John Pham’s father loves a good bargain. In 2017, he came home from a holiday sale with an unexpected bonus purchase: a professional Nikon camera.
John’s father gave him the camera. While John, 18, was initially bewildered, he overcame his surprise and, in the six years since, he has discovered a love of photography. It started with taking photos of his dog, but it quickly grew into photographing local poetry performances.
“It was completely out of my comfort zone,” John said. “I felt like all the eyes were on me because I was just this guy in the corner with this big box camera.”
Despite feeling uncomfortable, photographing the poets got him recognized by his school newspaper, the La Salle Falconer, and John reluctantly agreed to take a few pictures for the paper. His reluctance quickly turned into enthusiasm. It wasn’t until being isolated from his friends during the COVID-19 pandemic that he realized just how much journalism had connected him with his peers.
He said journalism and talking to people helped “maintain that sense of community.”
Through dealing with the isolation caused by COVID, John found himself trying to hold onto his friends from middle school, but not having the same connection with them.
“At that point, they weren’t really friends, more like people you saw every day,” he said. “I just dedicated myself to my schoolwork and just looking forward to the future. It was a waiting game.”
That mindset was the one that carried him through quarantine. Once John came back to school, he threw himself wholeheartedly into communicating with people.
Inspired by guitarists like Elizabeth Cotten, John taught himself how to play guitar during COVID. While he mostly just plays for himself and his dog, he loves talking about music and guitar with whomever he can.
“Music has a special quality,” he asked. “It doesn’t require us to do much, just recognize it with all your senses and experience it with people.”
Nearing the end of his high school career, John wants to create something lasting that people can enjoy once he graduates. He hopes to do that through the Falconer.
“To be an active part of the community in any way possible is something I value and something I think I can do through journalism,” John said.
— Nidha Eakambaram, Lincoln High School
This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to oregonlive.com/hsji.
