1. Video
Hi my name is Chelsea Downey and unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to
take those pictures, however many of those pictures sparked my interest in sports
photography, which is exactly what I’ll be speaking about today. You’re probably asking
yourself why would this little girl be interested in sports photography, or isn’t that a male
interest, well that is exactly why I did my research paper on how difficult it is for women
to become sports photographers, did you know that three out of five sports photographers
are female, it’s surprising but true. It was one of the last industries to allow women in the
work place, and I’d like to change that. Well I’m definitely someone who loves to prove
people wrong so I’m here to break the status quo like many of my role models have
before me.
So for my senior project I took pictures of many of the sports teams here at
Creekview and compiled them into a magazine, I chose this as my product because it is
my senior year and I would like to be able to look back on all the great memories. I
thought this would be a good keepsake so that I could relive the big games as often as I
want. I made this magazine by taking pictures of many different sports multiple times
after I finished taking all the pictures it was time for me to choose the best of the best.
After I chose the pictures I wanted I had to start editing, which ended up being a lot more
tedious than I had originally planned, so needless to say I had a lot of long nights, early
mornings, and went through a ton of coffee. Once I finished editing all of my pictures
Istarted placing them into different programs to see what format I would like to use. I
played around with Microsoft word, publisher and power point. I didn’t choose Microsoft
word because the background color would have been all the same. I didn’t choose
publisher because it only gave me four pages to work with and I needed roughly twenty-
six, so I ended up using power point. I’m very happy with this choice because I think it
gives the product a professional feel. Once I chose power point I spent about ten hours in
front of my computer getting my magazine to perfection. Once I felt like it was perfect I
sent it to Brian Benson founder and CEO of Benson Media, although he was not my
project facilitator he played a huge role in the completion of my product, which he
printed for me, for free.
I would have never been able to take these pictures nor complete my product if it
wasn’t for my project facilitator, Scott Martin. I chose Mr. Martin because he has
extensive knowledge in sports photography, He’s been taking pictures since he was in
college, however it is simply a hobby for him, he dedicates the rest of his time to being a
wonderful history teacher and an even better dad. Mr. Martin was truly a blessing in this
process he explained so much to me like how to get my timing down to where I can get
the best photograph possible, he also taught me a lot about lighting and shutter speed.
Honestly when I started this project I had two project facilitators, Mr. Martin for
Photography and Brandon Michea for Journalism. Yes this magazine was originally
photography and journalism, but that is where I ran into my first problem, I had bitten off
way more than I could chew, so about half way through this process I realized I had to
drop journalism. However that was not the only problem I encountered, I was so excited
to take pictures especially of football, because it is my favorite sport, however I was on
the sidelines cheerleading so I had to ask my mom, my aunt and Mr. Martin to snap some

2. pictures of football for me. Then I ran into another problem I only had a negative zoom
lens, its called and 18-55, and I just knew it would not get me through this process so I
had to invest in a longer lens with a positive zoom, and its range is a 55-200. So I had
already ran into three problems surely the worst was over but I was so wrong, once I had
all my pictures taken I had to begin editing, well I found myself lost in multiple editing
sites and programs having no idea how to adequately edit pictures I ended up having a lot
of trial and error, of course that ended up being mostly error! Surely that would have
been my final problem, I was done I just needed the magazine, well five emails and three
wasted DVDs later I finally got the power point sent to Benson Media.
The worst was over and it was time for me to focus on the positive. This project,
as much as I complained about it, was actually a very fun and educating process. I
learned so much about photography, but not only that, I learned a lot about me, like I love
sports however I’m extremely impatient. I also get frustrated very easily, like when an
ump makes a bad call and I have the picture to prove it, but there is no instant replay in
high school. And you would think that there isn’t much to know about photography but I
did learn that it takes a good amount of skill and patience because you could max out an
8gb camera card and only have ten pictures worthy of using. I also leaned that I have a
little bit of natural talent.
I would love to pursue this as a career however I know that it isn’t very probable
so I will continue with my original plan, attending Kennesaw State University, earning a
degree in math and obtaining a teaching certificate, I would love to come back to
Creekview and be a math teacher, taking after Mr. Martin by continuing to take pictures
as a hobby. I actually really enjoyed this project because I chose something I knew I
would enjoy, I also learned a lot about myself and I think I matured a lot too. I really
would like to thank a handful of people, the athletes and coaches for being patient with
me even when I wasn’t patient with them. I want to thank Mr. Martin and Mrs. Tillery for
answering my endless questions, Brian Benson for donating my product to me, and of
course all of you for coming out and allowing me to share my unique process with you,
Thank you!