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Photo contest portrays student views of off-campus study

By Carole Leigh Engblom
April 24, 2002

NORTHFIELD, Minn. - A picture tells a thousand words, and for hundreds of St. Olaf College students, pictures also bespeak a life-changing experience.

Each year St. Olaf students photograph their off-campus study experiences and are invited to submit their favorite shots for consideration in the annual photo contest, now in its 19th year. The Gimse International and Off-Campus Studies Photo Contest, named in honor of Professor Emeritus of Art Mac Gimse and his wife, Jackie, is on display in Buntrock Commons at St. Olaf College.



Professor Emeritus of Art Mac Gimse and his wife, Jackie, pose with some of the contest winners from the 19th annual off-campus photo contest: (standing, from left) Emily Asboe ?02, Kirsten Boback ?03 and Aron Shand ?02;(kneeling, from left) Liz Winter ?02 and Emily Hall ?03. (Photo by Paul Johnson ?02.)

A dozen judges from the St. Olaf faculty and staff selected 35 photos from 580 submissions. The exhibit includes pictures from Ghana, Africa; Nanjing, China; New York City; Istanbul, Turkey; India, Ireland, Mexico and Italy; Tucson, Arizona; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Casablanca, Morocco.

The Gimses have led hundreds of students - both enrolled college students and Lifelong Learning groups - on international study programs, including Global Semester, Term in Asia and Term in the Middle East. The Gimses also have led nine interim programs to Europe and four Lifelong Learning groups to places all over the globe.

"The photo contest is a giant, illustrated, take-home exam that gives students a lifetime of reflection on an experience that cannot be duplicated - although their photographs can," Mac Gimse explains. "The urge to explore the world becomes an addiction for many. The photo contest is proof of international citizenship offered to students who leave us temporarily in order to extend our campus to the larger world."

An accomplished photographer himself, Gimse has taken thousands of photographs during his travels and used them as teaching tools for his students in art history and architecture classes. He urges students to use their photography skills to "see" the world with more intention and care.

"When the camera is not in front of my face I am studying everything around me with an eye for what is there - for color, texture, design - and my visual perceptions become intensified along with a consciousness of what is happening," Gimse says. "It is a dangerous way to travel. I have stepped off ledges, rammed into things and gotten lost from the group because I was trying to get a picture."

Although Gimse retired last year after 31 years of teaching at St. Olaf, he and Jackie still travel the world, shoot thousands of photographs and share slides of their adventures. Mac takes a historic view of the art. "In the 21st century, the camera has replaced artists who, in the past, accompanied travelers to draw exotic images resembling faraway places."

Gimse has seen the quality of photography shift during the 19 years of the photo contest. "The students have incentive to shoot pictures for the whole college audience," he explains. "They look for images that reveal something of the people and their life in unfamiliar places. Improved camera equipment, experience taking pictures, and fascinating new subjects have added an aesthetic dimension to the results.

"Students are aware that the pictures they bring back may be seen as photo-art and not just snapshots."

Earning "Best of Show" honors were Jessica Mott '03, Sarah Pamperin '02 and Teal Smith '04. "Honorable Mention" went to Abigail Betts '02, Emily Hall '03, Lindsey Nodgaard '03 and Liz Winter '02.

Additional winners were: Emily Asboe '03, Abigail Betts '02, Kirsten Boback '03, Jackson Forderer '02, Stefanie Graen '03, Cameo Haaksma '04, Joy Hamilton '03, Julia Jackson '03, Corina Jung '02, Ryan Knutson '02, Lindsay Mack '02, Jessica Mott '03, Peter B. Nelson '04, Sarah B. Paulson '03, Travis Rother '04, Jennifer Sauter '02, Aron Shand '02, Teal Smith '04, Meghan Sonstegard '02, Aubrey Spilde '02, Josh Steffen '02, Kristin Terresdal '05 and Ben Toht '03.

St. Olaf College, a national leader among liberal arts institutions, fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with more than two-thirds of its students participating in international studies.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.