An Average Wednesday

As of today, I have completed my first week of internship with the Tribune-Review.

So far, I have learned some great tips from the photo staff led by chief Barry Reeger. In particular, feature hunting is an art that I hope to get the hang of in the next several weeks.

My only assignment today was to photograph a very slow-paced girl’s softball game in California, Pa. Afterwards, I drove 45 minutes back to the office, worked up my photos and decided to explore. By that time it was dusk and since my shift didn’t end until 10 p.m, I wondered around Greensburg–a part of Pittsburgh that’s still new to me.

I heard of Peach Plaza Skate Park and decided to photograph skaters in the sunset as a way to practice layering techniques Barry had coached to me. It’s an average feature, but it’s a start to my learning experience.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Greensburg Salem’s Claire Oberdorf catches the last out of the WPIAL softball class AAA consolation game at California University of Pennsylvania’s Lilley Field on Wednesday May 30, 2012. Greensburg Salem won 1-0 and will advance to the PIAA tournament.

A sunset silhouettes Logan Spiker, 19, of Morgantown, as he gets some air at Peach Plaza Skate Park near Greensburg on May 30, 2012.

Ligonier Valley High School Graduation

Nostalgia hit me pretty hard when I photographed Ligonier Valley High School’s graduation ceremony this evening. In between frames I thought, “Three years seemed like a blink of an eye.”

As I am quickly approaching the start of my senior year of college, watching these young kids fix their hair and tassels, line up on stage, joke with friends and receive their diplomas before running into the arms of their proud parents forced me to realize how I take these once in a lifetime moments for granted.

Honestly I hated high school, but it molded me into who I am today. Thirteen years filled with redundant homework assignments, silly heartthrobs and crushes, failure and stress, awkward stages of puberty and dreadful standardized testing with 800 cliquey classmates caused me to wish away this fragile time in life. Though for what it was worth, it was worth all the while.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Shannon Lebo (left), 17, of Wilpen, dances with friends Caiti Brown, 18, of Ligonier, and Catherine Markle (right), 18, of Ligonier, while waiting in line before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Friends photograph themselves on their iPhones before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Joe Ferraro, 18, of Ligonier, pauses for a moment by the lockers with girlfriend Phoebe Gilmore, 16, of Ligonier, before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Students wait in the gymnasium before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Blair Hillegass, 18, of Fairfield, fixes her hair in the girls locker room with Breanna Lynch, 18, of Seward, before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

John Nicholson, 18, of Stahlstown, asked his classmates to autograph his tie before the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Students “turn the tassels” from right to left during the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Caiti Brown, 18, of Ligonier, hugs her fellow classmates after the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Chelsea Biss, 18, of Ligonier, cries while hugging her family after the Ligonier Valley High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.

Memorial Day

Today’s Memorial Day festivities in the Laurel Highlands were rather short because of humid 90 degree weather.

I covered two assignments: the Ligonier Memorial Day parade and the PFC Robert “Piney Decker” Nadolski Memorial Bridge dedication ceremony in New Florence.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Roy Hutchinson, Commander, American Legion Post 267, places flowers on a memorial during the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28, 2012 in Ligonier.

Aubrey Chappell, 5, of Ligonier, waves an American flag during the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28, 2012 in Ligonier.

Members of the Ligonier Valley marching band play the “Star Spangled Banner” during the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28, 2012 in Ligonier.

State representative Mike Reese, of the 59th Legislative District, speaks during the dedication ceremony of the PFC Robert “Piney Decker” Nadolski Memorial Bridge on Monday, May 28, 2012 in New Florence.

Frank Decker, of Brookville, unveils the sign of the PFC Robert “Piney Decker” Nadolski Memorial Bridge, dedicated to his brother, on Monday, May 28, 2012 in New Florence.

Bugler Vince Decker, of the American Legion 307 in New Florence, plays “Taps” during the dedication ceremony of the PFC Robert “Piney Decker” Nadolski Memorial Bridge on Monday, May 28, 2012 in New Florence.

Shorn for Summer

Shearer Chuck Penich, of Derry, shears Don Whit’s sheep on Sunday, May 27, 2012 in Melcroft, Pa.

The wool goes into a pool from Lawrence, Mercer and Washington counties. Depending on the grade, with a cut going to each farmer, the wool will be purchased by a buyer from North Carolina.

“When it’s not so hot, it is easier to say that I enjoy it,” Penich said, who has been a shearer for over 30 years.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Teen’s body recovered from Youghiogheny River

The body of a 17-year-old Mt. Pleasant boy was recovered Friday evening from the Youghiogheny River in Connellsville.

Scott Jeffries Jr. had been swimming in Yough River Park when people heard him crying for help at about 6:15 p.m., said city police Chief James Capitos.

His body was found about 8 p.m. after a cadaver dog from the Fayette County Coroner’s Office alerted rescuers.

The dog was aboard a boat with the Scottdale Volunteer Fire Department’s dive and rescue team.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Family and friends console each other at the scene of a possible drowning Friday evening at Yough River Park in Connellsville. Rescuers pulled the body of Scott Jeffries Jr., 17, of Mt. Pleasant, around 8 p.m.

Scottdale Volunteer Fire Department’s dive and rescue team scans the Youghiogheny River for Scott Jeffries Jr., 17, of Mt. Pleasant, on Friday, May 25, 2012 in Connellsville.

Fayette County Deputy Coroner Robert Furin speaks with the parents of Scott Jeffries Jr., 17, of Mt. Pleasant. Rescuers pulled his body from the Youghiogheny River around 8 p.m.

First Day

Yesterday was my first day as photo intern at the Tribune-Review in Greensburg, Pa.

I met with chief photographer Barry Reeger at 10 a.m. to go over the necessities: paperwork, tax forms, uploading instructions, company rules and drug testing.

Right away I was sent to photograph inmates planting flowers in a median along Route 30. Because of the men’s incarceration, I was told by their supervisor to not photograph their faces, which made the assignment tricky. However, I pulled together a strong enough image to grace the front of the local section as a stand-alone feature.

After taking a drug test at Quest Diagnostics, Barry treated me to Chick-fil-A for lunch before shooting several people protesting school budget cuts in front of the courthouse. Because the scene was rather small, the potential story and my photo never ran.

In between shaking dozens of hands and recounting my “falling down a mountain during my last internship” story to all the staffers, I had a great first impression of the photo department. I feel comfortable and a little more at ease now that day one is under my belt!

I even had an encouraging email from a viewer. It read:

“I want to congratulate you on the photo that appeared in Thurs. Trib of the inmate helping to plant flowers. When I first looked at it I thought, ‘What a beautiful artist painting,’ only to read that it was a photo. This certainly should be an entry in a Photo Contest somewhere. A museum perhaps?

Congratulations on such a beautiful shot.

Kay Rendina”

I am greatly encouraged for the upcoming days of my internship.

Steph Anderson | Tribune-Review

Mary Beth Kuznik, of Penn Twp., a substitute teacher for Penn Trafford school district protests with Bob McDonald, of Hempfield Twp., who is on the Hempfield school board, on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse.

An inmate from the State Correctional Institution at Greensburg plants pacifica lipstick mix flowers in the median along Route 30 near the Gabriel Brothers Plaza on May 23, 2012. Several inmates assisted Greengate Community Garden steward Carol Triano, of Jeannette, in planting the garden that is one of many in the region maintained by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy through volunteer labor.

MSHSAA State Golf

My friend David Welker introduced me to Ric Wilborn, the official photographer of MSHSAA athletic events for the past 11 years, and asked if I wanted to shoot high school state golf.

Sports are my absolute favorite thing to shoot, but golf is like Greek to me. However, I decided to give it a try.

Misfired balls came close to hitting me a few times and I aimlessly walked around the unfamiliar course, but it turned out to be a great first experience. Since it is final examination period at Missouri State, I only shot the first day of the tournament.

Here are some images from the Class 3 2012 Missouri High School State Golf Tournament at Rivercut Golf Course on Monday, May 14, 2012 in Springfield, Missouri.

QB Wooden Dismissed from Team

Missouri State starting quarterback Trevor Wooden has been dismissed from the football team, head coach Terry Allen announced Thursday.

“This is obviously a very difficult situation and it’s never easy to make a call like this, but based on the circumstances, I feel it is in the best interest of our program to make a clean break and start moving forward,” Allen said a press release.

Wooden was the team’s starting quarterback for all but one game last season and led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 2,420 yards. He sat out the season-opener against Arkansas due to a separate violation of team rules.

Athletic director Kyle Moats, the only athletic department official to speak with the media on the subject, would not give details on Wooden’s dismissal except that it was a “violation of team rules.”

“We’re not going to get into specifics of what it may be,” Moats said in a press conference at JQH Arena. “He did things he shouldn’t have done.”

Moats did not allow head coach Terry Allen to comment.

“I think just one person needs to talk about it,” Moats said. “That’s me.”

Moats said the decision was disappointing, but the team needs to look forward to improve from their 2-9 record last season.

“It’s going to be a tough blow to our team, no question,” Moats said. “He’s one of the best players in our league and probably one of the best players at our (Football Championship Subdivision) level. But there’s more to it than just playing football.”

Sophomore Kierra Harris and incoming freshman Brodie Lambert are the only quarterbacks on MSU’s roster.

Three Years Down, One to Go

On my way to class this morning, I grabbed this year’s last issue of The Standard from the newspaper stands in Strong Hall. Like always, the top few copies are a little ragged, which must be a good sign that students and faculty skim our hard work printed on cheap recycled paper every Tuesday morning. Heck, maybe they even get the same ecstasy I do when my fingertips are dusted in sooty black ink.

You can’t roll up a computer to smack your misbehaved dog. Shoving a computer in your sopping wet Nikes might short circuit. Computers can’t ignite your barbecue grill. And newspaper is cheaper than bubble wrap or packing peanuts to wrap your fine china. Not to mention, lining your birdcage with a Mac or PC may gunk up a computer keyboard.

Yup, nothing compares to the print version.

The last paper of the 2011-2012 school year, featuring my two photos on the front.

I am three years down and one to go in the Missouri State University journalism department. One more year until I face the harsh world of allegedly dying print journalism and companies forcing employees to go on furlough.

The job market is just too competitive to have any college regrets. This is why I am joining The Standard’s editorial board as photo editor my senior year to give me a deeper insight of all the dimensions of photojournalism.

It’s going to feel a little funny at first. I have never been a “boss” before, but I have great faith in my future staff photographers. If we can win awards from the Missouri College Media Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Associated Collegiate Press this year, then it is obvious that we can repeat.

But there is always room to improve, hence why I jotted some ideas down on a scrap of paper during a dull chemistry class last week. Here are a few of my goals as photo editor:

Makeover our website by adding more multimedia. Reporters can also contribute by posting their recorded audio or video clips.
Possibly hire students majoring in broadcast journalism and graphic design.
Post many galleries of staff photo shoots or have a “Best of Semester” gallery.
Give staff photographers freedom in shooting photo stories.
Hold group critique sessions bi-semesterly, if possible, with photo staff.
Make it imperative that photographers must provide captions with NAMES.
Help staff to produce quality images like helping light portraits. I want them to have a thick stack of clips for their portfolios.
Continue winning awards! Who doesn’t love flimsy certificates?

It is going to be a fruitful learning experience, and it is my aspiration to work alongside a skilled group of photographers to produce the best possible product every Tuesday morning.

In two weeks, I begin my internship with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in which I hope to bring my experiences back to Springfield come August. Without The Standard, I would not have had a chance to intern at this award-winning publication.

Freshman Swimmer Qualifies for Olympic Trials

Missouri State freshman Paul Le qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter backstroke with a mark of 57.59, the exact cut-off time.

The 2012 Olympic Trials meet will be held at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. from June 25 to July 2.

Steph Anderson | Photojournalist

Monthly Archives: May 2012

An Average Wednesday

Ligonier Valley High School Graduation

Memorial Day

Shorn for Summer

Teen’s body recovered from Youghiogheny River

First Day

MSHSAA State Golf

QB Wooden Dismissed from Team

Three Years Down, One to Go

Freshman Swimmer Qualifies for Olympic Trials