This week The Ravine was excited to feature two student photographers as our Wolves of the Week. Alex Chan and Myah Paulins have been photographing sports games and activities along with students at Kilbourne since the beginning of this school year.
Both students primarily have been photographing sports games. The photographers told us a little about their favorite sports to photograph and how they figured out their love for taking pictures.
“Choosing a favorite is hard, but I am gonna have to go with either water polo or soccer because I like to be able to see their faces. Being able to capture emotion is something I think makes a picture more gripping and deep,” Myah tells us. She also explained how she figured out she enjoyed taking pictures. She shares, “This summer me and my friends were kind of just messing around, taking pictures of each other and the things around us and I started to enjoy different aspects of taking the pictures like the angle and then lighting and the focus of the picture and I have pretty much been photographing since then.”
Alex also started experimenting with photography just this year.
“My favorite sport to photograph in fall would have to be football, especially since that is the first sport where I started figuring out my style and how to take pictures that don’t just capture an image but also a moment,” Alex explained. He got into taking pictures almost by accident, he told us, “I honestly never planned to take such a liking to photography, but my friends knew that I am on the news team and figured I would be able to take some pictures of them at their games for posts and things like that. I went to one game and they thought my pictures were awesome and I loved it so I have been at games whenever possible ever since.”
Both students are juniors here at Kilbourne, and while neither of them has taken photography, they have taken classes that helped them develop skills and a baseline understanding of the different aspects of photography. They both have had guidance from Kilbourne staff and their fellow student photographers.
Myah told us, “I never took a class necessarily for photography, but I am earning a yearbook credit because of all the pictures I take, so I would say Mr. Cecutti has probably been my biggest help in terms of growing my style and figuring out different techniques. He is also super supportive just in general of whatever I have an interest in at the moment so I would just say all around he is super awesome and a person and a teacher, especially when you are discovering something new you enjoy.”
Similarly to Myah, Alex has also had lots of guidance from staff, he shared, “I would have to say my biggest help was Hemme.”
Mrs. Hemmelgarn, more commonly known as “Hemme” to Kilbourne students and faculty, was the WKHS News, Communications Technology (Comm Tech) and Journalism teacher for years here at Kilbourne. She also advised the Ravine during those years.
Alex continued, saying, “I took comm. tech with [Hemme] and she was super supportive and encouraging to me ever since I began to take a liking to editing videos. She taught me a ton about simple things like using cameras but also about how to capture the right moment for a picture or how to use lighting to your advantage, I think those things were the most valuable things I knew going into photography because normally it takes a lot of trial and error to gain that wisdom.”
While both Alex and Myah have only started photographing this year, their Instagram accounts have gained lots of traction due to the quality of their photos and the captivating elements that define them both. Myah has experimented with editing her photos with interesting styles; annotating them almost to tell a story or evoke a certain emotion. Alex’s interest lies more in videography, he has made countless hype videos during his years at Kilbourne, mainly of the Boy’s Varsity Basketball Team.
Click Here to watch one of Alex’s Hype Videos!
Lastly, both Wolves left their peers with valuable advice they think is important when starting not just photography, but any new art-driven hobby. Myah advised two things. First, find a community that also shares a love for your hobby. She elaborated, saying that “having other people who you can learn from and also just talk with is so fun and one of the best things I have gained from this.” She also advised that students should “take pictures that have the subject’s face in it, an expression can go such a long way in telling the story of the piece.” Alex also left some advice, as he told us, “photography is important to me because I love when people like what I can capture of them, so I guess I would say to figure out what your goal is when photographing because that can also help guide your decisions in the midst of whatever you’re trying to capture.”
Alex and Myah have also started taking photos of students at WKHS, specifically for senior photos.
Myah has a job, schoolwork, and lots of other commitments, so while a time might be harder to schedule with her, you can reach her through her Instagram DMs about taking free senior pictures!
Alex is consistently free, and he is currently taking jobs for paid photoshoots at any place you would like for any activity; sports, clubs, or individual shots. You can book him through Instagram also.
The Ravine would like to give a huge on behalf of all of Kilbourne, thank you to Myah, Alex, and to every other student who captures moments and immortalizes them through whatever art they choose, what you do is so awesome and important! Let’s have a great second semester Kilbourne, Go Wolves!
