Postseason softball and baseball filled my first full week at the Dispatch/Argus and I’m okay with that. I shot the Moline HS softball team as it got up to the state semifinals, but had to stay around town yesterday (7am-10:30pm, whee!) while a colleague did some incredible shooting in Peoria, IL as they won the state finals.
Beyond softball and baseball, I had an inspiring time shooting the Susan G. Komen Quad Cities Race for a Cure. The visual opportunities were rich and I met some incredible people. I tried on extremely heavy authentic (replica) medieval armor, shot some mediocre baseball in worse light (ISO 6400, f/4, 1/500…ew), and found the occasional feature.
Two days after finishing up at the Harvard Gazette, I found myself on a small plane from Chicago to Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities in the far northwest on the border with Iowa. After a few days of acclimation to the humidity, slow pace of life, and incredibly kind people, I started today at the Moline Dispatch & Rock Island Argus, a 50K circulation paper with a great photo staff. I can already tell I’ll love it here.
Here are some images from the past few days. Thanks for looking!
Here is a project that almost wasn’t. After another long-planned Professional Portfolio final project idea went down in flames just days before the deadline, I found an event at the Higgins Armory in Worcester, MA. I’m somewhat satisfied with how it came out, but in retrospect I’ve thought of dozens, even hundreds of things I could have done better. I guess that’s a good thing.
Much has changed in the past few months. I volunteered at the NPPA Northern Short Course, where I had my work (honestly) reviewed by the best in the business, listened and learned during lectures covering everything from nonprofit photography to video lighting and made great friends with other young photojournalists. It was my first and definitely not my last NPPA conference.
My future seems more defined, and I like where it’s going. Starting in June, I will be interning with the Moline Dispatch & Rock Island Argus in Moline, IL. It’s a 50K circulation paper with a talented, small photo staff, and I’m very excited to working in a smaller community. No longer is there a black abyss after graduation- it’s now a straight, flat road to the Midwest. Real life, here I come.
