For some people, photography is about capturing moments to remember forever. For others, it can be an art form, trying to create a beautiful visual out of the mundane. It can also just be about taking a picture of something you think is cool. But for a special few, it’s all of the above.
Senior social work major and Templar editorial photographer Alexa Leviten has a unique perspective of her time at Temple. Her photos, pictured right, reflect her accomplishments and successes she’s created for herself here at Temple, along with memories from Homecoming and an average day at Temple that seemed particularly beautiful to her, even while gloomy.
“My whole life, I’ve always been intrigued and fascinated with capturing moments in time,” Leviten said. “Always wanting to freeze a memory forever.”
Leviten has developed a special appreciation and enjoyment for event photography through her time at the yearbook. She has photographed the Homecoming football game, the Tyler Art Market, cheerleading, club meetings, and various other Temple events.
Leviten gained especially valuable experience from photographing the Camp Kesem annual gala benefit dinner. During the gala, she gets to hear from donors who personally experienced surviving cancer themselves and their children who were given the opportunity to go to the summer camp, and then takes their photo.
“My love for photography blends with my career in social work because part of my love for photography isn’t to capture pretty things but to capture real and authentic moments of real people,” Leviten said. “In the process of taking photos, I also enjoy talking to the people I’m taking them of.”
Going forward, Leviten hopes to utilize her photography skills at a non-profit company as part of her social work degree. As her journey at Temple comes to an end, there is no doubt that she will have plenty of captured moments to look back on, both her own memories and others that she got to photograph for them.