A photo exhibit at the Salt Lake Art Center shows off the work of a few dozen high school students from Salt Lake City and Elko, Nevada.

The teens say these pictures are a way to reach out to the community- one that is often skeptical of their abilities.

John Schaefer, curator of education: "They've become the squeaky wheel in our community. They are the people that are getting the press, mostly bad, some good, but mostly bad."

Cindy Matamoros/Youth Artist: "It's a way of teens expressing themselves. There are so many other ways that teens go out and express themselves-- suicide, you know, murders. But if you look at the art that some teens do, it tells you a lot about them."

The teenagers hope to change their negative image and prove to the community they can do something positive.

Steven Anderson/Youth Artist: "Not only were you able to voice your opinion, you were able to do it through art, which I really like art and I like expressing myself and I thought it was a pretty good, positive way of doing that."

Susan Price/Art mentor: "Art is a way to get noticed and express yourself and how you feel that is peaceful."

But it wasn't just about taking photographs. They say it opened their eyes.

Abraham Manning, Youth Artist: "It just doesn't educate people about art 'cause whenever you go out and start taking pictures of different things, of all kinds of diversity, you start to notice things."

The teens say they proved to themselves they could get noticed for doing something positive.