Camera's eye shows perspective of special students

Photo exhibition has striking range

Gregory Trakimas of Stoneham looks at his photo of tulips in Boston's Public Garden. With him are his photo instructors, Theresa LeBlanc (left) and Betsy Kidder. (Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff)

The photo of the red rake against a blue wall is simple, yet the effect is bold and arresting.

The photographer, bubbly 17-year-old Megan Soloski of Billerica, explained that the rake and wall just attracted her attention.

"It looked very cool - very cool colors together," she said. "The hardest thing [about photography] is you have to be not blurry."

Soloski's photograph is being displayed alongside 15 other images from 16 students of the LABBB (Lexington, Arlington, Bedford, Burlington, Belmont) Collaborative Program, which provides educational and vocational programs for special needs students ages 3 to 22.

The photographs - which range from a striking display of tulips by Gregory Trakimas, 20, of Stoneham to a drenched view of seats in Fenway Park by Chloe Menn, 16, of Medford - each reveal a unique point of view from a group of young people who may look at the world a bit differently.

The photographs were taken as part of LABBB's third "Destination Images" workshop, in which students visited places such as DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Rockport, Dunroven Farm in Harvard, and Old North Bridge in Concord, armed with cameras and curiosity.

Photo instructors Theresa LeBlanc, a vocational counselor and transition specialist, and Betsy Kidder, an occupational therapist, helped the students learn to use the cameras and encouraged them to use their imagination in snapping pictures.

LeBlanc and Kidder then sorted through the hundreds of photos taken and chose one from each student for an exhibit that opened this month at Lexington High School.

"Each one is so individualistic," said Kidder.

The photography workshop was challenging for the students, who face developmental disabilities; one young girl couldn't hold the camera straight at first. Gradually, over the course of seven field trips, the students became more comfortable with the equipment and more adventurous.

Photography, as a visual exercise, works well for many of them. Some "think in pictures," LeBlanc said. "It's a perfect medium for them to express their creativity."

Trakimas, for example, has become quite interested in photography; one of his photographs was displayed in May at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum during a fund-raiser for Arc of Massachusetts, formerly the Massachusetts Association for Retarded Citizens.

While photographing flower beds during a trip to Boston's Public Garden, Trakimas had hoped to capture the intimacy of one flower while getting "all the other flowers." He got the result by mixing the focus, which shows one flower in sharp relief and the others in a colorful blur.

On another trip, Matthew Friedman, 22, of Lexington was intrigued with the juxtaposition of black and white sheep; his photo "Grazin' " was the result.

Others students created haunting close-ups of statues when visiting the DeCordova; one called "Stone Face," by Peter Sabino, 21, of Wellesley was used in the invitation for the opening of the photography exhibit.

Another is of the sculpture "Eve." Explained photographer Ethan Moresco, 15, of Lexington, "I thought it would be a cool shot to get closer - I had to zoom in."

Photography can be a good social outlet for the LABBB students.

"I think a lot of students have a difficult time. Socially, autism can be very isolating," LeBlanc said. With photography, "they have an ice-breaker; they have something common to talk about. They have something they can do on their own . . . and something they can do as a group."

With digital cameras, kids get the immediate gratification of seeing their images instantly, LeBlanc said. In "Destination Images," parents, friends, and fellow students can experience the perspective of these visions.