Every photographer has ‘that shot’ — when everything stands still just long enough for the camera to capture the perfect moment. For some, the opportunity knocked during their travels. Four students share their favorite shots and how they managed to snap them.

 

Teresa Sabga

Freshman art photography major

Every year, Trinidad celebrates Carnival the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. People of all ages, races and backgrounds come together to parade in the burning sun, dressed in beaded and feathered costumes. The entire country shuts down to spend those two days on the street, though it was originally celebrated for two months.

Carnival fascinates me because it unites a diverse population through the shared feelings of enjoyment and awe. Emotions normally suppressed on a daily basis come to light during the festival. Vast amounts of colors are used during the festival. The colors symbolize the freedom of expression the masqueraders feel during the celebration. The participants are free to express themselves in any manner, throwing social expectations aside.

 

Alyssa Stone

Senior photojournalism major

As a photojournalist, some of my best images are made while I am simply observing. This means being patient and doing a lot of moving around. I shoot what catches my eye and let the moments unfold in front of me instead of forcing them to happen.

I was working on a class assignment in an unfamiliar section of London. The area I photographed was on the outskirts of the city in the fourth zone of the underground tube called Burnt Oak. I wandered into a barbershop after little luck walking around and asked to take photographs. Only one barber gave me permission. I observed multiple questionable activities from the corner of my eyes. One of my favorite aspects of this photograph is that the subjects are watching football, which gives a sense of place.

 

Bobby Yarbrough

Military photojournalism student

In 2010, I had the honor of traveling with the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps on a tour of the West Coast. The unit is the only Drum and Bugle Corps in the U.S. Armed Forces. They visited Marine Corps installations in California to boost morale.

During a stop at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, I went backstage and captured the Marines warming up for a show. Even during practice, the Marines maintain bearing and are very serious.

The drum section was showing off a little, the drummers all in a single line. I put a fisheye lens on my camera to try and capture them in a single frame.

I noticed the Marine Sgt. Bryan Draught calling commands and leading the practice. I wanted him to look like a leader, so I shot up from a kneeling position to make him appear bigger.

 

Shijing Wang

Junior photojournalism major

There were approximately 100 people gathered together in front of the City Hall plaza of Shenzhen, a city in southern China filled with immigrants from other areas in China. People lit up candles to pray for 40 innocent deaths and almost 200 injured people in a train collision in Wenzhou and to protest against the unreasonable excuses that the Chinese government brought to the public. Haiyue Tang, a secretary from Wenzhou who was working in Shenzhen, lit her candle and prayed for the tragedy that happened in her hometown.

Published on March 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm