Brentwood’s Hanami Festival

10 May 2015Caitlin C and Sasha B, Hope ’17

Every spring the Japanese begin their festivals of Hanami. It’s a traditional Japanese custom to celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossoms as they begin to bloom, a whole day to celebrate the beauty of nature. Each spring, Brentwood holds its own Hanami festival in the form of the Traditional Photography Nature Competition. The first year students of the traditional photography course are handed their assignment and head out to onto Brentwood’s campus, eyes wide open, ready to capture the beautiful natural sights of Brentwood. The assignment requires 30 black and white photos and from those photos one is selected to be submitted to Mr. Fletcher (the teacher of the photography program) who will then decide the winner. The winner of the competition will then have their photo framed and posted in the hallway of the arts building with the previous winners. This competition isn’t just another assignment; the competition started long ago. Brentonian Morgan P. Laycock loved nature and when he died in a car accident his parents (his father was Brentwood’s doctor) created a contest in his memory. Many photographers would describe capturing the beauty of nature in black and white difficult. How could the beauty of a flower be captured without its exquisite colors. Like the Hanami Festival with its appreciation of the flowers before they bloom, Brentwood’s photographers must see nature’s beauty through it shapes and patterns. We wish all the photographers good luck. ? ?? Caitlin C and Sasha B, Hope ’17

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