SACO — Recent Thornton Academy graduate Virginia Bradford has definitely left her mark on campus.

Bradford, 18, of Saco, was the 15th year recipient of the Purchase Prize. Her digital photo, “Self-Portrait in Blue,” is now part of the Thornton’s permanent art collection.

For “Self-Portrait in Blue,” Bradford wore a vintage dress from the 1930s, and with her hair and makeup done in the style of the era, stood on top of the front steps of an old mansion in Biddeford that was falling into disrepair.

The photo, she said, depicts both the glamour of the 1930s and the economic depression of that time.

“I’m interested in the history of fashion, and ways to present it,” Bradford said. “I guess it could really be performance art, but it was captured just at one moment in time.”

Bradford’s interest in photography began at a young age, and she recalls getting a camera when she was 12.

“I immediately took a picture,” she said. At first, she was taking “too many” pictures, about 100 a day with maybe three really good ones. Eventually, with practice, she was taking fewer photos and getting more high quality ones.

When she first starting taking photos, Bradford said, she’d take pictures of everything, including what she had for breakfast or her sister walking to the bus stop. After taking art classes in 8th grade, her started taking photos that she now describes as “overly artistic” and “pretentious.”

Eventually, she found her style, and she said she enjoys taking candid street photography in addition to carefully staging photos shoots like “Self-Portrait in Blue.”

Though most of her photography is digital, Bradford has also dabbled in film photography thanks to a class at Thornton where she learned to develop film.

Bradford also likes to draw and enjoys creating digital art, because its easier to get the exact color she wants while doing digital art then it is on paper.

Last summer, Bradford was selected as a Homer High School Fellow, a seven-week paid fellowship at the Portland Museum of Art.

Bradford is originally from the Boston area and is excited to return there in the fall to attend University of Massachusetts Boston where she plans to study history and art.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be reached at 780-9015 or by email at egotthelf@journaltribune.com.