The Sun Sets On Another Year of Graduations

I shot my final graduation of the year yesterday. That is barring any last minute schedule changes. I have to say that it could not have come sooner. The end of May and beginning of June tend to be a crazy time for me as a newspaper photographer. You have the all the high school sports playoffs/championships to shoot, and then it is right into graduation season.

This year, I kicked off the graduations shooting the United States Naval Academy graduation that I did my first audio stream about. If you have not heard it, please scroll down and listen. Then it was time for the high schools. I personally shot six. We have 12 public high schools in Anne Arundel County and one on Kent Island that we cover. Add to that the other 10 private and special education schools that I can think of, and it comes to 22 high schools, plus three college ceremonies.

Twenty-five commencements, all looking about the same, as far as, caps, gowns, parents, kids, speeches go. Sure the people are different and the school colors change somewhat, but trying to make unique images from each one is a challenge. I think that as a photo staff we did pretty well this year. I really liked the stuff I shot at the Arundel High School graduation I did on Friday. That is where the image above came from. It is one of the few high schools in the county to actually have their ceremony at the school and outdoors. This really helps with abundant light and the opportunity to try some different things.

So congrats to all the graduates and their families and to all the graduation shooters out there. See you in 11-1/2 months.