2012 – End of the Year
Some might say that considering its past Valentine’s Day we should probably stop looking back at last year, well, I’m throwing caution to the wind and saying that it’s never too late to be nostalgic for something that just happened. Plus, my computer crashed around the holidays so I’ve spent the better part of this new year without a computer of my own so I’m just starting to get caught up. So, I’ll try to keep this short and sweet.
2012 was a pretty great year. I finished college at Ohio University, did an internship in D.C., locked down one of those real people jobs (more on that later), and I’d like to think grew at least a little as both a person and a photographer. I spent a lot of the year trying to find my own vision and find subjects and events that I’m truly passionate about. While I’m nowhere near finished searching for that yet, I at least made some strides in getting there this year.
Over the course of the year I’ve photographed just about everything I can think of, from my first PGA Tour event (so far my favorite assignment to date), to high school sports, to a zombie race at Comic-Con, to the presidential campaign, to OU’s journey to the sweet sixteen and just about everything in between. I’m usually a pretty poor editor of my own work so this is just brief selection and might not even be the best representation of my work throughout the year, but, if 2012 has taught me anything, yolo. (click on the images to view them in a slideshow at a decent size)
7.30.12 – Redskins Training Camp or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the RGIII
Robert Griffin III has a laugh on the bench with his fiance Rebecca Liddicoat after signing an autograph for a young fan following Redskins’ training camp at Redskins Park, Ashburn, Va., Monday, July 30, 2012.
So, I was originally planning on posting an “end of the year, favorite images of 2012” post, but due to some technical difficulties that post will be delayed indefinitely. Instead, I thought I would share some photos of an athlete who rocked 2012 like nobody’s business.
Okay, I’ll admit that the title of this blog post is a little misleading, I never really had any doubts about RGIII, I just like making Dr. Strangelove references whenever possible. So, while I knew that the Skins singing Griffin was a big deal I don’t think I truly understood just how much he meant to the District until I attended my first training camp during my internship with The Washington Times. People were going absolutely nuts just to get a look at the guy, and where some athletes might have cringed at this type of admiration and pressure before even taking a snap Griffin seemed to embrace it with a cool sincerity that only further endeared him to the fans. Really, it seemed like everyone was smitten with RGIII’s playing ability and personality, even Mike Shanahan.
And I was really happy to sit back and watch Griffin’s success as an NFL fan. It’s sad to see his postseason end in such a tragic way (especially as painfully captured by Al Bello) but you have to believe that he’ll be back baffling defenses and charming the media in no time. At least for the hope of RGThreever and the sports future of the D.C. area.
11.10.12 – OU vs. Portland
I’ve only shot a couple of basketball games this season, and this might be the first year where I don’t actually shoot somewhere close to 50 games a season. I’m getting ready for a pretty big change of pace in life, but coming back to something so familiar, like another basketball game at the Convo, helps slow things down.
11.17.12 – Liberty Union vs. Lucasville Valley For The Dispatch
A couple of weeks ago The Columbus Dispatch asked me to shoot the Ohio Division V regional final in Nelsonville between Liberty Union and Lucasville Valley high schools. I don’t often get to shoot post season football, so despite nearly getting frostbit hands, I had a great time covering a game with real implications. What made the game even better was that Liberty Union, the team I was told to focus on, upset the second seeded and undefeated Lucasville team to earn an emotional victory.
Swing State Electionmania
You may or may not have heard that there was recently a presidential election in these here United States. I know the results have already been announced, but I was busy that night so I DVRed the election night coverage and haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, so, no spoilers in the comments please.
But anyways, I had a great time covering some of the attention Ohio received because of its swing state status. Here’s a collection of shots from throughout the campaign trail, mainly from the Columbus area.
In my short career I’ve been lucky enough to have photographed POTUS a handful of times already and most of the stuff I photographed on this campaign was pretty par for the course. However, there was one event that had a very different feel to it, and that was Obama’s final campaign stop in Ohio, an appearance with Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z at a nearly capacity level Nationwide Arena in Columbus. This event was much more rock show than stump speech and the difference in energy was really palpable.
Like I said earlier, I’ve photographed some pretty big celebrities and exciting things over the last couple of years but I won’t lie, watching Jay-Z introduce the President following a performance of “Encore” was probably one of the cooler things I’ve witnessed thus far if for nothing than the sheer “is this really happening right now?” aspect of it. It was definitely weird to see the lines between pop culture and politics blur so completely, and I love weird things.
Ryan M.L. Young - Photojournalist 