Students from the Victor Scott School are armed with their trusty cameras they are - and are ready to photograph life.

Recently, four students from the school had the opportunity to step behind the lens and see what photography is all about.

For about five weeks students Carolita Joseph, nine , Mychal Bean, nine, Vernon Harrison, ten, and Ereico Outerbridge, eight, have been working with the recently awarded Queen's Certificate and Badge of Honour photographer Tamell Simons. Mr. Simons is also a staff photographer at The Royal Gazette.

They met with Mr. Simons every Friday from 1 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. and have had several outings learning the tricks of the trade.

The opportunity came for the students after a visit to The Royal Gazette, where they were given a guided tour of the facility, and learned how the daily paper was produced.

But for these students, when the opportunity came to learn about picture taking, they immediately jumped onboard. All agreed it was something they were really interested in.

"We wanted to learn the process, to see how things work," said Carolita.

The students have touched on everything from taking pictures, film development, to the final product and have toured several processing labs in Hamilton.

"It's been fun," said Vernon. "One thing I have learned is that you can't get too close when taking the picture."

"That's why we're learning now - so that one day Tamell won't have to be there."

Among other assignments, the students had to take pictures of family members and friends. They were also able to sneak in shots of their principal Dr. Gina Tucker and even took a few pictures of former Premier Sir John Swan.

They said they had learned a lot about taking pictures and hoped to someday find careers which will allow them to use their new found skills.

One thing that Mr. Simons instilled in them is that every picture and every person has a story. The visual is only one half of the tale told.

"Tamell told us that we should always do interviews with people," said Mychal.

Mr. Simons said that it was a great opportunity to teach the budding photographers how to begin honing their craft.

He added that each of the students received their own 35-mm camera, which they will take home with them. The cameras were provided by Stuart's at a discounted price.

When talking about their photography teacher, the students agreed that in order to get the right shot it took a lot of patience and attention, which is one of many lessons they learned.

"He doesn't play around. He's serious when he sets his mind on something," said Carolita.

Mychal said: "He's a nice hardworking man and I am proud he is teaching us photography. And we're using him wisely.

"Tamell always has us paying attention. So we can learn what we're doing," said Vernon.

Mr. Simons said that he had noticed improvement in the students from when they started. That was the aim of teaching them, to show the children to be patient as they developed their "visual appreciation".

"I wanted to show them certain steps, basic steps taken for them to build on," he added.