HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Local students spent part of their summer learning through a lens.

With a front-row seat to the Levitt AMP concert series in Harrisonburg, they got to fine-tune their photography skills with the help of a local professional.

Now, their work is on display for the public to see.

Bob Adamek is a local, professional photographer who has spent years shooting concerts and so far, 99 music festivals. He also serves as the head photographer for Harrisonburg City Public Schools. This summer he added mentor to his title when he took on 10 local high school and college students to help them with their photography skills at concerts.

Adamek held workshops and worked with the students each week on what it’s like to shoot a concert series.

”I could see the growth in their images a lot of the kids were very good shooters already … it was just coming to the specifics of being able to do concert photography as well as trying to capture the vibe of the show,” Adamek said.

Adamek said all of the students had experience with photography before.

“Once I got to the first concern I was able to become more comfortable with what I was doing and the more I went to the concerts the more I figured out how I can suit my pictures to get them the best they can be and also I figured out the best way to edit them and the best way to make them look the best, so it was definitely a big learning experience for me,” Adrian Kavazovic, a senior at Harrisonburg high school said.

The students raved about how Adamek helped them get out of their comfort zones when it came to shooting concerts.

“He helped us all realize no matter what experience level you come from it doesn’t really matter because it is the person behind the camera not the camera itself,” Brigid Banks, a sophomore at Blue Ridge Community College said.

All 10 students’ art is now on display at the Arts Council of the Valley in downtown Harrisonburg.

“I’m just excited to see everyone’s stuff together and the different perspectives they had because everyone was at the same event but saw something completely different which is really cool,” Ava Schrag, a sophomore at VCU said.

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