James Brosher Photography
Portfolio website for James Brosher, a Bloomington, Indiana based editorial and wedding photographer specializing in action, documentary, and portrait images.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”
– IU President Michael A. McRobbie, 2010 State of the University Address
Since President McRobbie’s 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.
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.
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.
