, I never thought of this before,'" Mattie said. "Bob has a really good sense of humor, and he's a very understanding teacher and fun to be around. Plus, seeing his photos make you want to be a better photographer, too."
Campagna believes taking good photos isn't necessarily the result of an inherent talent; even fledgling photographers can be taught to see things in new ways.
"I find photography so diverse and complex, I designed a tool for beginning photographers that helps them try different approaches," he said, such as looking for shadows, patterns or reflections in everyday objects and settings. "You identify the words and concepts of photography, and kids will eventually find an angle that feels good for them."
This year, the exhibit opens with a public reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at Sage Moon Originals, 116 E. Fourth St. The photos will be on display through Dec. 11.