Famous me

Journalism display in Moore Hall has my photo!!
First floor, right outside of the Kiva.
Proud. :)

On the right, the mining photo!

~JD

Senior exhibition

Fourth floor Moore Hall, CMU.
I am so proud of myself and my peers. I can't believe my photos are right there, where I spent years studying. I hope they've inspired someone like those before inspired me.

~JD

Suicide awareness and prevention for the central Michigan area. Check out Stay Chill.

~JD

Production nights at CM Life; A time lapse

Time lapse video of a typical production night in the office.
Again, click the HD at the bottom of the video to be taken to vimeo for the HD version, or watch it as is here.



~JD

Swing it! Time lapse video.

Click HD in the video to watch in high definition on vimeo!

~JD

MLK Day

Flint junior Lashauna Garrett attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Day events on the Central Michigan University campus Jan. 16.

Garrett attended the Peace Brunch, march and candlelight vigil. She was required to go for her scholarship, but said Dr. King has been part of her life since she was a child a she has always been involved in the holiday's events.

"Without Dr. King, I don't know where I'd be today," she said. "I don't know how far me as a African American would have come. He took a lot of things, and went through a lot of struggles ... to make it possible for African Americans today. And not only African Americans, but all Americans. He fought for equality in all aspects."

She said she was out there to promote equality and continue the efforts of Dr. King.

"I would say (the day) inspires others to get involved," said Garrett, "and be thankful for what he has done for society and all individuals in every aspect."

~JD

"Follow your heart"

JRN 422:

A counter culture story.





Kylee Meade and Nick Royal are a happy couple of 14 months, but 'typical' may not be the right way to describe them.

Kylee Meade of Roseville is a fifth-year senior at Central Michigan University. Kylee was also born "Kyle." Meade is a transgendered woman, in the process of hormonal therapy to change her body to match the gender she feels inside.

"I'm not trying to be a different person," she said, "I'm just trying to be me - Just a girl."

Meade and Royal met through Facebook, having no actual connections. Meade found a mutual friend and said they had met before. Royal accepted it at the time and they began to chat. They started having four- to five-hour phone conversations. Once they moved to the same town, Mount Pleasant, they began officially dating, not having an actual date, but deciding two months later that their anniversary was Aug. 1.

Royal said he identified as gay, attracted to boys only. He tried dating girls and it didn't work.

"Kylee is the exception," he said. "I fell in love with her before I knew, and that's kind of why."

The day before their three month anniversary, Meade came out as transgendered to Royal.

"I said, 'Well, I'm gay and I date boys, so we have to break up,'" he said.

"We had been dating for a couple of months and it was getting serious," Meade said. "I knew I was getting strong feelings for him. So I had to tell him soon. ... And so I told him. We were basically just crying for hours and hours that night."

Royal said they ended on nice terms, but he couldn't get her out of his head the next day. He bought her three roses for their three month anniversary and told her he was unsure what would happen with their relationship, but he wanted to try.

"He basically said, 'I don't want to put my love in a box anymore,'" Meade said.

"I said, 'I don't know how this is gonna go, but I want to try,'" he said. "And since that day, she has been breaking through my mind compartments."

Meade said she was tentative and something would probably eventually happen, but they have since been dating for more than a year and he has been supportive.

"Love is love, it doesn't really matter, but for some reason, society wants that label." Royal said.

He said right now he identifies with Queer, saying it is the only label he feels comfortable with because it is such an umbrella term.

"In my head I'm attracted to more men than women," Royal said, "but I don't see us breaking up, so it doesn't really matter."

He said he really doesn't see Meade's  physical changes as becoming a problem.

"In my head, she's a female," he said. "There's no question about it."

Meade said this summer or next December she is going to have facial reconstructive surgery to reduce her brow bone and jaw and to reshape her nose.

"I don't really have any fat, but the hormones will place the fat in a different area," she said, moving her hands over her thighs and hips.

Meade is a vocal major and the hormones affect her every day. Her voice is always changing. She said she is concerned about the vocal shift.

"I want to keep my singing voice," she said. "It's my life."

But whatever changes Meade is going through, Royal is by her side and plans to stay. He said he wants people to ask questions and not to make assumptions. He said there is really only love and has one piece of advice:

"Just follow your heart."

Cafe Rocker

JRN 420: Fashion Practice.

Cafe Rocker.
On the stairs in the EHS Building. Umbrella to the left, pointed up at his face.
Backlight one floor down, pointed at wall.
Splash rimlight behind his head.

~JD

Football Champ

JRN 422: Sports feature picture story.


Brandon "Champ" Champion, a Cadillac senior, is known for his love of sports.

"Brandon is football," said John Manzo, Clinton Township junior and friend of Champion.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, Champion went out to watch the Central Michigan-Northern Illinois football game at Kelly/Shorts stadium with his roommates and friends. After about an hour drinking with his friends in the tailgate lot and passing out Monster energy drinks to other tailgaters, Champ strolled into the stadium with his arms around his friends' shoulders, straight down to about the fourth row in the student section.

Brandon Champion, senior of Cadillac, watches the Central Michigan-Northern Illinois football game Oct. 1 at CMU's Kelly/Shorts stadium.

Brandon Champion of Cadillac, right, and his friend Shonda Smith of Detroit cheer for the Chippewas in the Oct. 1 Central Michigan-Northern Illinois football game at Kelly/Shorts stadium at Central Michigan University.

The smile never left his face, despite the chilly wind and small student section present at the game. He cheered with his friends, danced to the music and never quite stayed in one place during the game.

His friend, Detroit sophomore Shonda Smith, looked up from the game at one point to find neither Champion nor his roommates around her.

"They'll be back," she laughed. After about 15 minutes, she realized the boys were in a completely different row, two rows back. Once Champion saw her, he squeezed between other students to come to her level, only to leave again after about five minutes.

Champion and his friends left the game at half time to watch Michigan State football from his apartment at Lexington Ridge, U12.

Cadillac senior Brandon Champion throws his arms out in exasperation while watching Michigan State football on Oct. 1 at his Lexington Ridge apartment, U12, in Mount Pleasant.

Not only does Champion watch football, he also plays on two Intramural teams; he plays quarterback for the co-ed team the Honey Badgers and is also a part of an all-male team.

"I'm like a die-hard sports person," Champion said with a large grin while describing himself.

He also covers soccer for the student paper, Central Michigan Life.

Quarterback of the co-ed Intramural flag football team the Honey Badgers, Cadillac senior Brandon Champion runs with the ball on the cold Oct. 3 night game at Central Michigan University IM fields.
The Honey Badgers lost 19-12.

After a game of Intramural flag football, the Honey Badgers team's quarterback Brandon Champion, of Cadillac, looks over the Central Michigan University IM fields.
His team lost in the 19-12 game.

Brandon Champion and Ashley Scheetz walk away from the Central Michigan University Intramural fields after the co-ed flag football team, the Honey Badgers, lost a game Monday night, Oct. 3. The final score was 19-12.

After his co-ed IM game on Oct. 3, Champion headed away saying he was mad they had lost 19-12. He went home to watch baseball on TV.

~JD

Location Lighting Practice

Lesson learned: A reflector to the right would have brightened the shadows on his face.

Lesson learned: Don't be afraid of direct light.
Kent Miller helped set up this shot.

Things learned:

• Gold reflectors are your best friend. They give a sunshine color!

• Teammates are great. More heads=more possibilities and more ideas to improve the shot.

• Put your strobes on Manual. Better control!

• Ask passers-by to model; it's surprising how many people will do it if you look like a pro.

• Ask your teacher for help! There's a reason he's the teacher and we're the students. He knows what we're doing wrong.

PS, thanks teammates Meagan, Brooke and Brady! We rock.

~JD

Sports single

 Sports feature picture story single.

Quarterback of the Honey Badgers co-ed intramural football team, Brandon Champion, right, rises his arms in frustration from a referee's call at their game Monday night, Sept. 26 at Central Michigan University's IM fields.

~JD

420 studio portraits, Assignment 1

420 Studio shots.

Kaitlin Thorne stands in front of the backdrop she painted on Sept. 9 in Central Michigan University's Wightman Hall photo studio.
Kaitlin is an artistic young woman, whose interests range from painting to acting, with everything in between.

Taryn Wattles lies amongst her collection of hundreds of rubber ducks Sept. 14 in Central Michigan University's Wightman Hall photo studio.
"That's the thing I like about ducks ... They can be anyone. They can be a knight in shining armor and save the day, or they can be a cat."

~JD

420 in-class studio shoot

In-class studio shoot of our classmates.

Meagan Dullack holds her bright umbrella over her shoulder during an in-class photo shoot for JRN 420, Monday Sept. 12 in Central Michigan University's Wightman Hall photo studio.
Her smile could be the sunshine on Michigan's rainy days.

Personally, this is my favorite because I love tight shots that highlight models' faces and expressions.
I'm a little mad I cut the top of her head off though...


~JD

Weapons of mass construction

Two things this week, artsy and actual journalism.
One: Busted out the macro lens to practice.
Two: Faculty Association teachers strike, and the university president's response in a media conference.

I love my letters and what they represent.

I thought it was pretty. :P

An awesome day to be a journalist. 8-22-11

 

 

FA teachers picketing in front of Warriner Hall, 7 a.m.

 

Student support.

President Ross addresses the media and a few students who managed to get into the conference.

FA members refused to teach or hold office hours.

Crazy days in a crazy world.

~JD