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Santa Monica H.S. Photography Teacher Replaced After Discovery That His Students Shot 'Artistic' Semi-Nudes
Photo by polaroid-girl via the LAist Featured Photos pool
A photography teacher at Santa Monica High was replaced by a substitute teacher after it was discovered that his students were taking semi-nude portraits.Whether the teacher Allan Barnes was fired or resigned isn't clear, but either way parents and students are furious: they want him back.
"Clearly the students involved were doing what all thoughtful, challenging teenagers do: dancing close to the defined limits while exercising their artistic muscles," parent Marianne Borgardt told Santa Monica Patch.
Carina Ramirez, 17, was one of the student photographers whose semi-nude photos caused a stir. She used the on-campus photo studio to take one picture of a couple hugging. Other shots (that you can see on Patch) show a woman's back and her side. There are no nips, no pubes. Some of the photos were hung up in a student art show, and others were taken for her college portfolio.
"I focused on backs, ribs and bones," Ramirez told Patch. "I never thought they would be taken the wrong way."
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