RJ Kaminski's Media Participation Project

For my media participation project, I followed around Diamondback photographer Christian Jenkins during the Terps last regular season ACC soccer game.  He takes thousands of photos during each game, edits them, and submits them to the editors so that they can be published the next day.  He makes a set amount of money for each photo that gets published, which gives him a nice small income on the side.  I thought he'd be perfect to shadow because he takes photography very seriously and has aspirations of doing it for a career after he graduates in 2016.    

We met at the south campus diner and then walked to the game to be sure we got there for the pre-game ceremonies.  Along the way, he taught me how to switch lenses quickly and how to work each camera.  Once we reached the stadium, we both received media wristbands and quickly ran to centerfield to photograph the seniors with their families and framed jerseys.  It was great to see other professional photographers there as well.  My favorite photographer that I met was a man named Gregg who photographs each and every Maryland athletic event for the University.  Our conversations ranged from photojournalism ethics to some of his experiences in the field.  Following around and watching Christian and Gregg shoot was awesome, especially because they're so good at what they do.  Their cameras allow them to take multiple shots within a half second time frame.  The technology they use is incredible!  We were able to shoot from all angles of the field and eventually make our way to the press-box to get free pizza.  It was cool going in there because I got to hear both teams' radio broadcasts going on as well.  So I got to experience two subjects of interest to me in both photography and sports broadcasting.  

I feel as if this experience has shown me that there's more to photography than I first thought.  Besides taking the photos, there's hours of editing required to narrow down the best shots.  Christian even took me back to the photography room at the Diamondback headquarters.  It was great to see what the inside of a newspaper organization looked like.  I could totally see myself working there in the future as Christian says he loves the people he works with. My initial interests have always been sports radio and broadcasting, but after experiencing what I did at the soccer game, I feel like photojournalism could really be something I'd enjoy doing as well.