Borrego Sun - Since 1949

After a long career as a professional photographer, the newest volunteer teaching students’ skills, is vice-president of the Borrego Springs Art Guild, Tom Hogan. “I spend a lot of time in some very odd places.” states Hogan, who finds himself drawn to cemeteries and submits hundreds of photographs a year to a stock agency in Germany following the sale of his photography studio in 2012.

His personal love and career of choice, has brought an opportunity for the children participating in ‘Outside the Box’. “Middle schoolers are a breed apart,” he says, “they’re so spontaneous. My ideas of things to look at don’t always coincide with what they want to look at.” But the pride in the children and his enthusiasm to continue teaching them has led Hogan to try and get more camera equipment for them to use. Currently, the donated equipment is shared between middle and high school children. Hogan would like to gather up older cameras and sell them for newer equipment. Donors receive a tax receipt which is eligible for a deduction, and the children get to continue learning to see the world around them. Eventually, Hogan aims to find a computer he can use just for the photography lessons, a way for the children to download and edit the images they have taken.

“At the moment, I only get an hour with them which is no time at all. School can teach aperture and shutter speed.” said Hogan “They can’t teach you how to see. The only way to learn is to shoot.”