District Solo

I realize choir has nothing to do with journalism but oh well.

Alright so every time I go to a solo/ensemble contest, I get the toughest judge. EVERY TIME. Today was no different. Every other room, the judges were handing out 1's right and left, and in my room the judge had only given FOUR when it was my turn to go up. Keep in mind that I did my solo at 6:30, so throughout the WHOLE day, that's how many 1's she had given out.

Also, over the past four years I've been doing solos at contests, I would always get really nervous. REALLY nervous. I would lose my voice and shake like crazy and barely be able to sing. Today I told myself that I was not going to do that. I really wanted to go to state because I can't do choir next year.

So it's my turn to go up and sing, and the most miraculous thing happened; I wasn't freaking out. I was a little nervous, but I wasn't so scared that I couldn't sing. In fact, I did really really good, if I do say so myself. And then I MESSED UP THE WORDS. Gah! The good news is, I recovered pretty well.

Anyway, the toughest judge gave me a 2 today, and I will definitely take it. I may not be going to state, but getting a 2 from the judge that was giving a lot of 3's is a pretty great achievement in my book. Plus I still get a medal, so it's not all bad. Well, Auf Weidersehen!

P.S. I'm running on a whopping five hours of sleep, so that's my excuse for why this is so poorly written.

STATE CHAMPIONS

Firstly, I should apologize that I'm almost a week late on this post. School has kept me so busy my first week back after spring break. But I'm back!

You've probably already figured this out by my title but the girls are Class 3A STATE CHAMPIONS! This is the first time in basketball history for my school, and I'm so happy that I got to be one the photographers to experience it. It was an amazing experience and it was my first taste of being a REAL photojournalist. I must say, I LOVED it.

Photo time!

Well guys, I'll be back later. I have district solos tomorrow for choir, so wish me luck because I really hate singing in front of people. Until next time!

Blog Name

Also, I changed the name of my blog to something catchier and not as...long. And while Ansel Adams was not a photojournalist, I look up to him in so many ways. I love his work, so in a way, I do aspire to be like him. If you've never seen his photographs, you should probably go look at them right about now. This website is a pretty great place to start. You're welcome!

Semi finals

I'm back and I have great news! WE WON! We're moving on to the finals and the state championship game. Also, I got hit in the head with a basketball, but that's an entirely different story. As my journalism teacher put it, "I took one for the team, now I'm a real journalist!"

As far as I know, the only MSHSAA guidelines for photographs is they cannot be sold. So hopefully I don't go to jail for posting a few photos.

And check me out with my fancy media pass! (Bad iPhone picture, I know, I'm sorry!)

Website

Hey guys! Another post today for you. I've been toying with the idea of a website for my photography for a long time. I created one in July and I just now decided to put it online. If you want to check it out, you can go to it here.

It's not much, but at least it's live online. I can always work to make it better later. Happy almost Tuesday!

STATE GAME

The state basketball game is at Mizzou on Thursday, and I cannot tell you how excited I am. Not only for our girls to kick some tail and move on to the state championship game, but because I get to go and take pictures there!

Now, I know what you're thinking. "So what? You take pictures at every basketball game." True. But this is at Mizzou aka: my dream college. And this is a huge deal because not many photographers are allowed on court level to take pictures. I have to get a special badge for the game that gives me access to the court and to top it all off, I'll get to go to a post game press conference. I've made it to the big times, everyone!

I'll be back Thursday with more photos (if I don't have any updates sooner)!

Nature Shots

As by request from my dedicated reader, Sherlockian, here are some of my nature shots!

The next few pictures are from Maymont Park in Richmond, Virginia. It's definitely one of my favorite places to go for nature shots!

I was at a campout with my church one night last summer, and I looked at the fire pit and thought, "Wow, that would make an amazing shot." This is how it turned out:

My dad's Christmas cactus had just bloomed and my dad begged me to take a picture of it.

The next photos are from New York City/Central Park/Columbus Circle, aka: my favorite place on Earth (besides London, but I actually haven't been there yet..)

And last, but certainly not least, this photo was taken at my aunt's house.

Just a quick reminder that none of these photos have added filters or have been edited in any way. I hope you enjoyed! Happy Sunday!