At first, a camera was nothing more than a foreign item that her parents used to capture the moment. Once she picked it up she realized that the options were endless for what she could do. For Caroline Barker ’22, the passion for photography started the moment she decided to be the one taking pictures on vacation.

Barker’s favorite memory while traveling took place in Portofino, Italy, a small fishing village along the Italian Riviera coastline. She loved the quaint feeling of the village and the colorful homes there. Barker has lived in Iowa City her whole life, so going somewhere that she doesn’t know the street names or restaurants is exciting for her.

“Traveling opens your eyes to things you wouldn’t have tried or seen before,” Barker said. “Before I went to France, I wouldn’t eat most cheeses, most pastas or anything with tomatoes on it. But after I experienced another culture I stepped outside of my comfort zone and experienced amazing things that I now love.”

Barker has plenty of photography influences around her, such as her cousin who is a photographer based in New York, as well as her grandpa who she considers one of her photography idols.

She specifically enjoys taking portraits. This style of photography captures the personality of the person whose picture is being taken by using backdrops, effective lighting and poses.

“You can express a lot more than you think taking pictures, especially of someone,” Barker said.

Barker’s family plays a big role in her photography. Her aunt Emily McDermott always collected cameras and Barker has been interested in them for years. She says that her aunt provides tips on “anything and everything related to photography.”

McDermott says that she started her camera collection in college by accident.

“I had a couple of my dad’s old cameras and a newer one. A friend in the photography department was selling his amazing twin lens reflex camera and all the filters he had for it … after that, I started looking for old, working cameras in antique stores.”

After completing a photo shoot, Barker struggles to pick out her favorite photos. When she’s taking pictures of others, she often ends up giving them too many photos as a result of not being able to pick.

One of Barker’s good friends Misha Canin ’22 participates in photo shoots with Barker. She says that getting to do a photo shoot with one of her good friends helps to make it feel more relaxed. She also likes Barker’s style of photography.

“I love how she is not afraid to try new things,” Canin said. “She’s always looking for different ideas and concepts for photo shoots. You’ll come up with any idea and she’ll have a new thing she wants to try with it.”

Later in high school, Barker would like to get involved with photography on the West Side Story staff. One of her long-term goals would be to work with National Geographic because then she would be able to do both of her passions as a job.