Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)

Micayla Tatum, a sophomore at Henry Clay High School, finds photography fascinating. “My camera will always be a big part of my life,” she says.

If a girl gets a purple point-and-shoot Polaroid for her birthday, pretty soon she’ll want a Nikon D3000. And if she wants a Nikon D3000, she must have an eye not only for good equipment but also for composition. 

Micayla Tatum, who turns 16 this month, is the star of this story. And through the lens of a camera, she has developed into quite an accomplished young photographer.

“I look around and see things, thinking ‘That’ll make a good photo’ – even if I don’t have a camera in my hand,” said the Henry Clay High sophomore. “My camera will always be a big part of my life.”

Micayla’s eye for detail, curiosity and burgeoning skills were rewarded this past summer when she was tapped for the enVision photojournalism workshop at Western Kentucky University, where she spent an intense week taking thousands of pictures.

“It’s a pretty competitive process. Students are selected from all over the country,” said James Kenney, program coordinator at WKU.

Not only was Micayla the youngest in the 10-member group, she was the first Kentuckian ever chosen in enVision’s five-year run. During the summer session, students worked 12- to 14-hour days under a professional photographer, getting hands-on lessons and going out to capture images in such diverse venues as a volleyball camp, a county fair and a water park. For any given assignment, they shot 100 to 300 pictures.

“Their work is edited and looked at by the coach, and they have some pretty intense critiques at night,” Kenney said. “They come out of the experience really transformed as photographers.”

In addition to the one-on-one instruction, the teens had a chance to use high-end equipment that helped them produce consistent, quality work.

“I think I’m a much better photographer than before I went,” said Micayla, who is in the Liberal Arts Academy at Henry Clay, on Student Council and a member of the Animal Rights Club.

These days, she hones her skills on the school newspaper staff with a Nikon D40, sometimes sharing the basics with fellow students in the afternoon class: Remember to focus and get close enough to the subject. Try to shoot away from the lights, which can overexpose the picture. When rotating the camera for verticals, make sure to lock elbows for a steady aim.

“I usually get some pretty candid shots. But you’ll get people who pose. I get a good mix of both,” Micayla said, adding, “I get the creativity of taking (the photo) whether I like the activity or not. Just being there brings out a whole other side of me.”

In her own work, compassion and kindness are frequent themes.

“Things I like show themselves through my pictures. Beautiful things really stand out,” she said. “I look to shoot things for their aesthetic value, but to see how the camera works is cool, too.”

Especially if it’s a brand-new Nikon D3000.