Although I seldom partook in photography prior to my involvement with the Eagle Eye News, the art of taking photos quickly became one of my favorite skills. No story is complete without the photos to tell it. Although I am fairly new to journalistic photography, I have always loved taking pictures as a way to visually display stories in an artistic way. To me, photography is more than a skill, it is a form of art and self-expression that allows people to see the world through my eyes.
Click the image previews to see the full photos and read the captions.
(Julia candid photo Carolina Ochoa Lozano)
Photojournalism
March For Our Lives
In June 2022, my team and I attended the March For Our Lives event that summer in Parkland. At this event, I took multiple photos of guests, guest speakers and other presentations. I felt that this event represented a unique storytelling moment for our community, and the visuals were the only true way to get across the feelings conveyed in the story. Click the photos to read the captions.
Artist Photography
As an artist myself, I have a high appreciation for student artists. With the goal of promoting student expression, I took photos of studio art students working on a couple different projects for their portfolios. Although only two of these photos were captioned and published, I included a wider selection here to demonstrate variety.
Boys' Volleyball
To help expand on my knowledge of photography, I decided to go with one of our underclassmen photo editors, who I am friends with, to a boys’ volleyball game at Coral Glades High School. Although I was not so sure about how it was going to be going into it, in a matter of seconds, I was having the time of my life.. In the duration of the two hour game, I ended up taking over 1,200 photos. I could not wipe the grin off of my face. Even as an amateur photographer, I was having such a great time. Photojournalism is really where the line between art and science blurs. Journalism is the science of storytelling, yet photography is an art. I loved chasing after the perfect photo, trying to get into the optimal position and set up my camera just right. The plentiful lessons I learned from this experience were well worth the two days of shoulder pain from the heavy lens.
Beignet and Chicken Francese
There is something interesting happening every day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. With over 3,500 unique students, entire class periods are dedicated to creative projects. I captured some photographs of different club class activities, including culinary as featured above, to display on social media in order to showcase our school's curricular diversity.
Head Over Heels – Theater Production
I attended the dress rehearsal for Douglas Drama's production of "Head Over Heels." Although my only intention was to take videos for my video package for my feature about seniors in Douglas Drama, I had a camera on me from a previous event. Although I knew I did not have the proper lens for this task, I decided to take some pictures just for fun. I had a great time, taking over 400 photos, and was pleased when several turned out well. This valuable learning experience taught me to work with what I had and be free to improvise.
Band in the Courtyard
As I was walking through lunch one day, on my way back from another photo assignment, I heard music playing in the courtyard. I pushed past the crowd to see a metal band playing, so I snapped a few photos. I found out later that a staffer who needed the assignment had already taken photos of this band, so I never published mine anywhere, but this was a fun storytelling moment.
Food Trends Print Story
During the third quarter print edition in the 2023 school year, one of the editors on my team was assigned to write a story, gather photos and create a layout. Unbeknownst to me and the adviser, she did not take the photos because she had planned to use photos from a wire service that were not well-suited for the topic, leaving us with a missing page the night before the deadline. That night, I got home and had my sister create TikTok food to match the story's topic. As editor-in-chief, part of my job is to come to the rescue when projects fall through. That night, I stayed up until 1 a.m. working on these photos after 14 hours of working on the print issue and staying at school until 9:30 p.m. I think the photos turned out pretty well overall, but I enjoy them most because in this moment, I really felt like a leader. Click the photos to read the captions.
Photo of the Day
Part of being a journalist in today's world is having the ability to tell quick stories online. I have taken a couple of photos during my time on staff to deliver quick information and updates to the student body.