The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA) partnered with Hillsborough County Aging Services to teach adults age 55+ the art of photography. The resulting images were on display in the exhibition “Creative Aging through Photography.” Almost 1,000 photographs captured a diverse range of the artists’ personal day-to-day lives, social circles, and perspectives, reminding viewers that for many, the urge to create is eternal.

1,000 Images flashing before your eyes
“Creative Aging Through Photography” showcases roughly 100 pieces of artwork from each of the eight Hillsborough County senior centers that partnered with FMoPA. The diverse collection of images is as colorful as it is engaging.

Everything from seashells to flower gardens to military medals to dogs fell into the photographers’ focus. Robin O’Dell, executive curator for FMoPA, describes how the exhibit’s vitality surprises and draws in gallery visitors.

“You turn the corner and it’s just an explosion of color and images and vibrancy. People are really enjoying it, especially when they learn the story behind it and who they were made by,” O’Dell said.

Some of the most moving prints capture, what viewers might guess are, the photographers’ friends and families. The warm smile of a neighbor standing outside her home, sunlight hitting her face through the shade of a tree canopy. The joyful laugh of a fellow classmate caught off guard by her picture being taken. The self-conscious expression of an older gentleman, while perhaps attempting to take his first selfie ever. The shining emotions caught by camera are genuine and entice viewers to linger over the photographs.

Picture it: Creative arts and healthy aging
The images are the result of photography classes offered through Hillsborough County Aging Services. For several months, class participants met weekly at various County senior centers to learn the art of taking pictures. Composition techniques, experimentation with vantage points, and working with collages were just a few of the lessons taught. The instructors, Cathy and Pierre Dutertre, guided attendees to view life with a new perspective and to capture what they saw with digital cameras.

Class participants enjoyed the learning process, and many reaped a range of benefits from the experience. This is in part due to the photography classes being more than just social and educational activities. The lessons and assignments also had several mental health benefits, including encouraging imagination and improving cognition.

“It’s important for aging people to have a creative outlet because it makes that sense of self stronger and sometimes some people didn’t have that opportunity when they were growing up or when they were younger. They were driven to have their jobs or raise their families. And now when they’re older, to give them this opportunity to really explore that creative side, I think can be a really empowering thing for older people, and a way of reengaging them in the world around them and seeing things maybe in a different way,” O’Dell said.

The “Creative Aging Through Photography” exhibition is one of the first to adorn the walls of FMoPA’s newly relocated galleries. FMoPA moved in September from its downtown location in Tampa to the historic Ybor Kress Building on the 1600 block of East Seventh Avenue.

The photography classes were made possible through a grant provided by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Hillsborough County senior centers
Hillsborough County Aging Services has senior centers throughout Hillsborough County where older adults are provided activities and meals. The Hillsborough County senior centers serve as a focal point for seniors to gather, learn, and enjoy free activities designed for today’s active seniors. Programs include lifelong learning classes, photography workshop, sewing class, painting club, jewelry making class, gardening club, billiards, chess club, fitness classes, ping-pong club, Yoga class, Tai-Chi class, table games, and more. Activities are for adults ages 50 and over. Adults who are 60 and over may qualify for a noon-time meal.

For more information about programs offered through Hillsborough County Aging Services, visit Aging Services or call (813) 272-5250.

Photo Information: The “Creative Aging Through Photography” exhibition at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA) displays work created by Hillsborough County senior centers’ artists.