Blog // Year in Review
Saturday, December 31, 2016
University Grand Marshal Brian Horne, an Associate Professor of Music, carries the Mace to the stage to start the processional during the Indiana University Bloomington Undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 7, 2016, in Memorial Stadium. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Kasim McCarthy-Brown improvises dance moves joining the Movement Cooperative (MoCo) at IU for an impromptu cameo as they perform a traditional rain dance before the reveal of a Rainworks, a type of rain-activated artwork, during the CultureFest After Party on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, at the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
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Friday, December 23, 2016
This year I went back and forth on whether I should continue to post only iPhone photos to Instagram. Now that the platform supports vertical and horizontal, non-square images I’ve seen a lot of DSLR images proliferate on Instagram. Ultimately, I decided to stick with the iPhone because it represents an interesting creative challenge to try to create with a cell phone camera. Nothing against the photographers who post DSLR images on Instagram, but personally I didn’t want it to become a place to merely post all my daily work. I have and continue to use Instagram as a creative challenge – in a good way. It forces me to visualize differently. One of my goals for 2017 is to post more often to Instagram than I did in the second half of 2016. This includes using the new(ish) Instagram Stories feature. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2016. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
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Thursday, December 31, 2015
Culling through a year’s worth of images is always a very humbling experience. It’s an interesting exercise because it always gives me a good overall perspective of what I’ve done – or haven’t done – with my year. The year 2015 marked a move away from photojournalism work to more commercial, marketing and event photography. I still did a fair amount of photojournalism freelance work, but the bulk of my day-to-day shooting was not photojournalism for the first time. Interestingly, I processed more “selects” in 2015 (7,876) than I did in any single year while I was a full-time staff photographer. So while it sometimes felt like I wasn’t shooting as much this year, I actually was. Below are my 10 favorite moments of 2015. Thanks for looking, and I wish everyone a great New Year.
J Thomas Forbes, executive director of the Indiana University Alumni Association, waits at the start/finish line before driving the pace vehicle for the Women’s Little 500 on Friday, April 24, 2015, at Bill Armstrong Stadium. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to a group of School of Global and International Studies students on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015, at the school on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Secretary Kerry’s visit coincides with the dedication of the university’s state-of-the-art, 165,000-square-foot Global and International Studies Building, which opened in August. Kerry is the first sitting secretary of state to visit IU in 20 years. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
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Monday, December 21, 2015
I’m very thankful for Instagram. It’s a great platform for photographers to exercise and expand personal vision while discovering new photographers. (Seriously, this isn’t an ad for Instagram.) For me, it’s a great daily challenge in visual thinking. It forces me to see the light in everyday situations, which helps to keep me visually stimulated. Almost all of my photos from this year were #nofilter squares. The only filter I used was Inkwell to create contrasty, black and white images. I’m still a big fan of the traditional square because it’s an interesting aspect to work with coming from someone who shoots a lot of 3:2 rectangles on a DSLR for a living. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2015. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
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Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Editing this post each year is usually a very humbling experience, but this year it was also bittersweet. In July, I left my newspaper staff photographer job to move to Bloomington with my fiancée. As I looked through hundreds of images from South Bend, I was reminded of all the special people and places I experienced and had the opportunity to photograph over the past couple years. It took me a while to adjust during the transition from a staff position, but I was ultimately able to refresh my personal vision. I now feel as though I’m shooting and seeing in a more careful and deliberate way. I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into 2015. Below are my 15 favorite moments of 2014. Thanks for looking, and I wish everyone a great New Year.
Taylor Lizzi, a 10-year 4-H member from Bremen, reacts as a bucket of cold water is dumped over his head during a water fight in the dairy beef club’s wash stalls during the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair on Friday, July 4, 2014, in South Bend. Several club members took part in the water fight, marking an unofficial end to 4-H competition at this year’s fair. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Dressed as a police officer Carter Tripp, 2, takes a seat at the feet of his father, Elkhart police Cpl. Jason Tripp, during a resolution honoring Tripp and Cody Skipper for their part in ending an active shooter situation at a Elkhart Martin’s Super Market on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, at the Indiana State Capitol in Indianapolis. Tripp and Skipper shot and killed gunman Shawn Walter Bair on Jan. 15, ending a rampage that left Krystle Dikes, 20, and Rachelle Godfread, 44, dead at the Martin’s on East Bristol Street in Elkhart. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
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Tuesday, December 30, 2014
I’m a fan of Instagram. I try to use it as an exercise in daily visual thinking. I believe a person’s personal vision is not unlike an athlete’s muscle: it needs to be exercised in order to stay in shape. Instagram allows photographers to do this on a daily basis whether it’s by photographing serious stuff or cats. Trying to express myself visually in daily situations is a healthy challenge. This has become even more important to me after I left my newspaper staff job in July. Instagram helped to keep me visually stimulated in the lull between shoots as I adapted to the freelancer life. Below are a few of my favorite Instagrams from 2014. Thanks for looking. Please consider following me on Instagram: @jamesbrosher.
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
It’s always nice to look through my work at the end of any given year. It gives perspective to the journey I’ve taken professionally as a shooter. Sometimes it’s hard to take a step back during the year to see the big picture of my body of work. Selecting my favorite images for the inevitable “pictures of the year” features in the paper and online are always a humbling yet satisfying experience. It is humbling to see my weaknesses and areas of improvement and satisfying to see where I started and where I ended in my growth (hopefully) as a photojournalist. Below are my 15 favorite moments of 2013. Thanks for looking, and I wish everyone a great New Year.
Lily Strang, 6, listens as Bethel volleyball coach Kevin Ulmer talks to his players before a volleyball match against Grace College on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013, at Bethel College in Mishawaka. Strang, who suffers from Fanconi Anemia, signed a letter-of-intent to become a Bethel Pilot and was issued jersey No. 14 thanks to Team IMPACT, an organization that pairs children with serious chronic illnesses with college teams. On this night, the college collected donations in place of admission fees for Strang as part of a send-off. Strang is set to undergo a bone marrow transplant followed by a long isolation period. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
A woman and child make their way past airline check in counters on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at the South Bend Regional Airport. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013
It’s already 2013, but here’s one final parting glance with 12 of my favorite frames of 2012. It was an eventful year as I moved back to my home state of Indiana after a year working in Wyoming. The biggest story I covered was Notre Dame’s undefeated season. I had the opportunity to photograph all but two of their 12 wins this season. On Friday, I will be heading down to Miami to photograph the BCS National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Alabama. The first two years of my professional career have been rewarding, and I’m looking forward to what 2013 has to offer.
Notre Dame cornerback Josh Atkinson celebrates with the Irish student section after a win against Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, at Notre Dame. (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)
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Monday, December 24, 2012
One of my goals for 2012 was to push myself to think visually in non-work environments. I wanted to do this to keep my vision sharp and fresh. The daily grind at a newspaper can sometimes become a wall that is hard to break through, leaving you feeling as though you work at some sort of building-mug-producing picture factory. I experienced this before and was determined to increase my personal and self-assigned work in 2012 to stay creative and continue to find a sense of fulfillment in my work. My subjects ranged from lighthearted things such as family, friends, vacations and my girlfriend to more serious assignments such as the NATO Summit protests in Chicago. The results of this goal turned out to be some of, if not my best pictures of the year.
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Friday, December 23, 2011
For the most part, 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I got my first staff photographer gig, survived a Wyoming winter, shot a rodeo, dressed like a cowboy for two weeks straight and got the opportunity to work on a long-term picture story. Can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for me. I put together a complete “2011 Year in Pictures” gallery that includes 100 shots in chronological order. But if you don’t feel like spending 30 minutes looking at photos, here are my 10 favorite frames from this year:
Jack Osborn, left, 10, and Brayden Wiesen, 11, take a break towards the end of the day inside of a chute during the first go of slack tie-down roping on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at Frontier Park. Several youngsters including the two funneled cattle into chute 9 from 8 a.m. to about noon for slack tie-down roping. (James Brosher/Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Aspen Rewerts, right, a kindergarten student at Jessup Elementary, reacts before hugging Mark Stock, superintendent of Laramie County School District No. 1, after Stock checked her work before recess on Thursday, March 24, 2011, at the school. Stock was teaching in place of Kathleen Blaes-Garcia for the day after Blaes-Garcia won a contest for donating to the Cheyenne School Foundation. "It's been refreshing," said Stock, who taught third and sixth graders for eight years before becoming an administrator. (James Brosher/Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
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