Maria Ilardi is a lot like most teenagers. She has a ton of photos stashed on her iPhone. But, unlike most teenagers, she also has a collection of her favorites framed around her home.
“She’s very artistic. She has always been. She’s very creative,” said her mother, Myrna. “She has always been able to see things in a different perspective.”
Maria, 15, takes photos with her Canon whenever inspiration strikes. There are photos of birds in her living room and flowers in her dining room.
The newest photo, one she titled “Bubbles in the Sun”, hangs in a white frame on a wall across from the front door of her Oldsmar home. It’s the first thing you see when you enter the house.
“When I do photography, it’s not just for me, it’s also to leave everybody else with something, too,” said the rising sophomore at Clearwater Central Catholic High School. “You can be dead in 1,000 years or something, but your work will still be alive.”
Maria won an award for “Bubbles in the Sun” at the 2018 Tarpon Paint and Photo competition. Her work was anonymously judged. The photo features sponges from a storefront display in Tarpon Springs.
“When they called her name, they were shocked that she was just 15,” said her dad, Peter, who admits Maria didn’t get her photography skills from her parents.
The photo is now one of the more special pieces in the Ilardi’s home. The ribbon it earned hangs just below it. Both are reminders of what’s possible for the budding young photographer.
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