It’s a new year.  Thank goodness.  2010 from a photography stand point was great.  Personally, it wasn’t all that…but, I’ll save that therapy session for a bottle of wine and my BFF Katie.  I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while but, I was never sure how.  I’ve never been good with words or “expressing my feelings” (thanks, Dad!) but, I’m going to try…

Freshman year of college, I was PAINFULLY shy.  It was terrible.  And all I wanted to do was go back home and see my boyfriend.  What was a girl from Fredericksburg doing in Norfolk, anyway?!  Long story short, I met a few people, got a new roommate (love ya, Jo!) and decided a major – I was on my way.  I decided on graphic design… studying and massive amounts of paper writing was not my thing… bring on the art!  Anywho, the graphics department was small, everyone pretty much knew everyone.  One of my classmates and friends, Emily S., was the graphic designer for the college newspaper, The Mace & Crown.  I had seen it around campus, picked it up a few times.  One day in studio she told me they were hiring for a photography editor.  She gave me a little background of what I would be doing and encouraged me to give it a try.  This is where my shy-ness kicked in.  I couldn’t bare the thought of going on an interview, taking on a job where I’d have to come out of my shell.  I talked it over with my roomies – they convinced me.  What did I have to lose?!

I went on the interview.  Everyone in the room was already so tight.  Laughing, cracking jokes.  They all had their own desk with their own sections assigned…. News, Sports, Entertainment, etc…    I was nervous and I’m sure it showed.  BUT, I got the position. Not really sure I was up against anyone butttt, still.  And then the madness began.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  I had to manage photographers, assign them events, prepare the photos for the paper…. all that wasn’t a huge deal.  Main problem…not everyone had a digital SLR and that made sports pretty much impossible.  So, that became mostly what I shot. Sports alllll the time. College and sports go hand in hand – I was ALWAYS at a game.  In between ceramics and advertising design, I was at a soccer game. Cuh-razy.  It’s quite different from what I shoot now.  I loved it, though.  I felt so legit with my “press pass” sitting on the floor of the Constant Center shooting candid.  It was time consuming and ate up my weekends but it kept me busy in a good way.  (Thanks Megan M. for being my assistant – you helped me a tremendous amount!)

The reason for this post is to thank the staff of the Mace & Crown.  They were definitely people I call friends.  We laughed… a lot.  Everyone was so different and that’s what I loved the most.  We all came from different places and knew such different people but we all came together to put out this paper.  They are all amazing writers.  I know that if they’re reading this now they’re thinking what terrible grammar and punctuation I have.  They never let me write anything…it was definitely for the best (I’m pretty sure half of these sentences aren’t complete) We all worked really hard every week.  It was such satisfaction to see the finished product on the stands. My peers at the Mace & Crown really helped my come out of my shell.  I was forced to meet new people and interact at events that I normally would not of.  I know to some people taking a job on your college campus isn’t a big deal.  To me it was huge. They gave me a chance and helped me every step of the way.

To quote Bob Marley – “In this bright future, you can’t forget your past…” So, thank you fellow Mace & Crowner’s… you really helped me grow a person and I will never, EVER forget it.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots…all taken with a Canon Rebel and at the time I had very little knowledge of how to use my settings to shoot… so don’t judge 🙂

hahaha… this picture makes me laugh every time.  love it.

This shot was taken at the end of the street I lived on. Our “private beach” is what Lindsay would say.  I miss you, Norfolk.