Bella Johnson is currently in her third year of the Bachelor Program. Originally from Bendigo (Victoria), she was encouraged to learn photography at PSC by her year 12 teacher who considered the courses here to be the best in the industry. Upon visiting our campus with two other friends from Bendigo, Bella was awe-inspired by the work on display around our buildings and loved the friendliness of staff, as well as students.
Joining PSC was the obvious choice for Bella who knew that her passion for image making would take her on an exciting journey. She commuted from Bendigo to the Melbourne CBD for 6 months before moving to the eclectic neighbourhood of Brunswick, and has since centred her focus around photojournalism, which is her chosen major.
‘I’ve always blurred the line between art and documentary photography. The idea of travelling always fascinated me, as a result I now regard lifestyle-travel photography as a genre to work towards.’
Bella was one of the lucky students to attend the Obscura Photo Festival (Penang) last year, as part of her learning at PSC which enables 2nd year students in the Bachelor Program to participate in the global dialogue of photography, while they meet international photographers. Along with her travels around the eastern coast of Australia, Bella enjoys capturing life in forlorn places as well as the spontaneous moments enjoyed by Melbourne's youth.
Bella feels more connected to the work she produces through analog photography, which makes her style distinct. She usually works with digital photography for her clients – one of which is ‘Don’t Flop’ Australia, the country’s first rap battle performance company that features artists from America and the U.K. She was also a silver award winner at the Epson AIPP Victoria State Awards this year.
‘My style has definitely evolved since being here. The teaching staff couldn’t be much better than the ones at PSC. I’m currently learning photojournalism from Katrin Koenning – who is amazing. At PSC the great thing is that you’re learning from those who have really successful careers in photography.’
We look forward to seeing the growth of Bella’s work and welcome you to our PSC Open Day on 14 August, where you'll have the chance to meet Bella. You can ask her questions about what it’s like to study at PSC and start your life as a photographer. Find out more about our Bachelor Program and credit transfers: http://psc.edu.au/full_time.html