Those who visit South Whidbey High School’s advanced photography gallery could be very surprised by what they see. Take it from the students in Don Wodjenski’s class.

“There is a lot of talent in here,” Matt Statz said. “I think people will be surprised at how refined and professional the work is.”

“You wouldn’t be able to tell that these were a bunch of 17- and 18-year-olds,” added fellow photographer Courtney Dettrich. “It’s really good stuff, and every one of us really knows what we’re doing.”

The gallery show, which starts today, is the culminating event to celebrate the students’ work.

“It’s the payoff to the year,” said Wodjenski, South Whidbey High School’s photography instructor.

The event is not only a celebration of the students’ efforts, it also helps pay for items the photography classes need to continue their work.

“It helps buy everything from enlarger bulbs to backdrops, to software programs and special films, and chemicals and toning solutions that we use in class that we just can’t pay for with our limited budget,” Wodjenski said.

The annual South Whidbey High School Zone V photography exhibit represents a year’s worth of photographic study and refined production practices. Photographic subjects range from architecture and abstract to individual perspectives in portraiture.

The advanced photography students have focused on finding their own personal style within the medium.

“It’s all about finding your voice,” Wodjenski said.

“A lot of it is a matter of looking at other’s work, analyzing that work, interpreting the meaning of that work for themselves — and then having them begin to experiment with finding their own perspective within a particular genre,” the teacher explained.

One of the photography students discovered that she excels at children’s portraiture.

“I love taking portraits,” Courtney Dettrich said.

“I really like the interaction when I am taking the pictures, and when I give them back to people.”

Dettrich’s favorite portraits are those of kids.

“Kids are just enjoying themselves — as opposed to someone that knows what’s going on,” Dettrich said.

She said many of her older subjects have a pre-visualized idea of the photograph that can interfere with its outcome. Often times, they already have an opinion about how their picture should come out, or how they would like to present themselves.

“Kids don’t care,” Dettrich said. “You can really capture their personality.”

The photographer said she found her personal style the same way every photographer does.

“I’ve developed it just through experimentation,” she said. “That’s how everybody develops it. It’s just trial and error until you find something that you love, or that you can produce successfully.”

Statz, another young photographer, has concentrated on expanding his work.

“My original photographic work was very focused on architecture,” he said. “This term, I’ve really tried to grow on this, to actually take people pictures, and have people model for the photos, which is an attempt to expand the breadth of my work.”

Statz said he does not have one favorite style of photography.

“It’s more the individual image,” he said. “It’s piece by piece.”

“My main focus has been working with the composition of the image, so that the image is appealing.”

Statz and his fellow advanced photography students, as well as the Zone V photography club, will display their work today and tomorrow in the Front Room at the Bayview Cash Store, from 12 to 4 p.m. both days. The public is invited to an artists’ reception on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.