MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Youth & Teen Center aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, hosted the 2015 YTC Imagemakers Photography Exhibit at the Crossroads Mall, Feb. 25, 2015.
The exhibition displayed photographs of four different categories: Culture & Tradition, Surroundings, Portraits and a “Who Am I?” category accompanied with an essay or poem.
Competitors from ages 9-18 showed various levels of photographic technique, skill and creativity.
“Our goal is to bring out the talent of the youth,” said Eugene Clark, the YTC coordinator. “We do our best to give children a creative outlet who find photography as their passion, not just as their classroom assignment.”
Sponsored by Sony Corporation, winners of this local contest will receive a merit certificate for their participation and move forward to the overseas region competition held in Singapore.
Contestants may then compete against photographers from the five different U.S. regions for the national championship prize; a free, all expense-paid trip to San Diego, Calif., to visit the San Diego Sony Plant.
“This is a great opportunity for local recognition and more,” said Clark. “This is their hobby and now they can be recognized for their talent. Our motto is ‘Our great future starts here at MCAS Iwakuni.’”
The YTC partners with the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America to provide an additional support environment for the youth aboard station.
The Fine Arts Program is just one of many BGCA related activities available for youth and gives various opportunities for young artists to express themselves and compete.
“I was pretty surprised to hear that my photo won,” said Justin Villanueva, an 11th grader of Matthew C. Perry High School. “I almost didn’t enter that photo because I wasn’t confident the piece would win. However, my dad encouraged me to submit the picture and it turns out that my dad and I weren’t the only ones who thought the image was good.”
For more information and resources, contact The Youth & Teen Center at 253-6454, or ombiwayouthandteencenter@usmc-mccs.org