New student noted for stellar photography

November 13, 2011 — by Kelly Liu and Grace Ma
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Junior Kristen Zung

For new student junior Kristen Zung, capturing the beauty of the world in a still image with her Canon camera is nothing new. Now, she is making her mark on the school with her talent.

For new student junior Kristen Zung, capturing the beauty of the world in a still image with her Canon camera is nothing new. Now, she is making her mark on the school with her talent.

Zung captures special moments of an array of on-campus events and publishes the edited photos on Facebook. Immersing herself with multiple aspects of the school, she was surprised by the difference between Saratoga High and her old school, National Experimental in Taiwan.

“I took pictures at the football game, which I thought was really cool. I thought that football games were only in movies … It turns out that cheerleaders are real!” Zung said.

Another event that greatly impressed Zung was the drama department’s fall play, “Tartuffe.” Back in Taiwan, Zung was the president of the drama club, but she claims that their performances paled in comparison to Saratoga High’s larger upscale productions.

As a member of the photography club, Zung enjoys interacting with others who share the same interest as her.

“[The members] are all really good inspirations because they take different styles and pictures,” Zung said. “For now, I don’t have too much time [to define my style] so I quickly edit on Adobe Lightroom. I snap a photo, put some vignettes around it and add some color to set a mood to it.”

Zung’s evaluation of her photography is modest in comparison to what others view her as.

“Her photos make you feel like you’re a part of them,” said junior Benjy Yang, another member in photography club. “You just feel drawn to them.”

Zung started getting into photography three years ago. In Taiwan, she and her mentor and close friend David Lee would bring their cameras to school and try to capture candid moments and occasionally would go on escapades to do the same in public. Her experience has furthered her knowledge in photography.

“As a photographer, you want to capture not just the building, but the building in different landscapes and compositions,” said Zung, describing her travels to the Eiffel Tower in France.
Although many presume that Zung owns a collection of cameras, she merely has two. This assumption is because she frequently changes her lens.

Her first camera, an Olympus, was a gift from Zung’s father on her 14th birthday. Additionally, Zung owns a Canon and several hand-me-down lenses from her father.

“[The Canon comes with] a funny story,” Zung laughed before beginning her anecdote. “I broke up with my boyfriend and his name started with a letter C so my mom said I could get anything as long as it started with the letter C. So I picked a Canon camera, and they got me [it.]”

For the time being, Zung pursues photography as a hobby, but she plans to minor photography in college. Although Zung loves taking shots of nature and architecture, people inspire her the most.

“People have these moments they don’t know but when they smile, it’s really, really beautiful,” Zung said. “I just want to take a picture of it and show them, ‘That’s awesome. You should smile more.’”

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