A Standalone Opportunity

Standalones are by far one of my favorite assignments and are a part of what makes being a photojournalist so much fun. You're sent out to explore, with no direction or expectations of what you will find. It could be something completely out of the ordinary, like a student riding an inflatable whale down the Chip River, to something as simple as a family going on a hike with walking sticks (both of which I stumbled upon this year). The unknown of the assignment makes it both exciting and intimidating.

(Photos by Jeff Smith/Staff Photographer)

Mount Pleasant resident Carlee Krueger, 5, plays with a large parachute with others Thursday outside of First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main Street. The group of first through fourth graders were a part of the after-school 'Kids Club' that meets at the church every Thursday evening.

I went out in search of a standalone last Thursday, October 7. It was a warm sunny day, so I hopped on my bike to cruise around Mount Pleasant. I prefer riding my bike to driving because you're more aware of your surroundings and notice things that you would miss moving at 25 or more miles per hour.

First, I peddled my way around campus. East and West campus, the towers, central campus, North campus. Nothing. So I decided to make my way toward downtown. Main, Franklin, Washington, University, Broadway. Nothing! Frustrated, hot and sweaty, I made my way to the last resort of standalones; Island Park. Still, nothing. By this time I must have been on my bike for more than an hour with my 15+ pound camera bag, and I was ready to give up. One more time down Main Street, then I'm heading home I thought to myself.


Rosebush resident Nick Pappas, 8, runs a ball back after retrieving it from a basket while playing a relay game with others Thursday outside of First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main Street. The group of first through fourth graders were a part of the after-school 'Kids Club' that meets at the church every Thursday evening

As I made my way back to campus, I passed by First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main. There was a big group of kids laughing it up and playing with a huge rainbow colored parachute in an empty lot outside the Church. I breathed an enormous sigh of relief, hopped off my bike and approached what looked to be the instructor of the group. After talking for a minute I found out the group was the church's after-school "Kids' Club" which meets every Thursday, and they would be more than happy for me to photograph them.

20 minutes later the group was done for the day and I had a sweet standalone. All the waiting and searching was well worth it. I head back to the office in Moore Hall and show my editor, Jake May, what I came up with on my feature hunt. He liked the photo and the story behind it, so he reassigned it as a package for the A-3 centerpiece the next Friday and told me to re-shoot the group.


Mount Pleasant resident Carlee Krueger, 5, plays with friends in an outdoor lot Thursday during Kids' Club at First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main Street. The kids broke up into two groups; the vibrations group, which learned how to play chimes, and the outdoor activities group.

I went back a week later, this time to shoot the indoor activities and get a closer look at what the Kids' Club is all about. "Hey, it's the dude with the camera!" several kids said as I walked into the groups meeting room. They were all very excited to have the reporter and I there. This time, shooting interaction between the kids and interaction with the instructors was my priority. After twenty minutes or so I started to blend in and they got used to my presence, and that's when I really started shooting. Capturing all the good moments is almost impossible when all the kids are looking right into the lens. I stayed for the whole meeting and got photos of them reading, praying and playing together, and it was a ton of fun.


Rosebush resident Nick Pappas, 8, lays on the ground and laughs as others tickle him Thursday before the start of the Kids' Club at First United Methodist Church, 400 S. Main Street. The students first read as a group and said a prayer for their families, then broke into two groups. "They're having fun while learning about god," said Mount Pleasant resident Cheri Recker, co-director of the club. "I love the kids, it's my vocation."

What began as a search for the unknown turned into an awesome story.

Unique Inspirations

Hey everybody! Today I am going to talk about how I approach a photo, the scenario, and my thought process while taking photos.

Lets first start off like this, don't look at the picture that is posted. Pull out a piece of paper and draw the following picture as I describe it. A girl studying under a tree in the fall. Take some time to draw it. Once you are done look at the photos and compare. There is no right or wrong answer. Most likely what you have on paper is not what I have in my pictures and that's alright. Point I am trying to make is that everyone see things differently and that's what makes us unique. As photographer, you have to start thinking in more than one way which bring me to my next point, triangles. Triangles is a combined word form of "try angles" which was mistakenly discovered my editor Jake May. Try different angles. You want to show the people who will see the photo an angle that they would normally wouldn't see or think about.

(Joe Tobianski/Staff Photographer)

Holly freshman Emily Brendel studies under a tree between Pearce and Anspach on Thursday afternoon. Brendel says, "It's a really nice day, so I am studying my psychology notes outside."

Let's quickly think about looking for that standalone. I have been hunting for standalones for a couple of hours, driving around town. I went to the park and people were just enjoying a walk. I saw some photo opportunities, but than I remembered we ran similar photos in previous issues in the paper. Here is where I went wrong and than changed my thought process. Standalones do not have to be huge loud action shots that screams fireman rushing out of a building with a baby and the building explodes in the background and everyone is ok. Although that would be a sweet photo, but standalones can be quiet and just as nice. It being a really nice warm day in fall, i decided to take that route and try to find someone enjoying the day. Being early afternoon, people are still in classes and not really out playing frisbee or tossing a ball or doing cartwheels to class. So I had to work with I could find people enjoying the day. I started to see a trend of people studying outside. I did a few other people before I got to these photos that are posted. Best thing to find is people really engaged at what they are doing.

(Joe Tobianski/Staff Photographer)

Holly freshman Emily Brendel studies under a tree between Pearce and Anspach on Thursday afternoon. Brendel says, "it's a really nice day, so I am studying my psychology notes outside."

Now let's talk about my thought process with the picture in this blog. When I first saw this situation it instantly reminded me of two things. First was a picture my best friend drew about five years ago and a song that describes that describes that scene. So having my camera in hand, I take a few pictures to get exposure and framing that way I want it. I see exposure is good, but I am to far away. So I take a few steps, shoot, few, steps and shoot until I get he framing I want. I wanted the tree to fit with a clean background. Now let's get in closer. I approached her and apologized for bothering her asking if I could take her picture for the paper. She happily agreed and I quickly took her information for the paper. I told her to go back to what she was doing as if I were never there. She instantly went back to studying. I took a few head on shots. Stood up, moved around. While doing this I was checking the background and making sure it wasn't busy. The buildings were not making to happy in the background. I really liked the color of the leaves, so I crouched down, not even having my eye to the camera hovering just over the ground and tilted my camera up so that she would be in the picture and the leaves of the trees. Having done that, I minimized the buildings in the background, and kept it clean. I showed what I wanted to show with an angle that people would normally would not think of. A girl studying under a tree in the fall.

Remember... keep shooting and TRIANGLES!!!

Training Day(s)

Day-to-day we often think of a ‘team’ as a group of superb athletes donning matching uniforms and signing autographs before they take the field. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph a different type of team. A team built on strong leadership, dedication, and camaraderie. While staying with the Central Michigan University Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps during Field Training Exercises at Fort Custer in Augusta, I experienced a small portion of military life. Whether learning to cook chicken and dumplings from my first Meal, Ready-to-Eat, sleeping outside in just a sleeping bag, and even participating in push-ups during PT, I gained a tremendous amount of respect for the students who dedicate their time to this program. Working and living in the elements pushed me as a photographer. I attempted to create new angles and capture a variety of moments from downtime to the physical and mental challenges of the weekend. What I discovered was that these squads are more than a team. They are a family.

Learning Football

The most frustrating thing about shooting football, especially when you don't have long lenses like a 300 or a 400, but instead use an 80-200, is not knowing what side of the field you should be on. Which side of the field is the game-changing play going to happen on? Where is the bone-crunching hit going to occur? Or even, where is the quarterback going to throw, or where is the running back going to run?

It all comes down to the luck of the draw.

(Leah Sefton/Staff Photographer)

Sophomore wide receiver Cody Wilson rushes downfield Saturday afternoon during the first quarter against Northwestern.

For the Northwestern game on Saturday, Sept. 25, I was definitely on the wrong side of the field for most of the game. I watched, crouched on the sidelines next to the Central Michigan bench, as play after play crashed and careened near the Northwestern bench on the other side of the field. Could I have changed sides? Certainly, but I knew that if I did, suddenly all the action would migrate to the other side. Life just seems to work that way. So I waited. Sure enough, both CMU touchdowns in the first half unfolded right in front of me. In fact, most every CMU touchdown happened right before my eyes. Sometimes it pays off to have to wait. It's always nice to know there is someone on the other side, though.

(Leah Sefton/Staff Photographer)

Senior running back Carl Volny powers through Northwestern's David Nwabuisi for the touchdown in the second quarter Saturday afternoon at Ryan Field. Volny's 16-yard catch tied the game at 13-13 with 1:15 left in the half.

Shooting on the sidelines of a Big Ten football game was not so different from shooting any other game as one might think. Sure, the officials were a little more picky about who was standing where, and my press pass was scrutinized a bit more closely than at the Eastern game, but otherwise, the experience was roughly the same. The only thing that make this experience worse than my Eastern experience was the amount of people on the sidelines. The Northwestern sidelines were packed. There were referees, photographers, police, Big Ten officials, coaches, reporters, and a smattering of other people who felt they needed to be right in front of the action. The amount of people caused even more problems for me than being on the wrong side of the field. The action would play out in front of me, getting better with every shot, then suddenly, a completely blue, blurry shot right as the moment happens because someone stepped in front of my lens. I can't think of anything more frustrating.

The other challenge I experienced is my complete and utter cluelessness when it comes to the game of football. I hate football. I hate watching it on TV, I hate seeing people look like idiots as they scream at their television set, I hate the seemingly endless games. Because of this, I had no idea how the game played out. I didn't know which direction to expect our team to go. I had no idea why the crowd just went wild. No idea, most of the time, where even to look for the ball. Knowing the game you're shooting must be a huge advantage, because I have had to learn on the go. I must admit, though, watching football games in person from the sidelines has given me a new appreciation for the sport. Although I'll still never watch it on TV, mindlessly yelling at the officials over a call I disagree with.

The Hunt

           (Sara Winkler/ Staff Photographer)

Members of His House Christian Fellowship at CMU share a moment outside of their residence with Alison Crary and her 10-month-old son Miles, family of the fellowship’s new pastor on campus, Scott Crary. The all male house, located at the corner of Main Street and Bellows Street, hosts nightly dinners Monday through Thursday for anyone who wishes to join. “They are people we meet in our classes or who we’re in clubs with” said Midland senior Joe Vercellino, second from left. “It’s been one of the coolest ways to create relationships around campus. Pastor Scott Crary and his family already feel at home with the members on campus and were special guests to celebrate their arrival. “I’ve been able to hang out with them which is good” said Crary. “We follow where God leads and this is it.”


Feature hunting is a process that can be intimidating, and at times, rather difficult for a photojournalist. However, it is one that can prove to be extremely rewarding and reveal some of the most compelling moments in photojournalism. The mission is to capture that simple significance that passes most of us by unnoticed, a quest for emotion and for human interaction. Feature photos celebrate life and display candid moments that tell the reader a story and evoke raw emotion inside of them just from viewing the photograph.

How then, do we go about finding such compelling action? In order to discover worthwhile occurrences, you need to put yourself out there. Don’t be afraid to step out into the unknown, to take a day to explore your surroundings.

My hunt began by driving up and down Pickard Street, one of the busiest roads in Mount Pleasant, Mich. It was a smoldering 92 degree day, so I anticipated finding a good amount of people at Doozies Ice Cream Place, a small gem of the city which is enjoyed by many students and townies alike. After awhile of passing it by back and forth, I realized I was only wasting time and going about my hunt in the wrong way. I didn’t want to plan the moment I hoped to capture; I wanted to come upon it naturally.

    A few cruises down side streets, around campus and a couple stops at local parks later, I began losing hope and headed in the direction back to my house. I was tired, sweating and irritated, but determined to make a good picture. You can never quit during your search, because you could always find something when you least expect it, which is exactly what happened for me that Monday evening.

Walking back to my place along Main Street, I noticed a few guys grilling chicken on their front porch and setting up a couple long tables with chairs in the lawn in front of their house. It turned out that the residence belonged to CMU’s His House Christian Fellowship. I was curious about their plans and decided to stop and see what they were up to. Before I knew it, I was welcomed with open arms and seated for dinner at a table of about 11.

His House Christian Fellowship has began hosting nightly dinners Monday through Thursday and in an attempt to reach out to the students and community around them, they invite new friends to share the meal each night. The dinner I happened to stumble upon was being held in honor of His House’s new pastor on campus, Scott Crary. The pastor, along with his wife and their two young children, enjoyed the meal with everyone and stayed for some short conversation afterward.

Although the delicious food was a bit of a distraction, I kept my eye open and shot a lot of frames throughout my visit, hoping to capture a genuine moment. It wasn’t until right before I left when I noticed the group of all male residents huddled around the pastor’s wife and her 10-month-old son. The child was very enthusiastic and expressive, and the group observed the mother and son together with smiles and amusement. I saw in that moment true joy, laughter, and love. I knew I had my shot.


Camera: Nikon D60
Focal Length: 32
ISO: 200

Aperture: 5

Shutter: 1/320

Program: Manual

White Bal.: Auto

Haiti: Storytelling Images

Photos by Libby March/Staff Photographer 

Magdaniel Delvas, 6, jumps rope Aug. 12 at My Heart's Home Orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti.  Magdaniel is the son of Pastor Magnus Delvas, a minister who lives with his wife and their three other sons at My Heart's Home as part of the staff caring for ten orphaned children, ranging from one to six years old.

Jake May's Take:
When choosing which photographs to run in the print edition of the newspaper, some great images get left on the cutting room floor. Editing down the Haiti take by Staff Photographer Libby March was incredibly difficult because so many of the photos had such great storytelling moments. These four photos included in this post are prime examples of great work that just did not have room to run in print.

The edit started simply with 45GB of photos, a feat that was first tackled by Libby March herself. Once she brought it down to about 500-plus total, Assistant Photo Editor Sean Proctor and myself sat down with her over a cup of coffee to bring it down even further. We ended up with 97 photos at this point. Sean and I then went back through one more time to really focus on what told the story best in about 10 to 12 images. And each of these images were in that final edit.

We then had to determine which photos to lose to best tell the story in fewer images. So we did. The cuts we made were to show more of the life and interaction between the volunteers from Mount Pleasant with the Haitian children at My Heart's Home. We wanted to show the children's personalities, and honestly, their curiosity with the volunteers at work. We also wanted to synchronize storytelling moments in photos that pair with the written story. A lot goes into this process, and if we could, we would have played them all, but that could not happen.

As for the photos you are looking at, please take the time to look at them, and understand what value each has with the original story. Each is a storytelling moment that, alas, did not make the final print edit, but as I said before, they are fantastic example of what the Central Michigan Life photo staff strives for in daily and long-term project work. Truly phenomenal photojournalism.


Jonathan Delvas, 5, left, looks up at his brother Magdaniel Delvas, 6, top bunk, as Yolette Louis, 4, laughs, under the observation of Leicka Sidney, 2, held by Ciera Allen, 11, of Coleman, August 12 at My Heart's Home orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti. The children are playing on a newly constructed bunk, one of seven bunks built by HCI volunteers Steve Shanaver and Lonny Phillips.



Pastor Ron Ives of Potter's House Family Worship Center in Mount Pleasant prays over a member of Pastor Magnus Delvas' church August 15 in Port Au Prince, Haiti.


Sean Proctor's Take:
Choosing a photo to lead off a page or a story is a difficult task. Essentially, you have to find a photo that not only looks good, but is story-telling, will draw your viewers in and is also well composed. A good caption and a solid moment go a long way as well, be it a daily assignment where you took anywhere from 50 to 200 frames, or a mission trip to Haiti, where you took over 45 gigs of photos.

Editing down thousands and thousands of photos to a few hundred is exhausting. Which has better focus, what's the better moment? The light is nicer in this one, they're looking at the camera, this has a better background or better layers. However, editing down the few hundred to about a dozen photos takes an intensely critical eye, as well as the ability to say "out" to a photo you really are attached to.

When Jake May (Photo Editor), Libby March (Staff Photographer) and myself (Assistant Photo Editor) sat down over our staple of coffee and bagels to sort through her few hundred photo edit for the A3 photo page and A7 jump, we had to be able to make those hard decisions. It sounds silly to say that, "hard decisions", but to create a story that stands on its own, as well as with the story? It really is quite difficult.

Within an hour, we had narrowed the number of photos into the double digits. 97. Which means we still had to lose at least 80 more photos before we even started getting close to where we needed to be. It was time to nitpick. To be harsh enough to ax a photo because the focus was off by a hair, or the almost minuscule detail of the photo made it worth ditching. 97 became 70-something, which became 40-something, which became 20-something, which became 10 or 12, depending on the edit.

In a story like this, every aspect is important. You need to see the Heart Cry volunteers, you need to see the orphans, you need to see work, you need to see play, you need to see interaction and emotional connection. You need all of these photos to work with the story. Every photo printed did this, every photo played its part. Yet, Jake and I found ourselves still wanting these four photos you see here to play. We swapped out other photos, tried different positioning and crops. Does it work better as a secondary? Or, as I call it, a tertiary? What makes the most graphic impact to warrant the 6-column main?

Sure, I can give you a reason why each one of these photos got the cut, but regardless of that, each of these photos bring an important of the story into its frame, and each frame is exceptional in its own right.


Shelda Joseph, 3, plays alone with a toy in the boys' room August 10 at My Heart's Home orphanage in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

The Friday Feature: Yolette Louis

(Libby March/Staff Photographer)

Photo column by Staff Photographer Libby March

At a table brimming with 14 other children, in the midst of the chaos and poverty of a third world nation, a 4-year-old girl sits quietly dissecting her sandwich into pieces, giving away two bites for each she eats.

Her name is Yolette Louis and she lives at an orphanage called My Heart’s Home in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

I met Yolette two and a half weeks ago while documenting a group of eight volunteers on a 10-day mission trip to the orphanage as part of Heart Cry International, a nonprofit based in Mount Pleasant. The time in Haiti was one of the most unexpectedly beautiful experiences of my life, but what I’ll remember most is this child who has nothing, but gives all.

Mission trips can really test your mettle. You sleep little, eat little and have little privacy. Endurance is pivotal, since you must maintain an attitude of service. Irritability is not an option.

I’ve been on service trips before, but for me, Haiti was a new frontier in character building.

One afternoon I was sitting on the floor monitoring a 3-year-old’s descent into a PB and J sandwich when I looked up to see Yolette’s simple act of altruism. She broke her meal into pieces for fellow orphanage children Djoulie and Fedeline, with the remaining third for herself.

Throughout the week, I realized Yolette does this at every meal. Her selflessness is remarkable in a person so very young. You’ve heard the phrase “ray of sunshine” – Yolette is a whole sun, beaming joy at anyone who makes eye contact.

(Libby March/Staff Photographer)

HCI tripper Nichole Osborn refers to Yolette as “a little mama.” It’s true. I saw Yolette calm the tears of Kenlie, a constantly fussy 1-year-old. Joshua and Shilore, two of the more robust boys, were often hard to control, but quieted when Yolette, clucking like a little hen, shooed them away from smaller boys like Solomon and Jocelyn.

I watched this little girl do things I, at 21, have never done. Yolette has nothing, but she gives constantly for the benefit of those around her. She bursts through clouds like a megawatt, pint-sized Mother Teresa.

When I think of Yolette I’m forced to ask myself – what have I given? My world is wrought with advantages I take for granted. Yet with all I have, I give less than an orphan under half my age.

If we all shared like Yolette does, wouldn’t we all be better off?

There’s a lot of talk about the desolation and corruption of Haiti. It’s no secret that January’s earthquake rocked an already-broken country almost into dust. Even now the rubble has hardly been cleared, but in the eight short days I was there, I didn’t lose heart – I’d like to think I gained it.

As long as there is selflessness like Yolette’s, I believe there’s hope for Haiti.

And for humanity.

(Courtesy Photo by Nichole Osborn)

Central Michigan Life Staff Photographer Libby March hugs four-year-old Yolette Louis, right, and Magdaniel Delvas, 6, in mid-August while volunteering at an orphanage called My Heart’s Home in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti with Heart Cry International, a nonprofit based in Mount Pleasant.