Editor’s Note: Unearthing passion with photography
I came into Fossil Ridge High School as an unambitious slacker. I didn’t particularly care for school. I had good grades through middle school but never put in much effort. When I first walked into the newsroom on freshman transition day, I sat on that old pink couch in the back of the room beside two other girls my age while Mr. Degear was chatting about the program. For the first time in my education, I had something to say. I told Degear about my ideas for articles and my hope to do work with Rooster Magazine, one of Fort Collins’ local papers. I remember being super excited to start Journalism 1, researching how to write as a journalist the night before classes began.
My first experience with photography in high school was in my Photo 1 class freshman year, a class in which I was absent more than I was present. I did not enjoy photography then; I didn’t like taking pictures around the school, and none of the photographers we discussed spoke to me. At this point in my life, photography seemed dull. I saw it as a form of documentation, not a way of storytelling.
Photography in Journalism 1 was a little different. In journalism, you are there to inform, meaning you have to set some of the creative aspects of photography to the sidelines in favor of a more straightforward storytelling style. At this point, I prefer taking pictures at events and doing photo essays. My only photo essay that semester was of graffiti in downtown Denver. Going to explore with a camera made me feel more professional and less nervous about approaching people. After that first photo essay, I started to like photography.
Journalism 2 started in the second semester of freshman year; I was excited to start writing and taking pictures. JV boys basketball was the first event I covered that semester, Fossil vs. Rocky. I took my younger sister, Hailey, along with me. I was too nervous to go by myself; the referee yelled at us minutes after arriving to walk on the basketball court, and we almost ran into the players. My featured image for that article was fine. I didn’t quite understand camera skills at the time. That ended up being my first and last sports article.
Throughout my freshman and sophomore years, I wrote more photo essays. In my junior year, I took a break from photography and tried to focus on longer-form articles.
Over the summer, I brought my camera along on a road trip my mom, sister, and I took to California. I took pictures the whole way there and fell in love with photography again. We listened to a podcast episode with photographer Mark Laita, which inspired me to pursue photography as a career. Discovering how to tell stories through photography opened my eyes to how divisive the medium can be. I chose photography as my major at Colorado State University, and I have the Journalism program to thank for that.
This semester, my goal is to help incoming staff members find their interests through journalism. Whether you choose to pursue journalism as a career path or not, the skills you can learn through this class will stay with you throughout your journey through life. This semester, I cannot wait to learn about leadership and community building as Co-Editor-in-Chief with Claire Kizer.
I never thought I could be a good photographer. Sure, I took some half-decent shots with my phone, but anything more was too scary to try. This fear was a theme throughout my life.
Throughout my first year on the Etched In Stone staff, I was scared during every step of the process; preparing questions, interviewing, and actually writing. I didn’t do a bad job, necessarily, but I lacked a reason to face my fears when my grades weren’t suffering.
This all changed my second year on the paper. Right before Spring Break, my Editor-in-Chief Sophie Webb convinced me to take photos with her at a boys volleyball game. I was filled with that familiar fear and sequestered myself to a night of doing “good enough” to get by.
However, as the game went on, the atmosphere of the two teams fighting and the audience cheering swept me away. I was no longer there out of obligation, I needed to show the environment even a high school sporting event could foster.
When I realized I had taken some decent photos, too, it was the cherry on top. I succeeded at multiple things I believed impossible.
The next day, I had the article up with edited, captioned photos that afternoon. It was the fastest I’d ever written an article; it overtook me. And it felt amazing.
After that, there was no stopping me. Those last ten weeks of the semester I wrote more articles than my entire previous journalistic catalogue. It even led to my most ambitious project: a three-part series on the makings of Fossil’s 2024 musical “Into The Woods”. I interviewed over 20 people and went to multiple rehearsals to capture the magic of this production. It’s my proudest achievement.
Despite everything, my confidence has been slow grown, and there are still many things I hate doing (phone calls, for one). Nevertheless, coming into my senior year as Co-Editor-in-Chief, I’ve never felt so comfortable just talking and connecting with people. My photography skills have grown right alongside this by introducing me to new people and opportunities I never would have imagined, like getting paid to take photos!
Somehow, one photographic opportunity let me see beyond myself and understand the joy of learning other people’s stories. I can’t imagine what I would be like without journalism and the knowledge it has provided me. All I know is I’m glad I’ve stuck with it.
With my final year in this amazing program, I hope to help new journalists find their own spark that will motivate them in whatever they need. No matter what, I’m excited for what comes next.
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