Like many of the urban teens, who join the Boston Photo Collaborative, Ernesto Pontillo started out in the summer program, Project Image, as a shy 15-year-old who had trouble expressing himself. But with guidance from staff and his own determination, he began developing confidence in his abilities and later joined the after-school Teen Images program, quickly becoming a "team leader." As he grew more technically proficient at photography, Ernesto also started using his newfound communication skills to build business, arrange shoots, and work with such Teen Images clients as the Wang Center, the Boston Children's Theatre, and First Night Boston.

Since the Collaborative was founded in 1991, hundreds of Boston's inner-city teens have followed a similar path through its year-round programs which are conducted - as the name implies - in collaboration with arts centers, theater companies, youth groups, specialized schools, and local social service agencies. With or without prior photography experience, young people may drop in for the after-school "Viewpoints" activities, which focus on media literacy and the power of photographic images. In the summer, Project Image provides education and paid employment as teens go "on assignment" and photograph festivals and other events. Participants also create personal photo essays to combat the negative portrayal of urban teens in the media, which they have voiced as one of their biggest concerns. At summer's end, they gain practice in public speaking by presenting their work to more than 120 family members, friends, and funders in a reception at a local photo college. Many Project Image graduates then go on to work in Teen Images, the year-round, teen-run photography business. A new component, the Neighborhood Technology Center, which provides computer access for the community, adds a technology element to the teens' photo work.

Year by year, youth by youth, the Collaborative also is adding to its gallery of successful graduates - like Ernesto Pontillo. In the fall of 1997, he entered Massachusetts College of Art to study photography, where he received a scholarship for outstanding artistic achievement. In the summer of 1999, he returned to the Collaborative as the assistant instructor for Project Image.