Teen photographer wins Henderson ad contest

By Becky Bosshart

Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 | midnight

Robie Ziegler: environmental activist. No, that doesn't quit fit the hip 16-year-old who has perfectly painted Cleopatra eyes, wispy long brown hair and ropes of delicate gold chains around her neck.

Budding fashion photographer. That's her style.

But to get there, she needs practice. Which she gets in Coronado High School photography classes. And that leads to entering contests, like the Green and Great Photo and Video Contest sponsored by the city of Henderson. The sophomore's first-place viewer's choice photo "Think Green" will be featured in city of Henderson living-green ad campaigns.

"I'm just given an assignment and I just do it," said the Las Vegas native, who has studied photography for about two years. "Things come up in my head."

Robie is an idea maker. She gets inspiration from deviantART.com, a site for new deviations in graphic design and photography. And then with her budding knowledge of digital photography, she starts shooting. She spends hours on the design program Photoshop, when other teens are playing video games or trolling at the malls.

"I like being able to take pictures and then make them my own," she said.

Her prize, announced in late October, was a gift bag full of environmentally friendly products.

Ziegler planted and photographed the leafy pink-petaled daisy near the Anthem Hills skate park. She then used Photoshop to insert the image into a photo she took of a light bulb. The slogan "Think Green" is set against a black background.

Robie's portfolio shows a variety of "interesting landscapes."

She captured the unglamorous side of the Nevada landscape in photos taken in 2008 at an illegal desert dump site near the Strip. On a few of the photos she digitally drew a sad-faced stick figure, seemingly mourning the environmental destruction.

Ziegler also captures the destruction and emotional loss of a burned-down Henderson home in 2007. She shot a crumbled ceiling fan and the scarred wood debris.

Her weapon for these provocative photos is a $900 Canon Digital Rebel XSi, a Christmas gift from her grandparents, Mike and Linda Lou Brunsvold, who Robie lives with.

"We always try to develop what she's interested in by giving her the tools she needs," said Linda Lou Brunsvold, of Henderson. She estimated they've invested about $3,000 into Robie's equipment. She hopes to send her grand daughter to one of the Art Institutes for summer classes and then college.

With a handful of photo classes already on her transcript, Robie hopes to translate this hobby into a career. Her photography interest is growing. But the same can't be said of that pink daisy.

"We took it back home and it died awhile later," she said.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].