About Robin McNulty

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As the only staff photographer for Palo Alto High School's Verde Magazine, Robin McNulty creates a photo essay for each issue. She was shooting at a duck pond for her spread "Around the Baylands" when she took the picture that became "X-ray of a Seagull."

Medical equipment was not involved. The original negative was used to create a color slide, which was then printed in black and white. The process reverses the shading in the finished product, creating the "x-ray" effect.

"I was just experimenting, and I liked the result," McNulty said.

She hopes to someday combine photography with her passion for politics. The 16-year-old Palo Alto High School junior has already worked as an intern assistant to the photo editor of Mother Jones magazine. Her ideal job, she said, might be shooting an event like the Democratic National Convention.

Next year, she'll become photo editor at Verde, but she's not too worried about the increased responsibility. The difference between staffer and editor, she said, probably isn't that significant when you're the entire department.

--Cross Missakian