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Sarah Bonk

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Sarah Bonk, 21, never considered photography until she entered community college. She took a photography class at her mother's suggestion and loved it. Now a senior at Columbia College in Chicago, this New York native has developed her own style. Pekara Bakery, Champaign, currently holds a nine-piece display of the Bonk's photos, her first exhibition.

Describe your exhibit.

This exhibit was one of my photography mentor's ideas. He said one day, 'Sarah I have a picture in my head, and I want you to take it.' I took it, and it turned into this huge project. It is an angel knocking at the door of a mausoleum at sunrise. That's the focal point. A lot of the [other pictures] are of an angel walking around in a cemetery. They're very foggy and whatnot. It's something I did in camera. I used a fog filter to have a distorted look. You never see her face in them.

Who is the subject in your display?

She is actually a very good friend of mine I've known since freshman year of high school. The reason I chose her was because she's willing to do anything. She's willing to dress up, do her makeup and hair; it's something photographers really look for. She was willing to meet me at 6 o'clock in the morning ... a lot of people wouldn't do that.

What type of photography do you enjoy most?

I do a little bit of everything - photojournalism, portrait, travel. I haven't really found niche yet. Right now I'd say travel is my favorite because I like to travel so much. If not that, then portrait because I love interacting with people. I try to make people really feel comfortable in front of the camera.

What was your worst photo experience?

The first time I ever developed film wrong, I put it in the wrong way on the reel and it didn't come out right. I'd been bragging to someone in class about how I'd never done it before. So that was kind of a slap in the face.

What are your most and least favorite cameras?

The camera I like to use most is my Rollei·flex. I don't use it as much as I should. It takes so long to focus, but it makes me look at the picture on a grand scale. The camera I like least - my father will kill me for saying this - is my digital camera. When I'm using it I feel like I'm being lazy and not paying attention to the exposure because I have the screen. If the picture looks good on the screen, I take it. My dream camera is a Hasselblad, 4x5 View Camera.