Community Darkroom’s book Sharper Image was just recently completed and distributed among its contributors in the past weeks. Community Darkroom is an organization through Genesee Center for the Arts and Education, in which inner city students (7th-9th) learn about black and white photography. Wilson Foundation Academy Photo Club hosts the program to allow students to explore the wonders of photography and be apart of a larger project. The students learn how to composite, shoot, and mate photos over sixteen weeks through field trips around the city.

PUB has been working with Community Darkroom for several years now, providing workshops on scanning, InDesign and Photoshop. They show the students how to layout their images and add text. Several PUB members work with the project each year and fulfill the demands of project manager and production manager. Along with offering workshops, PUB also oversees the printing of the book with the help of Xerox. Xerox donates all the press time for the body of the book to be printed. This was the first year the book was created as a case bound book, a large leap for the organization.

The book was given out to all the students and volunteers on April 4 at the award ceremony. Students also received a camera for their participation in the program. The students find the experience extremely awarding and having a positive impact in all aspects. The book reflects the student’s lives and tell a story about each individual one, an aspiring accomplishment. PUB annually contributes to this rewarding program, hoping to bring inspiration to the teenagers’ lives.