Palisades Charter High School photography students have their work on exhibit at the Palisades Branch Library on Alma Real through the end of June. Their teacher Rick Steil, who lives in the community with his family, chose the photos from thousands that were turned in as class assignments. The photos are on sale, and proceeds will be used to expand the school’s photography program. Steil, a professional photographer for more than 30 years, began teaching at PaliHi in 2008. ‘I have no regrets about giving up my [photography] career,’ Steil said. ‘The last four years have been quite rewarding as I see my students going on to do great things. One student Julian Berman (Pali 2010) was the youngest photographer (age 19) to ever shoot the cover of Billboard magazine, and numerous students have accepted large scholarships to great art schools.’ Steil continued, ‘The best thing that has happened since I became a teacher is the amount of time I have been able to spend with my wife and two sons. I would not have changed that for anything.’ His wife Nicole, a former model, currently works as an office manager and marketing consultant. Son Tucker is a freshman at Pali and Tyler is a senior, who will attend UC Berkeley. When Steil began at Pali, there were 12 digital and 12 film cameras in class, but he wanted to make cameras available to all of the 150 students who take his classes. He put out a plea to the community for additional cameras, and has since raised the number to 48 digital and 50 film cameras. ’We are always looking for additional equipment,’ Steil said. ‘Whether it is digital or film, we can never have enough cameras or money to purchase supplies and new equipment, as well as pay for repairs.’ The PaliHi Booster Club has donated money for flashes, strobes and a wind machine, enabling Steil to create a modern photo studio. The club also helped purchase a professional digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, so that his yearbook class could take decent interior shots of plays and sporting events. The resulting images in last year’s yearbook ‘looked great,’ said Steil, adding that they sold every yearbook ($80) and netted $22,000 profit for the school. ‘We also received the first award for Pail’s yearbook.’ Balfour, the company that publishes yearbooks, ranked it in the top one percent of the books it printed. Also on his to-do list is obtaining a sponsor for the class. ‘To take my class to the next level I would love to be sponsored by Canon USA,’ he said. ‘I am in the process of contacting the appropriate people. They sponsor the program at SMC. I feel we are doing some great things at Pali and if they were aware they may consider us as a program to sponsor.’ Steil teaches three Photo 1 classes, with an average of 35 students per class; one advanced class (25 students); and yearbook (22 students). Steil, who grew up in Iowa, earned a B.A. in marketing at the University of Dubuque before attending the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara to study photography. After graduation, he worked in New York City and Europe with photographers Hal Davis, who shot ads for Johnny Walker, Revlon and Nivea, and Mike Reinhardt, a major fashion photographer.
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