Frozen Frames. A sports-focused lens. The behind-the-scenes eyes of Ferrum College’s student athletics’ photographers capture opportunities that athletes give them, one shot at a time.
Though the product of their work is known, Baylee Greer, senior; Aubrie Hixon, senior; Taylor Huck, senior; Atenoya Morris, alum; and Bailey Oakes, alum; are five names that tend to stay behind the scopes of the camera.
These five photographers–two alumni and three current students–freeze time for the Panthers. For all of them, Ferrum is not the first, nor the last stop on their respective journeys of dreams.
For Huck and Morris, the dream began as simple as the assigned tasks for their clubs in high school. For the others, the idea of capturing the moments of their friends and family led to aspirations of photography.
“My family always had professional photos taken, and I thought it was so cool,” Hixon explained. “So I asked my mom for a camera.”
Picking up their cameras for the first time as early as the age of eight and as late as their sophomore year of high school, the photographers’ first clicks have led to cherished memories and a love for the picturesque art.
“Capturing the perfect shot and revealing to people their own dynamic beauty is the highlight of my photography journey,” Morris offered. “It’s always a delight to prove the ‘I’m not photogenic’ crowd wrong with a well-angled snapshot. To bask in the glow of their positive reactions is honestly the cherry on top for my passion for photography.”
Hixon’s story is similar, as she finds joy in taking a better picture each shoot.
“I don’t have a most memorable moment,” she said. “It’s like that ‘oh my gosh’ moment is every single day when you capture that one picture.”
Experiences and lessons learned, however, enlarge the frame even further and are evidence of these photographer’s time logged on the backside of their lenses.
The five attest to the mastering of communication, a necessity in every angle of their work.
“You really learn people skills,” noted Huck. “You want to be personable, and not awkward, and you really have to communicate to get the perfect picture.”
Oakes also described her eye for life’s most beautiful moments as having developed through her photo-taking experience, and Hixon attributed her confidence to encounters with standing her ground in the midst of chaos on the athletic sidelines when seeking the perfect shot.
As the future looms for these seniors, the photographers hope to expose their strengths with more than just a camera lens.
“I would have to say that for now, my goal is just to get a better camera lens and go from there,” described Hixon. “I am eager to see where my major, health and fitness management, and photography come together!”
While Greer and Morris intend to focus their skills in the realm of real estate, Hixon and Huck are going for the gold in their own industries and are eager to see where their final photography destination may lead.
As an alum, Oakes finds the art holds a personal meaning in her life already, as she pursues a happy and healthy life with her husband and son while capturing their most meaningful memories together.
“The emotion and detail in a picture is something that you cannot duplicate from one to another,” she said. “I love being able to capture these in the people I love most.”
Although the five shoot for the stars, the search for a perfect shot keeps them grounded, they say.
As the group finishes up, they collectively offer some thoughts:
“Photography is its own universal language, creating connections like no other. It allows creativity to foster, and no two pictures are the same. Through photos, one can live in the moment but also love it’s memory forever. To capture the occasion is as beautiful of a masterpiece for the photographer as it is for those in the frame.”
