When she first started City College a year ago, all she knew about cameras was to point them at what she wanted to shoot.

Now, photography major Guro Leopperød, 23, from Norway is getting ready to attend the Paris College of Art.

“I don’t know how this is going to go,” said Leopperød. “I can’t even speak French, but I downloaded an app to learn!”

Going to the Paris College of Art wasn’t always a childhood dream for Leopperød. In fact, she barely even knew of the school’s existence until a year ago.

“I just submitted a portfolio and… it actually worked.”  said Leopperød with a impish smile and her eyebrows raised in slight disbelief.

Looking up to photographers like Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, and Herdis Siegert, Leopperød prefers to take portraits in black and white partly because she enjoys pictures that show off her subject’s visage and partly because she is partially colorblind.

“I can’t see red and green colors, but I don’t think any of my teachers even know,” said Leopperød mischievously.

“Well… that’s news to me!” said Linda Lowell, chair of the photography department. “But looking back, it makes sense.”

Pulling out Leopperød’s work, Lowell looks at the intricate illustrations and notices how they are devoid of color. “It’s pretty genius how she’s taken a perceived disability and used it to make her work stronger.”

Lowell affectionately calls Leopperød “G” because of  Leopperød’s good-natured personality and because it was the only thing she could correctly pronounce.

Leopperød’s professors have said she’s extremely talented with Photoshop. Upon hearing this, however, Leopperød blinks with surprise.

“I don’t know if I’m ‘extremely talented’ with the Photoshop, but I like exploring it and seeing what it can do to bring out expressions.”

Refusing to let her artistry be limited to one specific type, Leopperød likes to experiment with portrait photography, fashion photography, and other “artsy” type illustrations.

Recently, the Brooks Institute’s Gallery 27 selected a piece from Leopperød’s Tumblr to be featured in their upcoming exhibit: “The Dialect of Form: Body Language & Photography.”

The picture they chose features Emilie Beck, a good friend and classmate of Leopperød’s, with her hair haphazardly thrown into a bun staring pensively at the floor, her hand pushing her hair out of her face.

In true Leopperød fashion, the photo is in black and white, accentuating Beck’s freckles and casting shadows on her face, making it gaunt and angular.

“G’s one of the brightest stars,” said Lowell. “She’ll excel in a Parisian environment among the creative stimulus of museums and the city. I expect to watch her career go far.”

The joie de vie attitude of Paris suits Leopperød well.

Shrugging her shoulders Leopperød ends the interview saying, “I have no idea what I’m going to do. As long as I can keep creating something, I’m happy.”