Mikayla in the City Pulse

Mikayla on TV

Mikayla's photo shoot was on the news. Check it out.

Congratulations to Mikayla!!

Ten-year-old NorthWest Initiative Photo student Mikayla Spyker won at the Perspective 2 photo competition. On Sunday, March 7, Mikayla won first place in viewers’ choice and second place in the amateur competition. She competed against professional photographers and college students. Her hard work and dedication have paid off. Congratulations
to Mikayla. We are so proud of you!

Below are her two winning images...

Nature and Composition

This month the youth took pictures around Gier Community Center while they volunteered at a Rummage Sale fund raiser. They were asked to focus on three elements of composition: Rule of Thirds, Simplicity and Framing. We also discussed nature and wrote about why trees are important.

From Mikayla, 10


From Brianna, 14

From Darius, 10

From Lauren, 10

From JaQuan, 13

From Judy, 16

From Tatyanna, 14

"Without trees everything would die. It would be boring and we wouldn't be able to breathe," - Tatyana, 14, and Lauren, 10

From Paul, 13

From David, 10

"Without trees, the world would look like a rock," - David, 10

Video on Working with Shadows and Light

(Taken by Priscila, 10, and Michelle, 6)

Shadows

"My hand looks like a baby hand when I put it out by the tree," - Michelle, 6

"If the world didn't have any trees, it would be plain, not nice and not pretty. I love the snow on the trees and how they're made - like a craft... and the swirls," - Priscila, 10

Film photos from January 2010

From Mikayla

From David

What does your neighborhood look like?

The youth shared cameras and answered three questions with their photographs: What does Lansing look like? What do you like about your neighborhood? And, what would you change about your neighborhood?

From David, 10

"If I could change something about Lansing it would be that we would have less crime," - David, 10

From Brianna

"Lansing is the capital. It's very busy and loud." - Brianna, 14

"I like my neighborhood because it is quiet, there are less people and I live far away from the road." - Brianna, 14

"I want to fix the roads." - Shelby, 13

"I like the people, houses and trees in my neighborhood." - Alysia, 6

"Lansing has lots of beautiful trees and scenery. We have a zoo with lots of trees and plants. We also have a water park with plenty of space to run around." Shelby, 13

From Darius and Nakia

"I wish Lansing had more trees, different kinds of toys at the park and more dogs." - Nakia
"I wish I lived closer to school. I would change the economy and have a bigger yard." - Darius, 10

"Lansing is smaller than India, it has a lot of coffee places and it has big malls." - Nakia, 13

From Lauren and Tatyana

"Lansing is quiet, there are some nice people and I like the flowers." - Lauren, 10
"I would like to change some people so they would be more respectful, more clean and pick trash up after themselves." - Lauren, 10
"I like how that Lansing is quiet, there are nice people and nice houses." - Tatyana, 14

From Mikayla and Paul

Three things I like about my neighborhood are: "funny, my room and my mom." - Paul, 13

"I wish there were more people, more events and more playgrounds in my neighborhood." - Mikayla, 10


From Nick and DeVante

"I like that Lansing has lots of parks, friends and fun. I would change nothing." - Nick, 10

"I like Lansing because it looks cool." - DeVante, 13



"Lansing is smaller than Mexico, there are a lot of stores and restaurants and it has libraries." Tyricia, 16
"I would change the snow, plants and pollution." - Tyricia, 16
"I like the gardens, parks and people." - Tyricia, 16