Caption:
The Artists Reaching Out to Society (A.R.T.S.) Club hosted a holiday celebration for unprivileged kids in the county. At the end, hundreds of donated gifts are hand selected for each student, and at the countdown the room erupts at once opening their presents.
Process:
By the time I had taken this photo, I had spent a few hours getting to know the kids and teaching them how to use my camera to get them more comfortable with my presence. It all payed off when I was able to stick a 20mm wide angle lens right into the action as they opened the gifts. A slightly slow shutter (1/80) to show the young girl shaking the toy in excitement. I've learned that through a still image, although I can't include the sounds in the room, I can make visual choices (such as slowing my shudder) to give more context to an individual frame.
Caption:
Blasting off at the Dyer Park R/C AirField on Jan. 17, members of the Aerospace and Rocketry Club tested their new rockets in preparation for The American Rocketry Challenge at the end of the year. They constructed and launched three rockets, each aiming to protect two eggs placed inside the rocket, reach 835 ft, and stay in the air for at least 41 seconds; however, their highest launch only went 726 ft, lasted 30-35 seconds, and reached 100 mph. Led by communications junior Cooper Weisman, the team will host various other launches throughout the remainder of the year for both practice and competitions.
Process:
When I was a sophomore (2 years ago now) , I saw a photograph of a football team practicing at sunrise that resonated with me. I wanted to make a photo with a similar movie-cinematic style feeling, but knew that my school didn't have a football team, or any sport for that matter, that woke up early to practice at sunrise. This year, after being assigned to a 2PM rocket launch, I wanted to create the most dramatic frame I could within the bounds of ethical photojournalism. When the 2PM launch became the 3PM then 4PM and finally 5PM activity, I realized that this was my chance to recreate that silhouette that stuck with me years later. In the end, I found it extremely fitting to my school's culture that it was the model rocket club, and not a football team, that I could finally showcase in this image.
Caption:
Congresswoman Lois Frankel listens to United Way PBC discuss the recent issues plaguing her district.
Process:
I find inspiration in many political photojournalists, as they find new ways to showcase the same people or places over and over again. I appreciate the characterization of people who seem to me to be unreal. Last fall, I began working for my representative, Lois Frankel. There, I got to gain access to her press conferences and events. I took this photo plainly- so plainly I almost wouldn't include it in my portfolio. Before working for her, I'd only ever seen the Congresswoman through phone screens and live streams. I was shocked to see her for the first time in person. I used a lens far too long to be taking a photo in a room far too small because I wanted to show the real character of this individual, just as the photographers I look up to do. I tried to crop it or change it to make the photo more interesting or cinematic, but I learned through this shot that it isn't all that. It's a detailed yet simple shot of a person who I've never seen pictured that way, and that's why I love it.
Caption:
Oliver Robbert, 1, opens wide for a photo at the Peggy Adams Charity Walk.
Process:
This is my dog, Oliver. I convinced my parents to adopt a dog because I wanted to take pictures of him. He was homebound for a majority of his young life as we stayed home from COVID restrictions. Therefore, I knew that when we took him out to a charity walk downtown FULL of pets that he would be thrilled by the whole event, and had to get a good shot to express his excitement. Before I went, I developed this shot in my head based off a page from a book I read when I was younger, called "Curious George in the Big City". I couldn't tell you the last time I had seen that book, but this was Oliver's Big Day in the City and I worked to convey that through my image. I shot with a very low F-stop to show the people in the background but also only let the dog into the focal range to express him at the main character of the story.
Caption:
Vocal senior Ava Neary does freestyle strokes across the Gaines Park Community Center pool where the swim team meets after school to practice. As a fourth-year varsity swimmer on the team, Neary competed primarily in freestyle at meets and helped train the newer members. “[My favorite part of being on the team] is going to dinner after meets,” Neary said. “It’s definitely a great feeling, just making friends.”
Process:
I made a photo bucket list my senior year to accomplish before graduation, and the first checkbox was beside the swim team. I planned out a week to prepare and 3 swim practices to attend. Quickly I realized that in order to build a connection between the swimmer and the photo viewer I had to place them on the same level, and then began to rig up a tripod solution to frame the perfect underwater shot. I ended up jumping in an empty lane beside the team. It was cold, raining, and delayed, but above all the shots were worth it.
Caption:
SURROUNDED BY BRIGHT LIGHTS AND A CROWD OF PEERS, communications sophomore Ephram Jacob performs his “signature dance move,” the Worm. “My friends were nudging me for about half an hour,” Jacob said. “Usually at [school dances], I don’t really dance at all. But then, I go, do the Worm, shock everyone, and leave the dance floor. They never expect it.”
Process:
While most annual traditions have came back slowly, the Halloween dance at my high school returned in October of 2021 with over 75% of the student body attending. I took this photo with a heavy flash and edge-distorted to convey the energy I saw in Vogue Party images. I thought it would be fun to take a high-school halloween dance in the school gym and treat it as an A-List party would be. Also, dances are easy to find the action because you can always tell which way the crowd is pointed and follow the noise. Here, a member of our speech and debate team gave everyone a shock, and was clearly the center of attention in this moment.
Caption:
Bus driver Evangelia Patterson waits for her students to board at the end of the school day. “They have drivers doing three codes, and that’s a no,” Patterson said regarding COVID-19. “You’re not supposed to have all these kids on the bus. These drivers are tired, and it’s just so much on them. We need help. We need money.”
Process:
I met Ms. Patterson when I was bus hopping, trying to get a natural environmental portrait for a story I was working on. She elaborated on her stories of buying little Disney princess face masks for the kids on her route to keep them safe from illnesses. How she stayed on the job following the dozens of funerals she attended over the past year. Her new role as caretaker for her nephew in another state. I'd often heard about journalists talking about how exposing themselves to new stories will change their perceptions, but I can't say I understood until I worked on this project.
Caption:
Senior Maya Bernstein extends a hand to a protester in the rain at the 2020 Equity Parade
Process:
When I first titled this image, I called it "The Typical Summer 2020 Photo", because that's everything you needed to know about this image. A Black Lives Matter protest on a rainy Florida afternoon by high-school students dawning facial coverings. I like to think of my role being a "historian with a camera" (an idea coined by Pete Souza), and that is what this image is to me- a visual historical document.
Caption:
MOMENTS BEFORE GOING ON STAGE, theatre senior Aalycea Herring and theatre junior Olivia Bynum curl theatre senior Linnea Lacey’s hair. Lacey played Charlotte Lucas as her first major role in a school theatre production. “Before the show, I didn’t know a ton of people in the theatre department, but now I can confidently say that all of them are my family, and I can come to them whenever I need guidance,” Lacey said. “I wasn’t expecting us to get close with a big cast, but we were all dependent on each other and helped out.”
Process:
As I entered this vulnerable space, I was in a position in which I was reliant more on my abilities as a person than as a photographer, Both acting like a wallflower, but also making sure my subjects are comfortable with my camera while they get ready for the show was a balance I had to learn. In the end, I love this photo for the candidness and dimensions it offers.
Caption:
Dad and Son, encased within the South Florida Science Museum hurricane simulator, show mirrored reactions to the high-speed winds.
Process:
I always considered my work to be easily split into two categories: Commercial work and Photojournalism. In my head, I never thought that commercial images could hold the same story I looked for in my journalism work. However, I've been working for a family since their maternity photos almost 5 years ago now. Since then, I've worked on every birthday party, holiday card and birth announcement for them. While I started working with the family to make some extra money to buy lenses, by consistently letting them grow comfortable with me I was able to get a shot I never could after just meeting someone.
