FreshLens 2026 Winter Showcase
Featuring the Latest Graduates of the Program
Opening Reception
Friday, April 3
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Chicago Photography Classes
4001 N Ravenswood Ave Ste 105
Chicago, IL 60613
FreshLens is partnering with The Night Ministry, Digs With Dignity, and Over the Rainbow, to provide prints and framed artwork created by our students. These pieces will help decorate the homes of individuals receiving housing support.
You may purchase a print for yourself, but if you wish to donate a print, you will be able to select which organization you want your print purchase to go towards from the shipping options during checkout. Thank you for your support!
A heartfelt thank you to Kambua Chema for the stunning portraits of our students!
Nilo Anderson
Nilo Anderson lives in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago and is currently a freshman at Lane Tech High School. He enjoys collecting comic books, hiking, building model kits, and photography. In his work, Nilo enjoys capturing street life especially with a lone subject to convey a feeling of isolation.
He has been interested in photography for many years due to the fact that his grandfather takes photos of wildlife as a hobby. Photography helps him convey emotions through snapshots of his everyday life to others.
Ayesha Bibi
Ayesha Bibi is a junior at Senn High School. She is actively involved in flag football and swimming. She is enrolled in Children’s Lurie Hospital as a student of a nursing course, showing her strong commitment to both athletics and health care. Ayesha is especially passionate about photography because it allows her to capture meaningful moments and tell powerful visual stories.
She was inspired to pursue photography after realizing how a single image can preserve emotions, memories, and real life experiences. Ayesha is particularly drawn to portrait photography as she enjoys capturing candid expressions and natural moments. What interested her most about photography is its ability to freeze time and highlight overlooked details and give people a new perspective of everyday life.
Elianna Luna
Elianna Luna is a freshman at Lane Tech High School. She is from Venezuela, but moved to Chicago at a very young age. She loves to photograph her daily life and street photography as well.
She has always loved capturing things and memories whether it is with friends, specific moments and even capturing something that seems appealing to her. Photography to her is a way of showing her point of view of things around her for the world to see.
Ilian Medjeber
Ilian Medjeber grew up in the city of Paris, France. He is currently in his freshman year at the Lycee Francais de Chicago. He is involved in soccer and boxing. He loves to shoot anything that represents people’s daily life as he believes that there is a story behind every action that someone makes.
Ilian always enjoyed taking pictures of everyday life, but he became more motivated when he heard about a program called FreshLens Chicago. He thought that this would be an opportunity to start expressing his daily life through images. His mom is his main source of inspiration.
Zoe Naing
Zoe Naing is a sophomore at Senn High School from the north side of Chicago. She likes to play volleyball, run, listen to music and watch movies. Zoe likes to capture light, macro, or minimal subjects. She first became interested in photography during her freshman year using phone cameras or digital cameras to capture when things stood out to her, and of things she loves.
Zoe is inspired by travel and exploration, using photography to stay present in the moment and to find joy in places she has never experienced before.
Osmar Ochoa
Osmar Ochoa is an artist born and raised in Chicago. He is currently a freshman at Lake View High School. Osmar enjoys playing soccer, going out with his friends, and trying new food. Osmar likes to photograph sports, people, and flowers.
Osmar especially enjoys photographing sports, people, and flowers. He has always been drawn to photography because it allows him to express himself while capturing moments that can last forever. Through his work, Osmar aims to create unique images that clearly convey emotion and show that every photograph has a story behind it.
Leanna Peralta
Leanna Peralta is a freshman at Lake View High School from the Hermosa Park/Belmont Cragin neighborhood. She grew up constantly infatuated with the arts, especially with painting and photography. Her interest first began around 7th grade, where she would take photos of her and her best friend. Her best friend inspired her to start photography and introduced her to FreshLens Chicago.
During her free time, she enjoys listening to music, cooking, baking, and hanging out with her friends.
Marcos Perez
Marcos Perez is a senior at Lane Tech High School and he is from the south side of Chicago. Marcos is into sports and music, he wrestles for Lane and loves going to concerts. Marcos loves capturing everyday views from his day to day life.
Marcos fell in love with photography during his study abroad trip to Europe. Photography helps him capture moments of beauty amidst the chaos of living in Chicago.
Amalia Rojas
Amalia Rojas is from Chicago and is a junior at Lane Tech High School. Amalia loves to bake, play basketball, hang out with friends, and work with kids. Amalia loves to capture people and architecture while using a lot of framing techniques in her composition. Amalia has always enjoyed taking photos because it was a way to capture a short moment and make it last forever.
Through her work, Amalia strives to create images that feel unique and tell a story revealing that each photograph is the result of many small moments coming together.
Steaven Santos
Steaven Santos is a junior at Rickover Naval Academy. He is from the south side of Chicago. In his free time, Steaven likes to play basketball and hangout with friends. Steaven is especially drawn to street photography, with a love for bold, saturated colors.
Steaven started to shoot photos during his freshman year using his phone. He enjoys taking pictures of his family and friends, as well as scenes from his everyday life including buildings and people. Steaven became inspired to try photography by the encouragement of his neighborhood friend, Freddy.
Ryan Stanley
Ryan Stanley is from the north side of Chicago and is currently a junior at Amundsen High School. He enjoys many sports such as baseball and football, and he runs track for Amundsen. He also enjoys playing video games in his free time. In his photography, Ryan likes to capture landscapes and cityscapes both in color and black and white.
He first became interested in photography recently while on vacation after years of taking photos with his phone. Photography helps him to capture the surrounding environment in a way that will preserve it forever.
Isabella Tobar
Isabella Tobar is a sophomore at Lake View High School. She is from Chicago and lives in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. Isabella loves sports, specifically volleyball, taekwondo, and basketball. She also loves to spend time with her family.
In photography, Isabella likes to capture things that tell a bigger story, whether that be big things or little things. Isabella first became interested in photography after she saw how people could be captured in sports and seeing how she could combine two things she loves. In her photos she wants the viewer to see a story in her work and to see a deeper meaning in something others might not see at first glance.
