Wayne State University students stay active

Sports Photography is not as easy as it looks! Not only does the photographer have to deal with movement but also with poor lighting conditions! Indoor sports are absolutely my least favorite thing to shoot. For this assignment my schedule did not allow for me to catch a real game with fans or coaches so I went to the Wayne State gym to see if I could capture students playing sports. The basketball courts are always full of students like these in the photographs below. Eric Strange and Jamonte Horton practice with a game of one on one before the rest of the players gather into teams for a scrimmage.

Although there was no coach or fans to shoot, I did find another person of some authority inside of the gym. Richard Mendoza has been working at the WSU gym for the past three years. That night I caught him tossing a towel to a student when he was working behind the desk by the locker rooms. Although it is not a sports shot, it was a part of my sports shooting experience. I captured the stopped action of the interaction, which is what shooting sports is about. There was movement and a moment. So I diversified my photos a bit with this shot of Richard.   

Wayne State University students Eric Stange (Left) and Jamonte Horton (Right) play a little one on one before a scrimmage. (photos by Gabriela Aguirre)

Eric Strange and Jamonte Horton play a little one on one before a scrimmage.

WSU student and gym employee Richard Mendoza tosses a towel to another WSU student.

Learning lighting on my Feature photo hunt

To find an event was a tad difficult for me to shoot this time. I caught the tail end of the Art Achievement Awards so my chance for good photo ops was limited. The only thing left to photo graph when I go there were people talking in big groups so I decided to photograph the people working the event (Camera people, photographers, DJs) . I took pictures of them tearing down and putting away the equipment. I had some problems with lighting on my camera at the time. I was trying to use a wide depth of field but also capture any motion. Because my fstop and shutter speed were turned up my ISO was at the highest setting so many of my pictures came out with a lot of noise.

I decided to post a couple extra pictures from my enterprise photo experience because it made for more interesting pictures. I walked along Wayne State’s campus for a couple hours before I walked into the art building and found what I was looking for. I walked into a ceramics class where the students were working on Still life projects. Even though these projects seemed to be in their beginning stages the work was still enjoyable to shoot.

Jena Arslamn, a Wayne State student, works on her still life project for her ceramics class. (Photos by Gabriela Aguirre)

Another Wayne State student, Tiara Hill works on her ceramic still life. 

David Romas, the DJ for the Arts Achievement Awards, shuts down his gear as the awards come to a close. 

Camera woman, Lanise Pannell tearing down the camera equipment from the event. 

Camera man, Chris Scalice tears down his equipment.  

On my way!

It wasn't until this summer that I realized I loved anything about the journalism field. I always hated writing essays and papers and completely dreaded sitting through English classes. I started off my college career in nursing because I felt as though I could secure a job easily after graduation (like many incoming college students do). It wasn't until a year ago that I realized I had no passion for nursing or the sciences whatsoever. Therefore,  I opted for something that sounded interesting.

I shadowed at a TV station (WoodTV 8) in Grand Rapids as my final project for my first ever Communication class (besides speech classes). WoodTV 8 changed my whole perspective on the communication field. Never thinking I would actually get the gig, I applied for an internship and sat through an interview before my shadowing day was over. Less than two weeks later I was the new intern for the department of community affairs. I had the time of my life. I went on shoots, wrote web stories, took pictures, made photo galleries for the website, worked the weekly Maranda Park Parties, and even started my demo reel.

I don't know where the field of Broadcast Journalism will take me (reporting, production, etc.) but I found what I am passionate about and that's a good start in my opinion!