Learning to see is the beginning of becoming.
Becoming documents an experimental pedagogical process in which photography was introduced within the visual arts curriculum as a language for observation and communication, critical thinking, and self-awareness.
Conceived and developed with full pedagogical autonomy, the course was integrated into regular art hours and adapted in response to students’ needs, sensibilities, and cultural context. Images emerged through guided practice, dialogue, and reflection, allowing photography to function not only as visual production, but as a tool for learning, articulation, and personal growth.
This approach continues to evolve through new educational contexts, including ongoing experimental work with younger students in elementary grades within Indigenous community schools.
Photographs by students of the Photography Program,
Haida Gwaii Secondary School — Masset, Haida Gwaii.
Isaac Binnema — The Heart of the Adventure
Freya Murphy – Capturing Beauty in Masset
Devlin Brown – Freedom
Maya Sanmia – Connection or Interconnectedness?
Maya Sanmia – Connection or Interconnectedness?
Isaac Binnema — The Heart of the Adventure
Nashville Layson – There is Always a Rainbow… –
Violet Rogers – The Beauty of Nothingness
Kadance Romanchych - Moods
Kadance Romanchych - Moods
Zefir Hepburn – Connection between Nature
Zefir Hepburn – Connection between Nature
Tyler Collison – Season of Light
Tyler Collison – Season of Light
Freya Murphy – Capturing Beauty in Masset
Devlin Brown – Freedom
Violet Rogers – The Beauty of Nothingness
Nashville Layson – There is Always a Rainbow… –
To exist is to be seen.
To be seen is to begin to become.
And becoming never ends.
Photography as a Language
Photography is a language.
A way of speaking without words.
A way of listening.
Over time, the camera becomes an extension of the eye.
A gesture of attention.
To photograph means to write with light.
Light entering.
Time passing.
A surface that holds memory.
Aperture, shutter speed, ISO
are not rules,
but choices.
Every image begins with a decision:
where to stand,
when to wait,
what to leave out.
A photobook is not an album.
It is a narrative.
It has rhythm, pauses, direction.
Editing teaches how to let go.
Not every image needs to remain.
Photography asks for intention.
And it asks for care.
No software can save an image
that was never truly seen.
These books mark a passage.
Not an ending.
To keep photographing
is to keep choosing,
to keep learning.