Last fall and winter, students from middle and high schools throughout the Inland Empire participated in photography and critical media literacy workshops inspired by Digital Capture: Southern California and the Pixel-Based Image World, a Getty-funded exhibition organized by UCR ARTS as part of the PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative. Digital Capture investigated the history and creative uses of digital imaging technology, from the genesis of digital imaging in Southern California to the ubiquity of digital media in our contemporary world. For students who have grown up in this pixel-saturated world, the exhibition provided an opportunity not only to create digital media but also to critically reflect on its impact on their lives. 

In the Introduction to Digital Photography workshop, students learned the fundamentals of digital camera settings before pushing them to their creative limits in the spirit of artists like Sheila Pinkel and astronomical imaging like NASA’s Hubble Ultra Deep Field image. Through this experimentation, students created striking and unconventional images that challenged traditional photographic techniques. 

The Storytelling Through Photography workshops encouraged students to consider how Digital Capture artists like Amir Zaki and Goldin + Senneby use digital photography to explore the passage of time, multiple viewpoints, and environmental change. After these workshops, students were given an assignment: create a photographic series that explores different perspectives or the passage of time. By experimenting with various viewpoints and observing how time affected their subjects, students learned to convey deeper stories through their images.

Students from both workshops considered the pervasiveness of digital imaging in their lives and how to engage with it critically. For a generation born into the digital age, pixel-based images shape how they communicate, construct memories, and experience the allure of screentime.

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Public Reception
Saturday, May 31, 2025 | 2-4 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Storytelling Through Photography: Inland Empire Students and the Pixel-Based Image World is curated by Lindsey Hammel and Steffanie A. Padilla. This exhibition and the education programs inspired by Digital Capture were made possible thanks to the Getty through the PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.

Exhibitions at UCR ARTS are supported by the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at UCR, and by the City of Riverside. Special thanks to Lisette Bourne, Riverside STEM High School; Arthur Cooper, Arizona Middle School; Sandy De La Rosa, Summit High School; Lindsay Ricketts, Vista Murrieta High School; and Louisa Higgins, Riverside County Office of Education. rough support from the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at UCR and the City of Riverside.