Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue - March/April 2014

Something old: photos of a preschool prom here in Bowling Green, Ky.
Something new: photos from "celebrations" in Lexington, Ky. after the University of Kentucky lost to the University of Connecticut in the 2014 NCAA National Championship game.
Something borrowed: A shooting technique I used in Lexington, from some other photographers. Slowing down the shutter speed and using a strobe.
Something blue: Go Cats?

Thanks for looking!

UK Fans Celebrate Sweet 16 Win Over Louisville - 3/28/14

I made a spontaneous trip up to Lexington to shoot the post-game celebrations of UK fans after their Sweet 16 win over Louisville. I ended up all over town. Here's some frames from the UK CSF building and the infamous State Street. Thanks for looking!

Early Semester Stuff - Spring 2014

It's been a while since I dusted off the blog. Here's some stuff I've been shooting this semester - a story on WKU student Cameron Levis, who works with disabled people through his organization Inclusive Ministries; a WKU men's basketball game; snow that shut down campus for 2 consecutive days; and a spontaneous spring break trip to New York City. Thanks for looking.

Lighting Final - December 2013

It's been a very long time since I updated my blog. I haven't shot much this semester, and stuff for my Lighting class has comprised most of it. Here's a portion of my Lighting final portfolio.

Beginnings of Lighting Class

Some stuff from the beginning half of my Lighting class this semester - assignments include a pepper, a teacher, an athlete, and a blue-collar worker.

University of Louisville NCAA Championship Celebration - 04/08/13

A huge group of WKUPJ students made the trip to Louisville in hopes that riotous celebration would break out if Louisville won the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game. We weren't disappointed. It was a ton of fun to be in the middle of a crowd (I've heard over 5,000 people were in the area that we were, Cardinal Towne) that was going absolutely bonkers. I'm including more photos than usual in this post just because I had a ton of fun with this and enjoyed a lot of stuff I got from it.

Beauty and the Greek - 02/13/13

I shot Omega Phi Alpha's "Beauty and the Greek" pageant as my first assignment for the Herald. Here are some of my favorite shots.

Downing University Center Construction - 02/12/13

I've been working on a story about the construction of our campus student center, and Tuesday I got to go inside the site. It was really awesome, and I can't wait for it to reopen. Here are some of my favorite shots.

The Spoon Man - 10/31/12

On Halloween, I ventured downtown with a few friends doing some feature hunting. While we were out, we met The Spoon Man. He was quite the character, and showed one of us how he played the spoons. He told us that students from WKU always took photos of him, and he said they "even put me in the Herald once!"

KMEA State Marching Band Finals - 10/27/12

Saturday night after the 5A semifinals, the KMEA State Marching Band Finals rocked Smith Stadium. All classes, from 1A to 5A performed in hopes of taking home a Governor's Cup trophy. It was super intense - and ridiculously cold. It capped off a day of 12 hours of shooting. I was sore, freezing, and extremely tired by the end, but I got some great shots. Here are my favorites.

KMEA State 5A Semifinals - 10/27/2012

This past weekend, WKU hosted the KMEA State Marching Band 5A Semifinals at Smith Stadium. I had the blessing of obtaining credentials for the event, and I was blown away. My school never had a marching band, so I have never been exposed to the sheer pageantry that is a marching band competition. It was so much fun to watch, especially considering the 5A schools filled the entire field with color guard, props, and the band. Here are some of my favorite shots. 

Bowling Green International Festival - 09/29/12

Today I went to the Bowling Green International Festival in hopes of shooting for both the Talisman and for my Intro to Photojournalism class. I probably accomplished the latter, but overall, I was really disappointed with my shooting. I walked around for over an hour and simply could not find anything to shoot. Maybe I'm being too picky, or maybe I'm finally realizing how far I have to go to become a good photographer. Regardless, I sat down dejectedly at the fountain and observed a boy running through it. Soon after, several more joined him, and thus came my best pictures of the day.

I'm really not happy with all of my shots of regular events lately. Sports was my thing all through high school, and I believe it still is. It's taking me outside my comfort zone to try and photograph events and people that are spontaneous and frankly sometimes boring. I hope that as the semester progresses I'll get better at this - I have lots of ground to make up between myself and the other amazing photographers here at WKU. 

Egg

My first Intro to Photojournalism assignment was devilishly (egg pun!) simple: shoot an egg. It was difficult for me, because I'm so used to the fast and furious action of sports - and even the few portraits I've done have been people, with expressions and skin tone and basically everything that an egg doesn't have. To maximize my creative output, I limited myself to shooting around campus, hoping that a small area would keep me from overcomplicating such a simple subject. The third shot is the one I ended up submitting.