Through the Lens: Anika's SISP on Photography

For many seniors, the Senior Independent Study Project, known as SISP, is a chance to explore something meaningful to them outside of the pressure of an academic year. For Anika, that something was photography. To her, photography is a personal refuge, a way to capture the everyday moments she never wants to forget. "When I look back at my photos, I don't just see the image," she explained. "I remember the emotions and mindset I had at that time." That deep personal connection to the artistic medium is what led her to choose photography as the focus of her senior project. 

Although Anika has grown up surrounded by photography–both of her parents pursued it as a hobby–she relied on her phone for casual pictures. Her original goal for the project was to make the leap to a professional camera and master the technical fundamentals. She wanted to learn how to change manual settings and understand how to apply them across different types of photography, including still life, portraits, and landscape. Through her journey, she came across her mentor, Paul Smith, an award-winning and well-renowned photographer in the New England area, known for being the President of the Gateway Camera Club and a judge of many of their photography competitions. From him, she gets advice, studying what photographers call the “exposure triangle”. The triangle experiments with the interplay between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. "I needed to become more comfortable with the basics to be able to adjust different settings in manual mode," she said. As her technical confidence grew, so did her sense of creative purpose.

The road to success wasn’t without its challenges. The most significant hurdle Anika faced was an internal one: learning to trust her own eyes. Working alongside her accomplished mentor and seeing her parents' best work over the years, she found herself searching for a “perfect picture”. She began to look for objective standards that she felt obligated to meet, a huge pressure that weighed on her early in the process. But over the course of the project, her perspective shifted: "Everyone's perspective is different," she reflected, "Even if you and another person stood next to each other and took a picture of the same thing, your pictures are going to be completely different." She stopped comparing her work to others’ and started making decisions with confidence in herself. That shift was among the most important breakthroughs of the entire journey. 

One moment stands out above the rest throughout her months of hard work and dedication. While visiting Acadia National Park, Anika climbed Cadillac Mountain to photograph the sunset. Still relatively new to manual shooting, she found herself caught off guard by how quickly the light was changing. She had to adjust her settings rapidly and trust her instincts in real time. With no guidance and no guarantee the photos would turn out well, she was tested on her ability to produce a good picture. "In the moment, I felt very unsure and honestly worried that none of the photos would turn out well," she recalled. But when she went back and looked through her collection, she was stunned: the photographs were beautiful. The experience became a turning point, proving to her that she was capable of performing under pressure and producing meaningful pieces of art even in uncertain conditions. 

Beyond technical growth, Anika described her project as something that quietly shaped the path of her entire senior year. With college applications, WPI coursework, and a packed schedule all competing for her attention, photography offered something rare: a reason to slow down. "It reminded me to notice small details–light, color, atmosphere–instead of always thinking about the next deadline," she said. During the most intense stretches of the year, picking up her camera became a form of peace, a way to step back from the cycle of performance and simply be present. "It kept me grounded and prevented burnout," she reflected, adding how she is genuinely grateful she chose this project.

Looking ahead, Anika speaks to how this project recalibrated how she thinks about her future. Though she is pursuing a STEM-focused career, she no longer sees creativity as something separate from her occupation. "Photography showed me that being technical and being creative aren't opposites–they can actually work together," she said. Whatever direction her career takes her, she wants it to include both structure and imagination. As for advice, she would pass on to the juniors who begin to find their own senior projects: choose something you genuinely care about, not something that sounds impressive. Stay consistent, let your goals evolve, and document everything. "Looking back at how far you've come," she said with a smile, "is one of the most rewarding parts."