- April 19, 2024
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The world of photography opened up to Barbara Stanczak at a Crealde School of Art class in Winter Garden.
She came in with Canon Rebel t4i and little knowledge of photography. But as she watched her instructor, Michael van Gelder, she saw his love for photography. It was infectious.
“It’s really what opened the doors for me,” Stanczak said. “I remember walking into the class, and it was in this very large … room. It was kind of dark in there. The tables were in a U-shape, and the instructor was there, and I was a little intimidated. But when I sat there and I watched this person, I could feel their love for what they do — it came through to me.”
She appreciated the class’s organization. Each week she learned a new lesson on a different subject area in photography.
That was 2012. Stanczak has now seen her photography improve tremendously, and she credits Crealde with helping her get there.
“The folks at Crealde really do make an effort to service our community, and I am guessing that it’s not tremendously convenient for them to come all of the way out here, but they do, and they do make a difference in some people’s lives,” Stanczak said.
Crealde, which is based in Winter Park, hosts several Winter Garden-based classes at the Jessie Brock Community Center. Crealde has several instructors, but some instructors, including the photography instructors, travel to teach classes.
Stanczak’s schedule didn’t allow her to attend Photography 2 classes, so she worked one-on-one with the instructor to expand her knowledge.
Her photos now are often displayed at the Winter Garden Art Association’s galleries, and she is grateful for all Crealde did for her.
Stanczak finds joy in photographing interesting details and unique lighting — a dew on the petal of a flower, a wisp of hair in her granddaughter’s face and a bee buzzing in a flower.
Stanczak’s photograph, “USA: Land of the Free and Home of the Brave,” was featured in a Winter Garden Art Association Show.
To create the piece, Stanczak and her husband ate three apple pies and a package of hot dogs.
On the opening night of the show, a woman purchased it for her husband. She told Stanczak that her husband had been in the military, and the photo moved him.
“It is the only photo that I have done, that I know of, that really touched another person’s heart, which, in turn, touched mine as well,” Stanczak said. “This would most likely never have happened if I had not taken that Crealde Photography I class at the Jessie Brock center.”
Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].
