Tribes of Mira Costa Vol. 3

Our culture is often divided by difference: race, gender, sexual identity, geography, class. This book is an attempt to see others accurately, to dispel myth, and lift the fog of misperception.
The photographs in this book (and its companion, Volume 1) were created by Photography students at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California. Their challenge was to meet, interview and record images of people on campus that the students were unfamiliar with, an activity which often placed them outside their comfort zone.
Listen to the stories of the photographers and their subjects, to hear the hopes, dreams and fears of a generation. By listening to the stories of others we might find what we have in common, and see the shared humanity in all of us.
Michael Hernandez, Media Arts Teacher @cinehead

The Wanderer

By Vanessa Lulla

Donovan is well known on campus. You’ll often see him waving or saying hi to people as he walks around. He doesn’t stay in any one group; he’s always moving around and hanging out with different people. He is known for being short, height wise, but once you get to know him, his loud, outgoing personality seems to make up for it. He isn’t funny in the stereotypical sense; however, he does have a certain sarcastic side to his words and a tendency to break out in song to entertain himself.

Listen to his interview recorded October 2019

Listen to my personal reflection on this project

The Girl

By Vanessa Lopez

Isabella was someone who I would always see but talking to her, never really crossed my mind. But once, this project came up, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her. After that, surprisingly, we had a lot more in common than I expected. Isabella is a Freshman at Mira Costa High School, and a fervent soccer player and a caring big sister. This illustrates how by trying to define someone based on their appearance can lead to false assumptions.

Photograph by Vanessa Lopez

Audio from my interview with Jesse that I recorded in October 2019. Click, if you would like to listen

Audio from my self reflection about the overall project. Click, if you would like to listen.