Savannah photographer Jack Leigh works with a student during the 2002 workshop. The 2003 workshop has been expanded to include another age group.
Telfair Museum of Art photo

If you go What: The Telfair Museum of Art's Third Annual Photography Camp, directed by Jack Leigh When: June 9-13 (ages 10-12) or June 16-20 (ages 13-15). The camp runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday. Where: Telfair Museum of Art, 121 Barnard St. Cost: $125 for members/$175 for non-members For more information: Call Diane Felcyn at (912) 232-1177, ext. 18

Future shutterbugs of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your lens caps!

Savannah has dozens of summer camp options for local children, but the Telfair Museum of Art offers the area's only Photography Camp.

Open to children between the ages of 10 and 15, the third annual Photography Camp is part of the Telfair's Master Artist Workshop series. Directed by legendary Savannah photographer Jack Leigh, who is perhaps best-known for his "Bird Girl" photograph on the cover of John Berendt's best-seller, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," the camp offers hands-on experience with a 35-millimeter camera and plenty of professional direction.

Due to its overwhelming success last year, the 2003 Photography Camp has been expanded to include children ages 13-15. The week-long program from June 9-13 is open to ages 10-12, while the session from June 16-20 is open to ages 13-15. Each session introduces children to basic manual camera function, composition, color photography and black and white photography. The camp includes a field trip to Jack Leigh's gallery on Abercorn Street and a number of location shoots in downtown Savannah.

Leigh will offer a darkroom demonstration, as well as hands-on experience in the darkroom. He will also critique each student's work at the end of the week, offering guidance and inspiration for Savannah's future photographers.

"I didn't discover photography until college," says Leigh. "I was a late bloomer. But these kids are getting exposed to art photography right off the bat."

Leigh is thrilled with how the photography camp has developed over the past several years and enjoys exposing a new generation of Savannahians to the medium he loves.

"This is part of how I give back to the community," he says. "This is an important way for me to cultivate appreciation and understanding for photography within the community of young people in Savannah."

Lyn Bonham, a photography teacher at Savannah Country Day School and Savannah Arts Academy, and Ben Beasley, the Telfair Museum of Art's assistant director of education, are the daily instructors at this creative camp.

The program culminates with an exhibition of student work and a reception at the Telfair Museum of Art the final day of the camp. Work will also be exhibited at World Wide Camera, the program's material sponsor, which is located in the Chatham Plaza Shopping Center. Each student will exhibit one color and one black and white image, which will be enlarged, matted and framed for the show.

The Photography Camp costs $125 for Telfair members and $175 for non-members, which includes all supplies, film processing and use of a camera. An optional box lunch, provided by York Street Deli, is available for an additional $6 per day.