ILONGGA Ysa Dan Mari Fajardo, a Grade 12 student from the North Toronto Collegiate Institute, won as runner-up in the University of King’s College Photo Essay Contest for Grade 12 students held in February 2021. It was King’s first-ever photojournalism contest for Grade 12 students.
Participants were asked to take six to seven photos giving a sense of place, using photos to show a story about their chosen location. Students had the opportunity to learn what makes a strong photo essay and to improve their skills in a recent online workshop for high school students taught by Jeff Harper, a photojournalism instructor with the school of Journalism. Following the online workshop, a month remained for those who wanted to develop and submit a photo essay to the contest, with submissions coming from across Canada.
Fajardo’s entry was a runner-up. She completed her photo essay (reproduced below) about how her younger sister, Aoife, is handling the pandemic. Using her iPhone, she photographed her sister doing many activities inside their Toronto apartment like drawing, reading, and building a snowman on their balcony.
“I decided to use my sister to tell people what it’s like to deal with the pandemic right now”, said Fajardo when interviewed by the University of King’s College. “I noticed my sister is doing great and I really appreciated what she has been doing for the past few months. So, I want to use her as an example that staying inside the house isn’t that bad”.
“The entry was really great because it put you in the ‘day in the life’ aspect of following a person around. So, it was really intimate in that respect because you can see what their daily routine was like,” says Harper. “The picture with the skyline in the background was stellar and really made the whole essay come together”.
According to Harper, they were impressed by the quality of all entries. However, only three photo essays could be named as winners.
The University of King’s College is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university has a journalism school that attracts students from across the world for its intensive Master of Journalism programs.
Fajardo received a King’s Toque, a Fujifilm Instax mini 11 camera with free instant film, a notebook and a pen from the university itself, and a letter congratulating her as King’s Photo essay runner-up.
An incoming Fashion Design student at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Fajardo studied at the Iloilo Scholastic Academy (ISA) in Iloilo City when she was still in the Philippines. She is the granddaughter of Panay News founders Danny and Maria Fajardo.
