Seniors involved in photography or art have the opportunity each year to display their work in either the Eastern Star Gallery or the hallway gallery. This year, Jacqui Ambriz was the first senior to display her work in the Eastern Star Gallery.

Her self-titled photography exhibit opened on March 14.

Ambriz photographed her cousin Anthony Escalera around her local city, Santa Monica. In the photos, Escalera is holding a camera and taking photos. Ambriz had this consistent theme throughout her collection.

“I originally decided to shoot someone else with a camera to show the building blocks of an image coming to life,” Ambriz said.

Ambriz has been working on her exhibit since December 2016. When finishing the collection, Ambriz also picked pieces from other individual or small collections, separate from her senior show, that she had been shooting throughout the year.

At the show, Ambriz’s mom, older brother and cousin — who is also her muse — were all there to show support.

“I am very proud of Jacqui for being brave enough to have her own exhibit,” her mother Mardee Ambriz said. “The pictures are amazing, and I’m very impressed because I didn’t even know she had taken these pictures.”

Ambriz has been taking photography classes at Archer since she was a freshman.

“My favorite thing about photography is being able to see a photograph I’ve taken and be able to instantly go back to that moment and remember where I was and how I felt in that moment,” Ambriz said.