Past the Classroom: Image-Excellent Summer time – Information & Tales

When summer time hits, professors apply what they preach—leaning into areas of curiosity that oftentimes transcend their instant area of research. 

This summer time, Otto Selles, professor of French, featured his finest black and white pictures prints at Lowell Arts. They are nonetheless on show by way of October 4. He can also be internet hosting solo exhibitions at Monroe Community Church (October – December 2025) and Church of the Servant (January – February 2026).

“I decided to feature my best black and white prints at Lowell Arts (13 pieces) and color prints at Art Prize (7 pieces), with everything coming together at the solo exhibitions (25-40 pieces total). Over the summer, I did as much portrait and event photography as I could to help cover printing and framing costs,” stated Selles.

How did this chance come about?

While the Center Art Gallery exhibition was working, I appeared for different alternatives to point out my work. I discovered that Lowell Arts has common juried exhibition calls. I utilized final March to its “Solo Seven”  present and heard in April that my proposal had been accepted. For ArtPrize, I signed on by way of its considerably sophisticated on-line system and made connections with Monroe’s CC, which agreed to host my work for ArtPrize and afterwards. During ArtPrize I will likely be considered one of many contributors at Monroe CC: my co-worker Christine Vermeer (Art and Design/ Arts Collective) will even have a chunk there.

What was your favourite facet of the expertise?

The opening reception for the Solo Seven exhibition at Lowell Arts (August 3, 2025) was an amazing occasion. I’m grateful to household and mates who got here to point out their help. I loved speaking with guests from the Lowell group, the employees at Lowell Arts, and the opposite artists. I bought to reply questions on my work and discovered what guests discovered most attention-grabbing.

How did you develop this curiosity exterior of Calvin?

In highschool, I turned involved in pictures, taking footage for the yearbook and studying use a darkroom. Over the years, I at all times took footage of household and whereas touring. My abilities solely actually developed, nonetheless, by taking many, many footage to advertise our semester in France program. The actual push to grow to be a greater photographer got here in 2018 when a pal requested me to take senior portraits of her daughter. I took the plunge and purchased my first professional-level digital camera and lens. Finally, at the beginning of the pandemic, I made a decision to make use of the confinement to see how far I might take my pictures.  I continued to improve my gear, arrange a website, and supplied portrait periods. I purchased manuals and watched numerous YouTube movies by favourite photographers. At the identical time, I took my digital camera alongside throughout household walks in Kent County’s parks, which gave me the thought of growing a panorama challenge.  I selected to deal with Roselle Park (Ada, MI) as it’s only a dozen minutes type my residence.

Any strategy to apply what you’re studying by way of participating in pictures exterior of Calvin to your function as a professor?

As I’m self-taught as a photographer, I see extra clearly how I want to advertise as a professor the significance of curiosity and unbiased studying. That could seem ironic as I’m paid to show within the classroom. However, given the fixed change in right this moment’s office, college students have to be in a position adapt to new conditions. As unbiased learners, they are going to be capable to construct on their Calvin schooling and pivot to new alternatives. In that context, I at all times suggest that college students have a facet curiosity that offers them a break from their research and could result in new alternatives, as I’m discovering late in my very own profession.