Voices Behind Photographs

Behind the Scenes of AP Photography’s Teacher Feature

As a tribute to the exquisite work in AP photography’s latest project featuring the Teachers of Stone Ridge, the journalism crew wanted to go behind the scenes of their work and uncover the true meaning of their photographs. I had the opportunity to speak with some of the teachers who were photographed including Ms. Johnson, Mr. Raza, and Ms. Heetderks, and I am now lucky enough to share what they had to say about these pictures.

Mrs. Johnson

By Helena Torres

MC: Why did you choose to portray this part of yourself for the photography project?

HJ: I think i just love animals. If people didn’t get that already, this is just one more way to kinda reiterate that this is my passion in life, is being with animals, and pets and nature, and sharing it with people as a class pet. Kijani is going to be 5 this summer, she’s 4 right now, because she started the same year I did. This is my fifth year and she turned one after my first year.

MC: Would you say the identity you portray in this photo represents an important part of who you are or more of a side hobby you enjoy?

HJ: It’s just who I am, and who I always have been, even as a kid.

MC: What do you want the viewers of this photo to know about the picture, yourself, or both?

HJ: Hopefully… I just want people to know that that’s just what I’m passionate about. I’ve always been an animal lover, and I just care so much about human animal relationships. That’s really why environmental science and biology are just the greatest to me.

MC: It doesn’t get better than that, being able to take what you’re passionate about in your outside life, and bring it into your classroom each day for teaching.

HJ: Yeah exactly that’s the best thing, and that’s why it’s so cool being able to have Kijani here, because I get to see when you form relationships with her, I mean as much as you can with a turtle (laughs). I like having life in the classroom. I just want my room to be an area where people want to be and I think Kijani helps with that.

Mr. Raza

By Jordan Covell

MC: Why did you choose to portray this part of yourself for the photography project? And, did they ask you to wear this or was it your choice?

AR: No it was my idea. I was trying to think of something that people did not know much about me, and the fact that clothes in my country look like dresses, I thought that would be kind of cool because guys don’t wear dresses over here. And I like those clothes. They’re so comfortable and so nice, and I would like to wear them everyday, but I have to wear a tie (laughs). So I thought that could give me a good reason to do that [wear the clothes].

MC: Would you say the identity you portray in this photo represents an important part of who you are or more of a side hobby you enjoy?

AR: It’s a tough question, because I do know that coming from Pakistan, I have to sometimes explain myself a lot because there are a lot of things that culturally people don’t know about me, that makes it awkward for me when I come into conversations here in the US. So yeah I guess it’s a big part of me yeah, because till I was 18 I was in Pakistan. All my knowledge is from there, and I don’t relate to things in America as well because of that background. So I wanted to share that.

MC: What do you want the viewers of this photo to know about the picture, yourself, or both?

AR: I like to have fun. I wanted to do something different, something that showed how much I enjoyed being in school, and how much I enjoy teaching. So whatever picture they wanted to take of me, I wanted to somehow communicate joy. And I like that this picture shows that. I didn’t realize at the time, but it shows. Oh, and the shoes… Out of all the things that need to be in the picture the shoes need to be in. So that’s what I love.

Mrs. Heetderks

By Tatiana Ortega

MC: Why did you choose to portray this part of yourself for the photography project?

KH: I asked if the girls could come into the picture because I thought that would be fun. And were all new at stone ridge in the past two years, so I thought it was a cool way of saying together, we are our own kind of stone ridge girls

MC: I would assume the identity you portray in this photo represents an important part of who you are?

KH: Yes, I think if you go up to the picture, i think it definitely displays me and my daughters. My middle daughter was really goofy during the whole photoshoot, trying to get her to pose sweetly was very difficult. I think what I like about the picture is that I am smiling, but there is also a sense of pain. And I think there’s something to true to parenting about that. That i am both happy and very much enjoying being with my girls, but I’m also a little bit stressed, because I was trying to get my girls to just pose for a nice picture. I was just like, ‘come on be nice’… There’s a little tenseness in this picture, and in being at Stone Ridge and having my own children here. You know, for wanting me to reflect well on them, and wanting them to reflect well on me, that tension. You know like my daughter didn’t have her hair brushed this morning. She was really just refusing it, and I was like I don’t want people thinking we don’t brush hair in my house (laughs).

MC: Luckily not many people here brush their hair, so she’s not alone.

KH: That’s true; she’s just a Stone Ridge girl.

MC: What do you want the viewers of this photo to know about the picture, yourself, or both?

KH: I think that’s what I want people to know. That parenting is very joyful, and my smile is genuine, but there’s also a underlying sense of tension and fear around parenting, and I don’t think kids always realize that about their parents. That there’s just a lot of stress in parenting, but also joy. Oh, and that I love them.

More Pictures from the project…

Mr. Rosenberg