Gallery • 5 Photos

Photo by photo used with permission of Conner Burns

“Art has changed my life,” Conner Burns, junior, said. “I started with photography and it kind of evolved from there. I plan on going to college for art and hopefully I can go into film and television.”

Burns hopes to further his art portfolio, then attend Savannah Art School of Design in Georgia to continue his passion.

“I got really into [photography] my freshman year in my Photo Class, and it became my daily life. I always liked art classes because I always did well in them, but I never really took them seriously until [freshman year]. Since I realized how much I enjoyed it, I figured why not make it the most important thing in my life.”

Since falling in love with photo, Burns, with the help of his family and friends, has decided to pursue his passion full time.

“I’m actually graduating a year early so I can focus on my art. My family and I wrote a letter to the district to get the early graduation regulation appealed so I can graduate a [full] year early,” Burns said. “I am going to Europe for two months to focus on my photography. I have enough credits, I will be taking summer classes, and will be taking college courses online while I’m gone.”

Burns says he will use his time in Europe to travel, grow as an artist, and add to his portfolio with.

“I am going to a different place every couple weeks,” Burns said. “I know I am going to Rome, Ireland, Spain, and France for sure. I have family that travels a lot [and] who lives in France, so I will be traveling with a different family member each week.”

Burns is not waiting for his trip to keep expanding his profile; he continues to work on out of school projects for his own enjoyment and with the help and support of his friends.

“We’re basically the same person, which is why we tell people we’re half brothers,” Stefano Ukleba, senior and Burns’ friend, said. “I really think art has changed Conner in the best way it can change anyone. Being as talented as he is, he can express basically anything and everything through his art. It also opened doors to many opportunities for him, especially with his photography.”

Burns experiences in different parts of Europe will allow for to assimilate to the culture around the world.

“Being a high school student, I am stuck in Lake Zurich with the Lake Zurich culture. I would like to experience the outside world along with the people and the places and experience as much as I can,” Burns said. “I think the people will be very open and welcoming and I think what I capture will be very genuine.”

Burns hopes the experience and exposure to the outside world will help him grow as an artist.

“It will make me a better artist because [taking photos] is all I’m going to be doing while I’m there,” Burns said. “Hopefully, it will also make me very worldly and able to appreciate what I have back home, and beyond that, able to appreciate the things that are only found there. It’s just to open my eyes to the world before I go out into it.”