It’s hard to oversate the passion that librarians Emma and Kevin Rogan feel for the photography club they run in Glens Falls, and the groups of kids they get to work with.
“Of all the things I do at the library, this is my favorite thing. I’ve worked at the library since 2007. I’ve been involved in tons of really meaningful things that I love, but this is the best,” said Kevin.
Monica SandreczkiHow these Glens Falls librarians use photography to encourage kids’ confidence
Kevin and Emma Rogan in front of the Shutter Squad exhibit. Photo: Monica Sandreczki.
Throughout the year, young shutterbugs from around the Glens Falls area meet up at the Crandall Public Library for Shutter Squad. Since 2019, the Rogans have welcomed kids from far flung communities like Crown Point, Clifton Park and the Washington County town of Shushan.
Nearly every season, they train and equip a different group of nine kids with their own DSLR camera (paid for through a grant from Glens Falls’ Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation) to have 24 hours a day for 12 weeks to document their worlds, develop their own styles and express who they are.
Then, the kids come back together after school every other week to share their work and learn what they’re drawn to in an image.
“We’ll project [their] photos [onto] a big television screen in the class. A lot of times, I’m not seeing them because Emma is working with them on her laptop, then they get shot up there and I’ll audibly go, ‘woah! That’s amazing!'”
To talk about style and perspective, the Rogans start by sharing iconic photos from artists they admire, like the street photography of Henri Cartier-Bresson, or Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans who documented the impact of the Great Depression.
(Left) The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1954). 1. “Early Californian” by Dorothea Lange.(Right) Photo by Chloe Monroe, member of the Summer 2021 Shutter Squad.
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“We’re not telling them: ‘You have to think these are great,’ but ‘what do you think of it? What do you like about this?’ Then introducing them to the principles behind it. ‘I like the angle.’ OK, so the perspective of the shot, and getting them to think how you could take a photo of a subject 20 different ways. ‘How close are you? What’s your angle in relation to it?’ Then getting them to find their own style, and you see it! Like this one here…”
Kevin points to one photo on display in the Shutter Squad exhibit on the lower level of the Crandall Public Library, outside of the Folklife Center.
“I wish I had more wall space in my house because I would print myself a copy of this and have it on the wall,” said Kevin.
Iris Fernbach, member of the Fall 2023 Shutter Squad, he said, would bring her camera out on walks with her mom, and came across this angel made out of string, hung on what looks like a telephone pole.
She took several shots from a few angles, which the Rogans teach in class.
“It really paid off. Such a seemingly simple thing at first, and through this girl’s eyes, it’s art. Unquestionably art. She’s gotten so close to the angel, which was probably only a few inches tall, almost like a Christmas ornament, making it seem grand and larger than life,” he said.
(Left) Photo by Aiden Schechter, member of the Summer 2023 Shutter Squad.(Right) Photo by Darrell Perry, member of the Fall 2019 Shutter Squad.
“You could put these in any gallery in the country and they wouldn’t be out of place.”
At the end of each session, Kevin and Emma print out photos from each student, cut mats, frame the images and hang them with exhibit cards in the Shutter Squad exhibit. Then, they host a reception and invite the young artists and their families and teachers.
Parents have told the Rogans their kids couldn’t find anything else they felt like they clicked with until Shutter Squad, then ask for recommendations on cameras to buy.
Photo by Greyson Vanbrielle-Rouse, member of the Spring 2023 Shutter Squad.
That love for photography is at the heart of what the Rogans are trying to pass on. For Emma, learning photography was life-changing. She studied darkroom photography at Adirondack Community College (now SUNY Adirondack) and Burlington College, and now works as a library assistant in the children’s section.
“That experience was so peaceful to me, which sounds strange, but the process of the chemicals and seeing everything appear, it always made me feel very comfortable and confident, where you might not always have the best self-esteem when you’re young. Photography was definitely an escape,” said Emma.
She teared up talking about how she sees photography give the kids the same boost in confidence it offered her.
“I get very emotional because they share so much with you,” said Emma. “I don’t think I ever expected it to mean so much to them.”
She hopes they continue with photography as they get older, but even if they don’t, she says she cherishes the time they spend together and feeling like she and Kevin have played a big part in their lives for that time.
“It’s an amazing thing. You can change these kids’ lives. Who knows where this is going to go? Or, if they’re ever having a hard time and not be able to express how they’re feeling, maybe you could do it with art,” said Kevin.