By: Andres Luis Makilan, Staff Writer

Here at Mills, the freelance photographers hired aren’t the only ones armed with cameras. Sometimes, it’s our very own students who are on the opposite side of the flash, taking photos of school events and whatever else they may find interesting in the city of Millbrae.

One example of such is a photo taken by Leo Palomo (11), which depicts a beat down concrete half-wall plastered with paint from spray cans owned by vandals and street artists alike.

“I borrowed a camera to take photos on my own; to do things like public street photography or taking photos when I’m hanging out with my friends,” says Palomo. “I realized that was something I really enjoyed.”

But of course, their interest in taking photos didn’t just spark because of an epiphany of what they wanted to do overnight. All had some sort of reason or interest in photography that encouraged them to take up the hobby  themselves. One such person is Kaden Chow (11), a photographer and coder for the Mills Robotics Team, Boba Bots.

“I got into photography because of David Huang, who’s an alumni from Mills and was part of the Mills Robotics Team.” Chow says, citing that Huang took him under his wing because he made it clear that not only was he interested in the software side of robotics, but the media side too. “He (David) took me in and taught me how to operate on one of the cameras that he borrowed from Arge’s room.”

He explains that after the freshman year when he was under the tutelage of Huang, he joined a summer photography course in downtown SF to learn even more about the art of photography. “I used it to walk around San Francisco, to take photos.” Even though he already had some experience under his belt, he said that the course showed him how to “look at the smaller details.”

Another reason one could have gotten into photography was the introduction of it  from someone else. An example is Jovian Cheung (11), who was introduced to photography by two people, Chow and David Li, an alumni from Mills. Both of them introduced Cheung to photography, and in return taught him lots of stuff in regards to photography. While they taught him the basics, they did not give him his first camera. His sponsor came in the form of his mom’s friend, who just so happened to be a professional photographer.

Over the amount of time since he’s gotten that camera, his skill and technique has improved. But even though all that time has passed, Cheung still feels a bit of sentimentality regarding his beginnings in photography. “I love the pictures. I love taking pictures, I love capturing moments.” He continued saying that, “They were my first photos, you know, so they’re probably pretty bad. But, I got better, upgraded my camera, and so my setup’s pretty nice now.”

For some, photography can be how they eke out a living, or it can be a simple hobby that they dedicate a small amount of time to. It can also be an outlet for people’s feelings, creativity, and self-expression. This rings true for Palomo, who says that he does photography “because it’s another way I can express myself”. Palomo inherently, is a very artistic person. He likes expressing himself through a number of things; painting, building things in video games like Minecraft, and photography. 

One thing all these people have in common is that they use photography as a way to express themselves, to find creativity in everyday moments, and to capture the world around them. As Palomo simply puts it, “I do photography just to be a more creative person.”