By Staff Writer: Marissa VanDaelen

Photography is a huge part of society today. With the internet, newspapers, and magazines, it’s easy to recognize that photography is a part of our daily lives. Junior McKenna Taylor, a student at Howell High School, has a passion for the art and has recently been recognized by Photographer’s Forum Magazine for her outstanding work.

The Photographer’s Forum Magazine is dedicated to quality photography in the United States and Canada. They feature work from who they believe to be emerging professional photographers. The magazine recently held a high school photography contest in which 17,000 students entered. Taylor was one of the top 100 students who received Honorable Mention.

“I was honored because I got a letter two weeks before saying I was in the finals but I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not. Then, a week later, I found out I got an Honorable Mention which is really cool,” Taylor says.

Looking at Taylor’s work, it’s no doubt that she has phenomenal talent. There’s incredible quality in each of her skillfully edited photographs. Taylor possesses a creative mind as well, considering some of her work possesses unique concepts.

“Well, I basically get my ideas from photos off of Flickr. I’ll like something and combine a few pictures that I see off there and then try to recreate it in a sense. My mom always tries to give me ideas too,” Taylor says.

Taylor’s parents definitely support her in her photography work. They let her use their camera to take all of her photographs and try to offer assistance whenever she may need it.

“I wanted to pursue photography after I graduated but I don’t feel like it’s a safe, constant pay. I decided I want to go into cosmetology instead but I’m going to do photography on the side. My parents have supported me in these decisions too,” Taylor says.

In addition, Taylor isn’t particularly inspired by any famous professional photographers. She tends to be inspired by more unknown work and work done in her Photography II class.

“Seeing some of the great work from kids in my class is really inspiring. But also, Flickr inspires me a lot because it’s just unknown people and it’s cool to see their work,” Taylor says.

Taylor certainly seems to have a bright future ahead of her in photography. If she already got an Honorable Mention in a popular award-winning magazine, she can absolutely achieve far more.

“I love photography because I like capturing moments that you can’t always keep forever,” Taylor says.