My digital portfolio
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Story telling through images
From the time I could sneak my parents' film camera out of the house to take pictures of my nieces in the yard when I was 12, I've been determined to capture images of family and friends. After becoming a journalism teacher, that passion grew more with advanced photo courses and teaching students how to make meaningful images. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to take pictures of people of all ages, from diverse backgrounds for a variety of purposes - student recognition, family histories, publication, archiving, story telling. The photo at left is a selfie from last winter, evidence of what I'll do to get the shot I'm seeking - hiking a couple hundred yards through snow, into the woods to catch cross country skiers as they race through northern Michigan in the White Pine Classic is one of my annual adventures.
PORTRAITS
Being trusted to capture individual and family portraits is a tremendous honor. This is a sampling of some of my favorites I've taken in school and at a friend's home.
MUSICAL THEATRE
Into the Light - and Into the Woods
After working with publicity crew each year to fill the house, I look forward to the opportunity to take out my camera and see the show through a zoom lens, crouching in Row 1 or sneaking into the wings, I love to try to stop the action and capture the light.
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This year I decided to move the publicity team into the Tiktok world - you can see a sample video I made from the 2021 show by clicking the "Tiktok Video" button below.
SPORTS
Volleyball State Championship
Usually my students are the ones behind the camera for big events - but on this day, none of them could make it for the trip to Battle Creek and I had the chance to be (not quite) court side. Due to MHSAA restrictions, I was confined to a limited space - directly in front of our student section. Regardless, it was an amazing afternoon to witness school history.
10X10X10 - BAND PRACTICE
One of my favorite sounds is a drumline practicing in the distance, with a bit of the pit carrying through the air as well. When I leave school late in the fall, sometimes I'm treated to those sounds as the marching band rehearses on the field. One evening as I walked toward my car, I changed course and headed down to the track with my phone in hand hoping to test something. I wondered: Could kids use just their phones to photograph the band - stand far enough away to be socially distanced and still capture images well enough to tell a story? I thought if I could, so could they. Ten minutes later I had captured nearly 100 pictures and a new assignment was born - 10x10x10. The challenge to my students was to take 10 photos per minute for 10 minutes from at least 10 feet away.
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There were several stories there that evening; one was that of a young woman whose color guard experience led her to stand out from her peers, directly behind the instructor, front and center. Another was that of a young man who had to dash between a pair of pit instruments to hit his multiple marks with intensity. Finally, wandering about the track and field, I found dedicated students who were there for the long haul.
RED ZONE
When one of my colleagues came up with the idea to give teachers a chance to recognize students in the school for being kind, she asked me if I would be able to help by taking pictures of all nominees. Over a few days, dozens of students showed up at my door during my conference period, my Journalism I: Photojournalism & Design Class, or during my Journalism II: Newspaper & Modern Media course. Each time visitors arrived, I'd turn on our studio lights, try to make the teens feel comfortable and do my best to capture what the nominating teachers saw in them. These are just some of the faces I was delighted to frame in photos.
