Skip to Main Content

Summer Camps!

Expand your creativity this summer with Outside The Lens’s Media Arts Summer Camps. From analogue photography to graphic design, there are options for everyone!

Weekly camps available June 9th to August 8th.

Browse The Camps!

News & Resources: Blog

Read our latest stories of impact.

Blog

What Covid-19 Teaches Us About Educational Inequity

August 26, 2020

“The world is continuously changing, and we need to educate young people on the truth of the past, the truth of today, the truth of people who look like them.” -Amari Dixon, Media Educator

Read More
Blog

Spotlight: Cameras in the Classroom with Amiel Capinpin

December 2, 2019

Working with Hoover High School students is a journey, but it is also a fulfilling one that I look forward to continuing. My hope is that, in helping Hoover High students share their stories, the work we do together can showcase to the community not only the power and importance of the youth perspective, but also the need to celebrate it.

Read More
Blog

Program Spotlight: FOTO TJ

August 12, 2019

“In talking with Rigo Reyes, he introduced me to this concept of Tijuana and San Diego as being a region… a region where there are more commonalities rather than differences.”

Read More
Blog

FOTO TJ Book

October 12, 2018

We created images that represent who we are, and wrote poems about our past. We met folks with unsteady health conditions who taught us about endurance, perseverance, and the joy of life. We explored Tijuana - a city filled with colors, flavors, and smells. We learned about local art, walked through the streets, and captured images that were always intriguing and in some cases new and innovative. After our journey, we had a final exhibit where we talked about our work and why it is important to continue creating images that represent who we are!

Read More
Blog

Paz

June 4, 2018

There is an exhilarating feeling that comes with traveling somewhere new; smiling at an unfamiliar face, scarfing down local cuisine, touching your bare feet on the grass, jamming to a new beat. I’d describe it as an immediate vulnerability with the unknown; holding hands with the excitement of exploration. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had this feeling many times, and I never want it to stop.

Read More
Blog

In Translation: The Camera as a Catalyst for Conversation

April 23, 2018

We’re only driving 35 miles, but the distance feels further. Julia, an immersion trip coordinator for USD’s service learning program, dashes us through the freeway lanes and swifty carries us in her small car across the Otay Border. We drive east towards Tecate, far from downtown Tijuana, far from the housing developments, down a long hill to land at a lightly maintained road leading us up to Albergue las Memorias - a center for those living with HIV/AIDS, addictions, and their family members.

Read More
Blog

Cine en Sherman a comenzado!

February 22, 2018

The inaugural screening of the film series Cine en Sherman took place last month at Sherman Heights Community Center. The featured film of the evening was Tony-The Movie, a portrait of homelessness in San Diego as seen through the eyes of the film’s star, Tony. The filmmaker, Dennis Stein, follows Tony as he navigates his housing options and searches for solutions to homelessness, not just as it affects him, but as it affects thousands across the county.

Read More
Blog

Ivy Gordon Receives Inaugural Focus Award for Community Leadership

October 2, 2017

​It’s that time of year again when everyone at Outside The Lens (OTL) is busy prepping for our annual fundraiser, Shutter and Stout 2017! This year’s event will be held October 14th at Farmer and the Seahorse in La Jolla. As an additional feature of this year’s event, and for the first time ever, Outside The Lens will be awarding the Focus Award for Community Leadership to Ivy Gordon.

Read More
Blog

CxC in Bosnia-Herzegovina – A Student Perspective

September 25, 2017

In the Cameras Across Cultures BiH program, Kimberly collaborated with local students from Bosnia-Herzegovina and American students to create a short narrative film, which screened at the opening of the Mediterranean Film Festival in Široki Brijeg. We chatted with Kimberly to talk about her about her first trip abroad, collaboration in film, what it’s like to climb mountains for two 5-second takes, and why Snapchat on the big screen is the next big thing in filmmaking.

Read More
Blog

5 Reasons to go to Summer Camp!

June 6, 2017

Make this summer count! Here are 5 great reasons to join Outside The Lens for summer camp. 1. Every Summer Has A Story!  You see the world around you in your own unique way, let Outside The Lens help you tell your story! Connect with your camera, your environment and discover unique ways to share your […]

Read More
Blog

Building Empathy Through Photography & Film

March 16, 2017

Building Empathy Through Photography & Film: Exploring Immigration with 8th Grade Students at King-Chavez High School

Read More
Blog

Student Photography & Poetry Shines at SDSU Dual Language Symposium

March 13, 2017

This January, tenth grade students from Outside The Lens’ Cameras in the Classroom program at Hoover High School were invited to perform their “Here I Am” spoken word piece at the Dual Language Symposium held at San Diego State University.

Read More