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Photoworks is packed. On the first floor of the Arcade Building in Glen Echo Park, artists and friends check out the work of eight Washington area shooters. The reception itself has become a photo op. Everything from costly digital SLR's to inexpensive Holga film cameras capture the hordes of onlookers gawking at the second annual "Mirror to the World" show. Some images are pretty. Sonia Suter's captures of a ballet class glow with innocence and humor. Others, like Sean M. Bowie's scenes from Baltimore skate parks, examine a grittier side of American life.

Away from the action, curator and Photoworks instructor Frank Van Riper leans against a table and soaks it all in. Half the photographers in the show are former students.

"Documentary photography involves getting under the skin of your subject," he says. "That's what I think these folks have done in any number of different ways. It really is a reflection of daily human life."

The subject matter varies, as does the format. Some photographers have embraced the digital SLR revolution; others still prefer film. Van Riper sees both sides of the issue.

"It's a mixed blessing to shoot 500 frames in a couple of minutes," he explains. "Very often a good photographer has to use his or her eye and brain as opposed to using a finger on a motor drive. When I was a reporter in the '60s and '70s, some of the best photographers on Capitol Hill, like George Tames, would sit and wait for the decisive moment to make a photograph."

Jonathan Zuck is one of the digital advocates. He credits his Canon 5D Mark II for the ability to accurately capture street vendors in Seoul, South Korea. The vendors and markets mostly set up at night, which provided a vivid combination of shadows and brightly-lit delicacies.

"The benefit of the darkness and isolating your subject is making the thing you're taking a picture of jump [out]. The colors are saturated, and it turns the photo almost into a painting," he says.

When compared to the other work he posts online, Zuck's shots of Seoul vendors appear to be a strange departure. But street photography isn't out of the ordinary. Wherever he travels, Zuck documents his surroundings.

"There's a certain amount of exercise associated with documentary photography," he says. "When you have an uncontrolled environment and you're trying to get a good composition, it's a little bit like playing speed chess as practice for regular chess."

The Seoul series couldn't be further from the constructed realities he creates in his Washington and Brussels studios. Zuck says he was inspired by a culture that has survived since South Korea was known as the "Hermit Kingdom."

"I was interested in the juxtaposition of a city that has grown so fast in the last 50 years," he explains. "In Korea, I saw the preservation of these vendors, even on the equivalent of Rodeo Drive."

On the other extreme, Chevy Chase resident and George Washington University Law professor Sonia Suter did not start shooting until 2006. Like most moms, she wanted to capture moments in the lives of her children. After a couple of classes at Photoworks from Van Riper and Karen Keating, the hobby became more serious. Suter chose to shoot pictures of her 4-year-old daughter Ariana's ballet class.

"I had danced seriously for many years, and now my daughter is doing ballet," Suter says. "Ballet, which I love, my daughter and photography seemed to be a great blend of passions."

Suter visited the dance studio more than a dozen times, snapping moments of joy and frustration. To accurately capture these emotions, she remained a fly on the wall. One shot shows Ariana visibly upset and lying on her stomach.

"I didn't tell her a whole lot because she and my son [Mateo] are so used to me showing up at their classes with a camera," she recalls. "I said to her, ‘You're going to have to let Mommy focus on taking pictures.' I mostly worried about whether my presence was disrupting the class because she felt comfortable letting her hair down."

Perhaps no other artist better represents the true essence of documentary photography more than Sean M. Bowie. Itching to complete a project of his own, he looked to the skate parks near his Baltimore home. The idea, he says, was to focus on youth outside a school setting. The project is not finished. The positive vibes he has received from the teenagers has encouraged him to dig further into the Charm City skate culture.

"I'm just interested in how the kids interact," notes Bowie. "As a 30-year-old man, I have my own questions about sexuality and masculinity and how that develops. You go to these skate parks and there's no girls. There's one female skater that people know of. The rest [of the girls] are almost like groupies of rock stars sitting on the sidelines. There's just an interesting traditional role play going on there."

Bowie is part of what has become known as "The Cult of Frank Van Riper." The group started as a joke over beers a few years ago and now includes near 60 area photographers.

"There's a fair amount of education value. It's a good group of friends surrounding a common subject. That's how it functions for me right now. When I have a question, I just send it out to the group and see what I get back," he says.

According to Van Riper, documentary photography doesn't have to tell a story. Sometimes posed portraits can say a lot about a certain place and time. Witness Joshua Yospyn's pictures of fairgoers at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. In full costume, Vikings, wenches and even a nun reflect a culture that remained underground for decades. With the popularity of fantasy games like "World of Warcraft," they have become more visible.

With the series, Yospyn wanted to celebrate this society, not exploit it.

"I hesitate to use the word [costume]," he says. "A lot of these people — this is what they believe in. This is kind of their ideal way of life. They're proud of what they're wearing and they want to share it with people."

Yospyn gets honest poses from his subjects by telling them to "act bored." His portraits of pedestrians on U Street and the Georgetown rugby team help balance more formal studio work.

"When people pose for a portrait, they automatically think they should smile and look happy," he explains. "A lot of photographers believe this is the ultimate act of self-expression. For me, I'm not always happy and cheery. In my photography, I like to be kind of neutral. That's why I ask these people to be expressionless and somewhat in the middle of their emotions."

"Mirror to the World" runs through April 18 at Glen Echo Park's Photoworks studio and gallery, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. Call 301-634-2274 or visit glenechophotoworks.org.