Special Olympics Opening Ceremony

I'm back in State College for the weekend for the Keystone Multimedia Workshop and we just got back from the opening ceremony. It's going to be a long, but rewarding weekend.

Also! I was offered a freelancing position at the Allentown Morning Call this past week so I should be starting with them soon!

Graduation!

As of yesterday I am officially a Penn State alumna!

Friday afternoon I took graduation photos with two of my friends, Alyson and Nicole. The ones I'm in I set the settings on my camera and told my friend where to stand for them. I think they turned out great!

 

"The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, people who have been kind enough not to sue me when I took their names for Death Eaters."

 

J.K. Rowling’s Class of 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech - The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Penn State riot in response to Osama bin Laden's death

Can you believe that I ran back to my dorm with my camera after a crowd of people charged past me, found myself standing in the middle of this riot of 10,000 students on Beaver Ave. waving flags, chanting "USA," setting off fireworks, throwing toilet paper, and I take about 6 photos and my camera dies?!? I took a few with my Iphone, as well as a few videos, but I wanted to kick myself so badly for not having my battery charged and ready for something like this.

 

 

 

What I should have done was run down to the Collegian office and grab a camera but I considered the fact that I was stuck in the middle of a riot where people were climbing streetlamps and the cops were macing and my fight or flight senses kicked in.

Good news, my parents are buying me a new camera and equipment for my graduation present!! Goodbye D40.

Throw Some Glitter Make it Rain

 She actually makes it rain glitter, I was impressed.

 

"Love is evil, spell it backwards I'll show ya."

30 Day-Photo-A-Day Challenge

Some fellow Photo Journalism major students and myself just recently started the Penn State Chapter of the National Press Photographers Association and together we've decided to attempt the 30 day Photo challenge where we take one photo a day. The more photo journalistic the photo, the more personally rewarding the challenge.

 

So day one was the first picture of the monster truck competition and day 2 is my class ring I photographed on my windowsill that just finally came in the mail and I've been anxiously awaiting. Tomorrow I'll try to get out in the world (it's Sunday, I've pretty much slept all day and only left my dorm to get food).

 

Welcome to the Island

Last week for Spring Break, my family and I went to a tiny island in the Caribbean off St. Kitts known as Nevis Island. I was told by a man on the ferry I took from St. Kitts to Nevis that "Nevis" is Spanish for Our Lady of the Snows and is called such because snowy white clouds can always be seen hovering above its dormant volcano peak. The pace of the island was a lot different from State College (go figure). I passed one bar on my trip downtown and most of the people disappeared when the sun went down. Nevertheless, it was a great place to try my hand at some more scenic photography than I'm used to. Hooray for low ISOs and cloud white balances!

 

 

 

I got 99 problems but the snitch ain't one

This afternoon I covered the Quidditch tournament held by the Penn State Harry Potter club, the Three Broomsticks. The event featured teams from four universities, Penn State, NYU, Michigan State, and Youngstown. Being a Harry Potter fan myself, I thoroughly enjoyed covering this because I've never witnessed a Quidditch game without magic involved. Families came out to lie on the lawn with their children and pets and tailgaters cheered on the teams while supporting signs and makeshift wands. I was surprised by how much of a legitimate sport it played out to be, I ended up treating it like I would if I were shooting soccer, basketball or football. I used my 200 lens and mostly kept low to the ground for the greater depth of field. The reporter got some audio to go with my photos so hopefully I can post a link to the slide show she makes when she's finished.

Edit: March 25, 2011 Oh look here it is http://www.collegian.psu.edu/asset.aspx?id=2889

 

Here's a link to the Daily Collegian articleTri-Wizard coverage