photojournalism

Everlasting Pride /  by Christina Varvis

Remembering the Pride Rally at the University of Alberta

Any Pride Rally is guaranteed to be a good time, but when it takes place on campus, it becomes that much more meaningful and fun. I photographed it for the first time in 2016 alongside friends and coworkers, and it turned out to be one of my favourite memories during my years at the University of Alberta.

The whole time, I just kept running ahead, around, and after the crowd, capturing as many moments as I could notice amidst my own cheer, and I loved keeping up with their spirit. Looking back at these images now, I can still remember how I felt when the parade was over. It put me in such a good mood for the rest of the day, and I just felt so happy for my friends and everyone who was celebrating. I'm so glad the University of Alberta decided to organize it again this year, and I can't wait to photograph it again, too.

When I was thinking of a title for this post, I thought of the song Everlasting Light by The Black Keys. It has always been my absolute favourite song of theirs. Now that I listen to it as I look back at these moments, I think about all the incredible people in my life who are part of the LGBTQ+ Community, and I want to post it here for them and for the ones I have yet to meet. You'll always have my everlasting support and respect. Happy Pride. <3

Long Snapper: Tackling Football at 300mm /  by Christina Varvis

I don't even know what a long snapper does, but my friend Richard said this would make for a great title, so thank you, Richard. 

As you can probably tell, football isn't quite my sport, unless JT (<3) is performing the halftime show at the Super Bowl. I'm a regular hockey girl, and I can appreciate a good basketball game, but football has never managed to catch my interest. However, I don't think I've given it enough of a chance either. Thankfully, back in October, that chance decided to come to me, instead.

At that time, I was shadowing a photojournalist - Greg Southam -  from the Edmonton Journal, and on his agenda was the Edmonton Eskimos practice. Before we even arrived at the stadium, I was feeling excited, despite my apathy towards the sport, because I knew experiencing it as a photographer would be an instant game changer. I like to think that photography can turn me into a fan of any sport, even for just one period, (or quarter in this case). 

When I stepped foot onto the field, I became even more eager to start shooting, especially when Greg passed me a 400mm and 300mm lens to try out. I had never handled these focal lengths before; they were definitely an adjustment from my usual 24mm-70mm range, but they were so sick to play with. What really made capturing these images challenging, though, was the distance between myself and the players. Even with my gear, it was difficult to anticipate their moves, but more importantly, observe their emotions, because those are the two factors that make a sports image powerful.

However, since this was a practice, I didn't have to worry too much about catching their moves, because they had to repeat them more than once anyway. Another aspect that helped me was my assigned player. As part of my exercise, Greg asked me to focus on Mike Reilly (13), which was so much fun for me. I didn't have the chance to meet him, but from my shots, I felt like I did...as cheesy as that might sound! I love capturing people's personalities in my photos, and I really felt like I captured a bit of his: outgoing, funny, and supportive of his teammates. What I also really enjoyed was capturing the friendship between players - that may have been my favourite part of it all.