Despite new gun laws and regulations, the country is still uneasy about firearms. During this past semester there has been more shooting on campus than ever before in school history.

Now that attentions have been captured, don’t worry, Davis High’s students are as safe as ever.  These shooting incidents are not of the lethal sort, but rather the new photography class learning to capture the perfect shot.

“I love the new photography class. It’s awesome and Mr.Oram does a really great job with it,” praised Senior class member Alyssa Miller.

Miller, along with a handful of other students, was originally involved with the school photography club prior to the formation of a class. The want for higher quality pictures in the yearbook kick started plans for an official photography class.

“The club was doing a lot of photography for the yearbook. In order to have more time to train students and get better pictures for the yearbook, we decided to offer this class so that they could have a lot more instruction and practice then students were able to get in the club,” explained photography class teacher, Kelly Oram.

Oram himself admitted to having been ‘bitten by the bug’ of photography about five years back. Now, he has progressed into a self taught photographer sharing his talent daily with high school students.

“He [Oram] is really good at making sure we know how to grow as a photographer, but also he shows us what we’ve done right too,” said Junior class member Rebecca Manning.

A growing photographer needs to explore all the possibilities offered by a camera. Part of class curriculum was sampling some that potential in order to discover what element of photography students would enjoy the most.

“We’ve done studio, nature, landscape, and macro photography. He [Oram] has given us a lot of tips and trick. He’s also gone over a lot of the equipment we can use and what it will do. It’s taught me more about photography and how to be a better photographer,” said Manning.

After the first ever semester of the photography class, it seems to be heading straight for success. Other photographers are even impressed by the what the classes have been able to produce.

“The folks down at Picture Line, a big really good photography business in Salt Lake, are amazed. Absolutely amazed at what our high school can do. They say its every bit professional photography that they see from anyone. They’re just absolutely flabbergasted at how good these kids end up being,” said Oram.

If students are interested in flabbergasting professionals, they can sign up for the semester long class. It is offered fourth period and counts as an elective credit.  Look below to enjoy a sample of the shots captured by the Davis High photography class and club.

Gallery • 13 Photos