When Lawrence High School senior Brandon Nightingale talks about photography, he uses words like “passion” and “feelings” and says he wants to make a difference with his camera. Not bad for someone who just turned 18.

When he was 13, Nightingale received his first real camera, a Pentax single-lens reflex. It was a gift from his late grandfather, John Clark, who realized his grandson’s enthusiasm for taking pictures wasn’t just a phase.

Last year, Nightingale shot pictures for the school’s newspaper and yearbook, the Budget and the Red and Black. This semester he’s doing more.

“I like to shoot pictures of local bands and musicians because you can get in pretty close,” Nightingale said.

He sounds excited when he talks about the “great” light at night in downtown Lawrence, one of his favorite places to look for pictures.

“I always thought I wanted to be a photographer, but after the workshop I know I want to be a photographer,” the LHS senior said.

Nightingale attended a workshop — “Photography at the Summit” — last fall in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Lawrence native Rich Clarkson, a well-known photographer/book producer who lives in Denver, organized the workshop. He was the Journal-World’s first staff photographer in the early 1950s.

The workshop was a five-day, hands-on experience for amateurs and professionals to focus their photography skills. The photographers shot pictures in Ansel Adam’s old playground around the Grand Teton mountain range. Each evening, they attended presentations by the workshop’s faculty. This year’s instructors were photographers and photo editors who work for National Geographic, The New York Times, Time and National Wildlife magazines.

“One night when I saw Mary Anne Golon (Time Magazine picture editor) show James Nachtwey’s film, it blew me away,” an excited Nightingale said. Nachtwey is the world’s premier photographer of international tragedies.

Brandon Nightingale crosses a stream bed just outside Jackson Hole, Wyo., while looking for a scenic photograph during the annual Photography

Each morning, the group of professional photographers critiqued the students’ work from the previous day.

“On about the third morning, Nick Nichols (National Geographic photographer) looked at some of my shots and said, ‘you’ve got a great eye,'” a beaming Nightingale said.

For an assignment, Nightingale asked if he could follow the faculty to a local watering hole to shoot photos of them talking at the end of the day. He told them he wouldn’t even drink water. No go. He was under 21 and wasn’t allowed.

“I asked a Jackson Hole taxi driver if I could ride along one night to make photographs of him and his customers,” he said.

During the ride, the driver took Nightingale to his favorite tavern. Nightingale shot lots of photos of the patrons.

Nightingale’s initiative drew high praise from the faculty. But, that’s what got him to the workshop in the first place.

A different look at a pianist and a piano keyboard that Nightingale photographed before going to the Summit workshop.

The workshop costs $900. This doesn’t include meals, airfare or a motel room.

He received a $500 scholarship from Kansas City Custom Color.

“I asked some people to help sponsor me and in return I’d make them a print when I got back,” the enterprising teenager said. He added that his parents, Bruce and Larisa, “have been behind me 100 percent of the way.”

At the workshop, Kent Kobersteen, photo director at National Geographic, suggested Nightingale start a project when he returned to Lawrence. He chose the Lawrence Humane Society.

“I tried to look at the shelter from an animal’s viewpoint,” said Nightingale, who shot 20 rolls of film for the project.

Nightingale photographed Pat Roberts, right, and Hugh Naughton on guitar, both members of Clockwork, a Lawrence band. Local bands are a favorite subject of Nightingale's.

Nightingale plans to attend Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif. It’s excellent and expensive.

He spends lots of time writing scholarship essays and hopes to get a job this summer.

Nightingale knows photography is not an easy business to get into and doesn’t expect it to pay the bills right off the bat.

“But, I feel this is a definite passion of mine that’s never going away.”

After returning from the Summit workshop, Nightingale began a project photographing animals at the Lawrence Humane Society. He said he tried to show what it felt like to be a caged animal.