Through the eyes of a lens
I've always loved taking photos, and being in journalism has allowed me to attend and photograph many events. My love for photography and digital media has inspired me to teach others the skills necessary to use a DSLR.
Teacher Tennis Tournament
Whenever I go to events, I enjoy taking both video footage and photos that I can use for social media coverage. I attended the first-ever Teacher Tennis Tournament initially to make a video story, but I ended up taking photos for our Instagram as well. I had never photographed a tennis match before and I found the experience to be challenging yet very fun.
TEACHER TENNIS TOURNAMENT: Earlier today, the tennis team hosted their very first Teacher Tennis Tournament. Tennis players paired up with teachers to play doubles matches in a tournament bracket. “Our goal was to just get people interested in the sport and build some hype around the team,” senior and tennis captain Satvik Raghunathan said. “The main goal was to have fun, and everyone had fun. That’s the feedback we received and we’re really happy about that.” Raghunathan won the tournament alongside math teacher Kelly Flickinger.
HIGH FIVE: Science teacher Jessica Davis high fives senior Nick Ospina after winning a match.
GOOD GAME: Senior Nick Ospina and his doubles partner science teacher Jessica Davis shake their opponents hands after winning a match.
READY TO HIT: Math teacher Kelly Flickinger practices her serve. “It’s just so fun to see relationships between teachers and students when it just clicks and doing something that is fun for students,” Flickinger said. “We love being here for you guys in so many ways, and this was really great.“
SILVER STARS SPRING SHOWCASE
I attended the spring show for my school's dance team to create a photo essay for our website. I found it both challenging and fun to take pictures in the various kinds of lighting used during the performance.
IN MOVEMENT: Senior Estefania Betancourt performs with her team. Betancourt enjoys the traditions that come with the spring show. “My favorite part about spring show would have to be the memory circle, where before every show each class sits in a circle and shares their favorite memory from the year,” Betancourt said. “It’s so nice being able to hear everyone’s funny stories. For the senior memory circle, all the seniors get gifts to remember each other when we go to college, so it’s very sentimental.”
ARMS OUT: Senior Lauren Chou performs her solo during the spring show.
SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS: Senior Kaitlyn Chambers poses as her future plans are shared out to the crowd. During the spring show, each senior is honored and allowed to bring people they love on stage. “I’m so ecstatic to move onto the next chapter in my life, but I am also so sad to leave such an amazing group of girls,” Chambers said. “I’m so proud of everything that we as a team have accomplished and I’m so glad to be leaving a memorable legacy for years to come.”
ON STAGE: Junior Shay Gist honors her captain Alyssa Coltharp during the senior slideshow. Gist’s favorite dance of the show is with Coltharp. “I love the officer contemporary dance because dancing with my officers is always so fun, and I can connect with them on a deeper level,” Gist said. “The dance is also very relaxing and we all can just be in the moment.”
IN A KICK LINE: The Silver Stars perform their final dance of the show. Junior Cressida Rodriguez enjoys the adrenaline that comes with the spring show. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s stressful having to get ready really quickly, but it’s also so exhilarating to have to change into a different mindset,” Rodriguez said. “It’s fun to change into a different mentality to perfect the dance.”
PEP RALLIES
Pep rallies are held every week during the football season, and I love covering them for our social media. At each pep rally, I try to photograph both the students in the bleachers and the students participating in the rallies.
ALL TOGETHER: The student section joins hands during a pep rally.
CHEERING THE CROWD: The football, cheer, and dance team cheer together after performing during the pep rally.
HOMECOMING COURT: Junior Bubba Infanta smiles at the crowd after being nominated for homecoming court.
A PERFECT SCORE: During the senior pep rally, seniors Edward Alonzi, Mia Brelsford and Principal Mark Robinson participate in a skit to promote the homecoming game..
SPACE DAY: During the pep rally, senior Lexi Wilson is applauded for her galaxy-themed costume. "Today's pep rally was fun," Wilson said. "I think pep rallies are important because they bring everybody together."
ART CLUB
I love covering the many organizations we have on campus. I recently attended an art club meeting for the first time to photograph their Halloween trash bag costume contest. I loved experiencing the fun and light-hearted competition while getting to interview and speak with many students in the club.
Juniors Harry Kowtarapu (left) and Genevieve Hill (right) work to create thier group's costume.
COSTUME CONTEST: Students in the Art club made costumes out of trash bags during today’s meeting. Students had 20 minutes to create their costumes.
Senior Ayonce Griffith smiles in her batman-themed costume.
READY FOR JUDGING: Students modeling the trash costumes prepare to be judged by the audience.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse was something I had never covered before, but when the boy's lacrosse Instagram team reached out to The Dispatch to cover senior night, I jumped at the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and shoot a sport I was completely unfamiliar with. I ended up learning a ton about the sport and how it works and found the experience to be very informative and enjoyable. One of the most rewarding things about journalism is getting to experience events that I would otherwise never attend.
SENIOR NIGHT: The Varsity Boys Lacrosse team celebrated senior night and played a tough game against St. Stephens.
SENIOR NIGHT: The Varsity Boys Lacrosse team celebrated senior night and played a tough game against St. Stephens.
SENIOR NIGHT: The Varsity Boys Lacrosse team celebrated senior night and played a tough game against St. Stephens.
SENIOR NIGHT: The Varsity Boys Lacrosse team celebrated senior night and played a tough game against St. Stephens.
Theatre
I have always loved attending performances by my school's Starlight Theatre Company and photographing their events. These photographs are of their annual senior-directed children's shows.
SHARING THE MOMENT: The cast of Stuart Little interlocks during their performance on Tuesday night. Stuart Little was directed by Ella Kulczar and assistant directed by Lola Dobies.
ON STAGE: Senior Kira Harper smiles at the crowd during her performance.
A FORTUNATE TALE: Senior Kira Harper, sophomore Jolie Kingham and sophomore Lillian Joy perform together in Goloshes of Fortune, directed by senior Emma Flores.
LOOKING CURIOUSLY : Amelia Cook and AJ Lee perform together in A Lonely Boys Guide to Survival. This show was directed by Lucas Wilcox and tells the tale of a badger scout and his friends going on adventures.
Football
Alongside my football videos, I occasionally enjoy taking photos at football games for our social media platforms. I find this setting to be one of the most challenging places to take photos due to the dark lighting and high amount of movement. However, nothing beats the feeling of being out on the field and witnessing the action right in front of me.
MAKING AN ENTRANCE: The varsity football team runs onto the field after halftime.
HOMECOMING ROYALTY: Seniors Zoe Kanz and Max Barnes sway to the school song after being nominated homecoming royalty by the senior class.
