Photography With ANIA

Ania Gruca was born in France in 1977. She moved to New York City in 1999 to apprentice with drummer and percussionist Leon Parker as well as pursue her own goals as a musician. Since that time she has graduated from the University of Paris (Sorbonne Nouvelle and Nanterre) with a degree in languages applied to business and law.
Ania discovered photography in her late twenties and immediately knew she had found her profession and passion.

In Zanzibar she has worked on different projects, mainly in the documentary area, which is her particular area of interest. She visited Zanzibits in 2009 after hearing a lot about the program, and early in 2010 she sent an e-mail to express her interest in volunteering at Zanzibits to offer photography lessons. Mr. Guy Mullens, the director of Zanzibits, made all the arrangements and she is currently teaching photography.

After just one week in her class in Zanzibits students have learned a lot about the basics of photography – the different approaches and styles, how to take good photos while you consider elements like focus, angles, centered framing, etc., and the different settings of the camera.

Students have practiced documentary photography on the different streets of Zanzibar and at political meetings – this has been "learning by doing" for Ania and the students, because they are photographing current issues happening in Zanzibar.

Ania is also teaching photo editing using the Photoshop tool. It offers different effects, for example, changing the photos from color to black and white, which is what Ania herself favors.

The photography lessons have been very interesting and a great development for Zanzibits. Everybody is enjoying the course and Ania is enjoying teaching as well.
Thank you Ania!