Students in the morning, they get transformed into amateur photographers in the afternoon
I met a group of them on Panepistimiou Street during their Sunday outing. They looked like raucous tourists, taking pictures right and left. In fact they are students who put aside their books on mathematics, civil law and macroeconomics and deny themselves the pleasure of an afternoon coffee in order to dip into the mysteries of photography. They are based at the Athens University Club on Ippocratous Street. «I walk around Athens all day; my mind fills up with pictures and something impelled me to record them,» said Nadia, a student at Athens University Law School. «I feel fulfilled through photography. It is my means of communication with reality,» said Yiannis Pallas, who is in charge of the lessons and is a fourth-year student in the International and European Studies Department of Athens Economic and Business University, For some of the 300 students who enroll in the photography course each year, the journey ends after a year; for others, the experience lasts a lifetime. The longest-serving members in the photography section of Athens University Students’ Cultural Group (POPFA), which has been operating for 18 years, are those who have undertaken the task of teaching. «Volunteerism pervades our relationship with images and the business of handing on knowledge to the next investigators,» explained Yiannis. Despite dropouts, those who teach the course don’t lose their sense of humor. «After Christmas, quite a few drop out because they lack the energy, interest or time. We have had groups of 40 that have dwindled down to five, but we don’t give up the effort,» said Giorgos, a technical college graduate in photography, who teaches one class. The only prerequisites for participants are a camera, free time and a love for the magic click of the shutter. The club’s old building is brought to life every day by the five groups of aspiring photographers. I meet the Friday group in the hall on the fifth floor that law students let the photography students use. Ready for action, with their cameras slung over their shoulders or in their bags, they surge into the room. «Are there any questions about light meters?» asks Yiannis. The room livens up. It turns out that quite a few have difficulties with light meters and many others are worried about them; Yiannis and Panayiotis try to calm things down. «We’ll go over it until we understand where the problem is,» Panayiotis reassures the students. Artistic concerns do not stop during the break. The pupils form a circle around their instructors, trying to find answers to their questions. The lights go out so that the images of famous photographers can be displayed. Now, according to the schedule, they are to study the work of Brassai. The students are impressed by his black-and-white photographs and also by his choice of subjects that were risque in his time – prostitutes, homosexuals and other characters from the margins of Parisian society. «Theater, cinema and art education open new horizons in the way a photographer approaches his or her subjects,» said Maria, a student of communication, media and culture at Panteion University who teaches this group. Photography is the great passion of Manolis, who studies agronomy. «Through photography we experiment and learn to see things on the street that others cannot see,» he remarked with a smile. Without action there is no photography. That is why the group’s weekends are dedicated to outings in the city. «In this way we all get used to using cameras and we bond as a group,» said Manolis. The process of developing films has its own magic. The dark room is a sanctum for its devotees and the atmosphere that develops in the club’s two dark rooms is reminiscent of a ritual. «It isn’t hard to learn to develop photographs,» explained Yiannis. «The magic in developing is that you can completely change the image, highlighting aspects you like or cutting out the ones you don’t like. Many artists, such as as [Cartier] Bresson, believe the value of a photograph emerges at the moment it is taken. I believe it is worth exploiting all the possibilities we have,» said Maria. In the student’s work, black-and-white photography seems to win out over color and film over digital photos. «Black-and-white is more abstract, it emphasizes the essence and does not try to impress,» claimed Yiannis. Maria, by contrast, does not see color film as inferior. It is just, she says, that «we don’t have the right equipment to develop it.» Digital photography has attracted some of them, while others seem genuinely concerned about the future of film. POPFA has annual exhibitions and albums with the work of the young amateurs (most do not intend to become professional photographers). «Communication with the public is extremely important for us,» We get a boost to our morale and satisfaction,» said Yiannis. «Besides, as Bresson said, a photographer need not be cut off from the outside world,» added Maria, who seems to be very fond of the great photographer. This article first appeared in Kathimerini’s weekly color supplement, K, on Sunday, January 8.
