PHOTOJOURNALISM
Photography, which started as a fun hobby for me way back in 2015, has since turned into one of my biggest passions, and having the opportunity to expand my skills as photo editor has taught me invaluable lessons about the importance of preserving candid moments, both small and large, forever.
01
MUSEum
Dreyfoos culture is characterized by all of the student-led initiatives and activities occurring all over campus on a daily basis. As these finally reemerge this year, I have organized and led a section in front of book for each print issue entitled MUSEum that showcases all of this action solely through photos, immersing readers in a recap of recent events, both big and small, and giving our photo section the opportunity to shine.
02
The 2022 Tutus
As an arts school, performances are an integral part of our community and easily my favorite thing to cover. For the first time in two years, dance majors were able to host a live, in-person showcase featuring solos from several seniors, so I partnered with one of our writing staffers to produce a live story covering the event. Throughout the show, I aimed to encapsulate the grace and skill of each dancer and the overflowing emotions of finally being able to perform again.
Read the full story here.
03
The Black Box Theater in P-A-N-D-E-M-O-N-I-U-M
Earlier this year, the theatre department hosted "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," which one team opted to cover. However, the original photographer was unable to attend, so I had to step in and photograph rehearsals leading up to the show, behind-the-scenes activities, and the final show itself, which was one of my favorite experiences thus far as I had to challenge myself both technically and creatively to shoot in a setting that was constantly changing in terms of lighting, density, and proximity.
Read the full story here.
04
High Jumps, High Spirits
The role of photo editor entails not only doling out assignments to staffers and working on stories of my own but assisting each of my six staffers with all of their projects. This print story, focusing on the new cheer team, was a first-year photographer's first shoot of the year. Knowing how difficult sports are to cover, I accompanied her on the shoot and got some photos of my own to demonstrate the types of shots she could be working towards, and some were ultimately used in the final spread.
05
Dreyfoos Hall is Alive with the Sound of Music
I've been attending the annual Prism concert since seventh grade and could previously only dream of getting to photograph it. This year, I was fortunate enough to cover the open dress rehearsal, where I pushed myself as an editor, a photographer, and most importantly, an artist. After weeks of preparation — including walkthroughs at the Kravis Center, multiple meetings with the other photographers there, interviews with performers to discover new angles, and more — the moment came and I was able to get all the shots I had envisioned and hoped for (all while trying to hold back tears of joy).
Read the full story here.
06
Don't Feed the Plants
This was easily my proudest project ever — after six weeks of dedication, five photoshoots, and seemingly infinite revisions that made me consider scrapping it altogether, I proved to myself that I could creatively combine and grow my strengths in all aspects of journalism and form strong connections within the community during the process. This was a photo essay following the production of a mainstage musical from auditions to closing, and by the end of it, I was allowed on stage to take photos during their final runthrough and almost singlehandedly created a full story that I love to this day.
Read the full story here.
07
Rain or Shine, Let the SunFest In
I've always dreamed of one day photographing a high-energy, high-intensity music festival, getting to maximize visual dynamics to fully represent the liveliness, and SunFest was the perfect opportunity. With pit access, I was able to get up close to the performers to capture the shots I had envisioned, all while gaining insight into the life of a professional photojournalist as I worked alongside staffers from local and national publications.