A local photographer and five people who are interested in photography but haven’t had a chance to give it a shot are meeting up in the Old Mill District this week to learn about technique and put it into practice.

The Lens Project, organized by local nonprofit Abilitree, connects professional photographers and people with disabilities for a few days of photography classes and a field trip.

This year, Bend-based photographer Steve Tague and four other local photographers are teaming up with five Abilitree clients to take photos around the Old Mill District for an exhibit that’ll be on display during the First Friday Gallery Walk in June.

“We’ll go out and each student will have their mentor with them, and we’ll take pictures of whatever they want to take pictures of,” Tague said Sunday. “We’ve had a couple classes where we went over a bunch of different photos and talked about what makes a good photograph and what makes a photo fun, so we’ll try to put that into practice.”

Lauren Zivney, Peter Welker, Kathy Martin, Michelle Swogger and Karin Morris — the five Abilitree clients — will get the opportunity to put the skills they’ve learned to use, Tague said, while taking photos of what interests them most.

“Four out of the five have never used or had a camera other than their cellphone,” Tague said. “So ideas like focusing different focal lengths is all new. One gentleman, Pete, he just loves flowers, so he’ll probably want to take pictures of flowers. One of the women loves architecture, so for her it’ll probably be buildings. We’ll just wander around the area and let everyone find what they want to take photos of.”

The classes Tague led taught participants the basics of photography, how to use SLR digital cameras, how to frame an image and post-production, according to an Abilitree news release.

The Abilitree clients weren’t immediately available for comment Sunday afternoon.

The photographers assisting Tague in the project are Kevin Kubota, Clare Kubota, Deanna Leach and Mike Albright.

April O’Meara, marketing and development director for the nonprofit, said everyone involved with the program has an interest in art or photography, which is how the Lens Project got started.

“Most of our clients know about the project, so they ask to be a part of it if they have an interest in photography or have an interest in art. A few people had cameras but didn’t know exactly how to use them. This week will be the first time they’ve been to take pictures.”

Abilitree is a local nonprofit that serves adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. The organization helps people become more independent, O’Meara said.

“It’s wide-ranging; we help anyone who needs extra support,” she said.

Tague said the group’s mission had him hooked right away.

“I was 100 percent in,” he said. “Just the stories of the people involved — they’re so diverse, and the issues they have to deal with. Helping people fit in is so important.”

The photography work will be shown at Art in the Atrium at Franklin Crossing in downtown Bend for the First Friday Gallery Walk on June 3, according to the Abilitree news release. The canvases and prints will be on sale, and the public is invited to come out and meet the artists, the release states.

— Reporter: 541-617-7829,

awest@bendbulletin.com