Blog // Projects
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
This spring my department worked on a project profiling a graduating senior at each of Indiana University’s campuses. The result was a combined video as well as a series of individual videos profiling students across the state. Working alongside our video guys, I captured candids and portraits of each student.
Graduate Gabriela Jaimes walks across the stage to receive her degree during the Indiana University Northwest Commencement at the Genesis Convention Center in Gary on Thursday, May 10, 2018. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Emily Edwards, a graduating senior at IUPUC, laughs as she participates in a ukulele club meeting on campus in Columbus on Thursday, April 5, 2018. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Categories: Portraits, Projects | Tags: Indiana University, IU Studios | Comments (0)
Monday, February 26, 2018
I have been fascinated with the Old Crescent ever since I started working for Indiana University. It is the oldest part of campus and an area I tend to frequent often since it is near my office. In the past several years, the university administration has prioritized the reinvigoration of this corner of the IU Bloomington campus. For decades, the old limestone buildings housed primarily administrative offices. In recent years, however, these buildings have been gradually renovated and converted back into classroom buildings. The result is a more student-centric area of campus. This project is one that I tend to focus on more in winter and early spring when my daily work for the university slows. I try to shoot it using a historical aesthetic with an emphasis on the details and textures I find on my frequent jaunts through this beautiful part of campus.
Categories: Projects | Tags: Indiana University, Instagram, IU Studios | Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
For the past year, I have been working from time to time on an Instagram project capturing details and scenes from Indiana University’s Old Crescent. The Old Crescent is the historical core of IU Bloomington and home to several of the most iconic scenes on campus. Despite this, it has in recent decades become home to mostly administrative offices as many of the students take classes elsewhere on campus. IU President Michael McRobbie stressed the importance of the Old Crescent in his 2010 State of the University Address:
Whether we intend it or not, our buildings reflect our values. The Old Crescent should be among the main academic centers on campus and a vibrant hub of student and academic life and activity, day and night.
Since his address, IU has restored some vigor to the area of campus through a series of renovations allowing classrooms and departments to move back into the historic buildings. As an alumnus and a fan of the university’s incredible limestone structures, it’s fascinating to watch the revitalization of the Old Crescent. I rarely frequented the area as a student so I’ve made an effort over the past year to take Instagram walks through the Old Crescent whenever I have an opportunity.
Categories: Projects | Tags: Indiana University, Instagram, IU Studios | Comment (1)
Monday, February 25, 2013
Back in January, I spent a day hanging out with Niel Makielski. Niel is legally blind after losing his vision to macular degeneration, but has a very elaborate home woodworking shop in his basement where he works on projects ranging from watch stands to full home entertainment centers. After losing most of his vision, Niel developed a very unique and interesting workflow to allow him to accurately measure pieces of wood and find tools.
After ruining a few pieces of wood by cutting them unevenly and out of square, Niel Makielski pauses as he examines his table saw while working in his home wood shop on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, near South Bend. A warped blade was the culprit. Makielski, who is legally blind, suffers from macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in 60 and older Americans according to the National Eye Institute. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Niel Makielski cuts a wood board on his table saw as he works on a new project in his home wood shop on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, near South Bend. Makielski has developed a unique workflow in his wood shop allowing him to continue to pursue his passion. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Categories: Projects | Tags: South Bend Tribune | Comment (1)
Monday, July 2, 2012
For the past 10 months, the South Bend Tribune photo staff has been documenting the journey of a local woman, Kimmie Trethewey, who underwent bariatric surgery. My predecessor at the Tribune, Marcus Marter, shot a great deal of the story in the early stages, and I’ve had the opportunity to photograph Kimmie the past few months. The story is currently running in the paper as a series so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite frames of Kimmie.
Kimmie Trethewey shares a hug with a member of her walking group after finishing the Sunburst 5K Walk on Saturday, June 2, 2012, at Notre Dame Stadium. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
After realizing how much weight she has lost since a previous visit, Kimmie Trethewey starts to cry as she talks with her dietitian on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at Memorial Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Center in Granger. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Categories: Projects | Tags: Health Care, South Bend Tribune | Comments (0)
Friday, May 25, 2012
Here are a few frames from a story I did recently about Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that stems from an abnormality of the 15th chromosome. The disorder has several symptoms, but the most prevalent is a constant sense of hunger. This really changes how people with the disorder fundamentally live. For April, it means she relies heavily on her parents, who are forced to lock away and tightly control their daughter’s food.
April Boughton takes a moment as she packs her lunch for the day on Monday, April 16, 2012, at her family's home in South Bend. Boughton, 22, suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome. The condition is characterized in part by a constant sense of hunger that can lead to extreme binge eating. Because of her condition, Boughton's meals are carefully planned out by her parents, who lock their food pantries and refrigerator. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
April Boughton attempts to blow a bubble as she competes in a game styled after NBC's "Minute to Win It" on Thursday, April 19, 2012, at Hannah and Friends in South Bend. Boughton, 22, comes to the facility a few times a week to play games and to groom horses at the stables. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Categories: Projects | Tags: South Bend Tribune | Comments (0)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Last month, I spent part of a day photographing Greg Gaver for a series of stories in the South Bend Tribune. Greg suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that stems from an abnormality of the 15th chromosome. The disorder has several symptoms, but the most prevalent is a constant sense of hunger. If unchecked, this can lead to binge eating and disorders associated with it such as diabetes and extreme obesity. Caregivers – oftentimes parents – must keep ever-present control of food for people with PWS, meaning that food pantries and refrigerators are often kept locked. To illustrate the story, I photographed Greg along with another family in Michiana (which I will post soon as well). I appreciated Greg and his family’s openness to allow me to photograph him for the story, and I hope our series helped to shine a light on the disorder.
Greg Gaver leans in as he watches a country music video on YouTube on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at his Granger home. Gaver, 21, suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome, a debilitating condition that makes him have an intense craving for food. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Greg Gaver walks on a treadmill in his family's basement on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, in Granger. Gaver, 21, usually exercises everyday for 30 minutes to help with his Prader-Willi Syndrome, which makes him have an intense craving for food. If not kept in check, the syndrome can lead to extreme binge eating and obesity related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, according to the Mayo Clinic. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Categories: Projects | Tags: South Bend Tribune | Comments (0)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
For the past few months, I have been working on a picture story about Isaac Salas. As Isaac practiced a forward roll before a high school wrestling practice on Nov. 17, 2010, he broke his C1 and C2 vertebrae leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. In the months that followed, Isaac made progress in his recovery eventually regaining limited movement in his arms and legs and the ability to breathe without a ventilator. As he underwent physical therapy and several operations at Craig Hospital south of Denver, Isaac became a celebrity of sorts in Cheyenne. People around the community organized several fundraisers to help Isaac’s family as he recovered. Isaac returned home on Aug. 4. Less than a month later, he died after a procedure to pulverize urinary tract stones blocking his catheter. He was 16.
In my short career, this was the most difficult picture story to photograph. As I got to know him, I was amazed by Isaac’s perseverance and determination despite the physical and emotional adversity he faced on a daily basis after his accident. He would always say “when I walk again” instead of “if I walk again.”
My favorite memory of Salas was on June 3 when I photographed him on a hospital field trip to Bear Creek Lake Park near Denver. As Salas rolled down a beach area near one of the park’s lakes, he teased Jenniy Peltier, his favorite therapist from the hospital, and tried to get her to help him cruise for chicks. Despite his situation, he was in incredibly high spirits. It’s something his mother, Melissa Plumley, called “Isaac being Isaac.” It was inspiring to see and to photograph.
Lester Butt, Isaac Salas' psychologist, leans in to chat with Isaac after a round of physical therapy as Isaac's mother, Melissa Plumley, watches from a chair near the window in his room on Thursday, April 28, 2011, at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo. Isaac was hospitalized from November 2010 until August 2011 as he recovered from a break of his C1 and C2 vertebrae in a Cheyenne South High School wrestling practice. (James Brosher/Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Isaac Salas waits to be helped inside of his family's home as his mother, Melissa Plumley, background, talks with friends and family during a welcome home gathering on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in north Cheyenne. It was the first time Isaac had returned home since the accident in wrestling practice on Nov. 17, 2010. After his injury, his family was forced to buy a wheelchair-friendly home for Isaac, who continued to be wheelchair-bound throughout his recovery until his death on Sept 3. (James Brosher/Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Categories: Projects | Tags: Black and White, Wyoming Tribune Eagle | Comment (1)
Monday, December 19, 2011
For a few months, I’ve been working on a picture story about Isaac Salas, a Cheyenne South High School wrestler who broke his C1 and C2 vertebrae in a practice on Nov. 17, 2010. In the months that followed his accident, the Cheyenne community came together to raise money for Isaac as he recovered in Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo. Isaac continued to make steady progress in his recovery and returned home from the hospital on Aug. 4. Less than a month later on Sept. 3, Isaac died following a procedure to pulverize urinary tract stones blocking his catheter. Here is an audio slideshow I put together with some of the pictures I took of Isaac and his family.
Categories: Multimedia, Projects | Tags: Black and White, Wyoming Tribune Eagle | Comments (0)
Monday, March 14, 2011
A few weeks ago I got to spend some time with Nathalia Rap as she participated in Jewish youth group activities at the Mount Sinai Congregation in Cheyenne. Here are a few frames that are part of a story I worked on with reporter Josh Rhoten exploring what it means to be young and Jewish in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Nathalia Rap, age 16, holds hands with her peers as she takes part in a traditional Jewish dance during Hebrew School on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at the Mount Sinai Congregation in Cheyenne.
Nathalia Rap, age 16, helps Zoey Brown, age 5, sound out a letter in Hebrew on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at the Mount Sinai Congregation in Cheyenne.
Categories: Projects | Tags: Wyoming Tribune Eagle | Comments (0)
