A Summer Update

A journalism internship, a new school year—and a whole lot of photos.

It’s been a busy summer. As part of my master’s program in journalism at UW-Madison, I was lucky enough to intern at my local paper, The Cap Times. In addition to writing a handful of stories and learning the local journalism beats, I explored a medium I’d never really been exposed to before: photojournalism.

I hadn’t specifically applied to the internship to do photojournalism, but I’m really grateful I was given the opportunity—I learned so much about visual storytelling, and discovered just how much I love it. (And the thrill of seeing my photos on The Cap Times’ website and in print still hasn’t gotten old.)

Now that the end of summer is approaching, and before I begin the next school year—when I’ll also be working as a teaching assistant, leading a section of an introductory journalism course—I wanted to do something a little different, and share some of those photos and stories with you.

This photo is from one of the first solo shoots I did. Katie runs a stand at the Dane County Farmers’ Market every other Saturday, selling salads made with ingredients she grows on her farm. I was so nervous about this shoot, and sent screenshots to my boss to make sure I was doing things right. I spent three or four hours with Katie, who generously indulged my need to take about a thousand photos to make sure I got a few usable ones. Story here.

Lacy Rude opened a small cafe in the front of a music venue, and she was one of the first people whose portrait I took during my internship. I was really nervous, and made her pose in 20 different spots before I landed on this shot. Story here.

I was really honored to take these photos of a Palestinian artist’s textiles pieces, but doing so was quite a feat. We struggled to arrange a meeting time with the person who sold the art on the artist’s behalf; eventually, she said we could go to her home when she wasn’t there and take photos of what we needed. I set up a bunch of the textile works outside to make the most of the natural light, but out of nowhere a gray cloud appeared and it started pouring. Luckily, I got all the art inside in time—and got the photos. Story here.

I followed two groups of Hotdoggers—college grads who drive Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile across the nation, and who promote the brand by appearing in parades and giving out free weenie whistles—on their very first assignments. I also wrote the story about it.

In a story that seemed to captivate the entire city of Madison for a week in June, the building pictured here was moved a few blocks, from West Dayton Street to West Mifflin Street. It cost more than a million dollars to make the trip. Story here.

This photo is from a practice session for a storytelling event called “¡Yo Quiero Dinero!: Our Stories Have Value,” during which Black and Latinx women talk about how they’ve navigated the world despite being undervalued. This was one of the coolest events I got to sit in on. Story here.

I got to photograph a lot of sports, which I really enjoyed! This shot is from one of the first practice sessions of the Madison Night Mares, a newly formed collegiate women’s softball team. I love this photo because both players have such clear expressions of intensity. I ended up writing a story about their first game (pictured below).

They won the game 18-1. My favorite quote from the story came from catcher Sydney Jones: “I started at a small little university, and the biggest crowd I had was 25 people at my games. Coming here and having 2,000-plus people is just insane.”

Cathy Couture is an artist who makes music about her journey with cancer. This shoot was hard, since I came during the interview and everyone mostly sat. At the end of the interview, I asked Cathy to show me around, and she showed me her guitars and her three-season room, a space she was really happy to have for herself. Story here.

I got to see The Mars Volta play a venue full of elder millennials (like myself). I took maybe 2,000 photos. Only four of them were OK. The photos never got published.

I’ve been critical of espresso martinis in the past, but I set myself a mission to be proven wrong. I succeeded. I wrote and photographed the story.

I went to a graduation and got to see friends show up for one another. I wrote this story.

I remember feeling proud of myself for capturing an unexpected angle when I took this shot. Story here.

This ended up being the cover photo for a summer patio guide I helped photograph, which was unexpected. I have to thank the manager of Waypoint Public House, who told me I’d get a good overhead shot of the patio if I went to the roof of the building. Story here.

These photos are from a piece about the confusing cannabis laws in Wisconsin. Story here.

This shot appeared in a story about a new international market that opened in an old Whole Foods building. These women were so generous with their time. Story here.

I went to a pickleball tournament and had a blast (I should have brought my own pom poms). I wrote this story.

In nearly 100° weather, I photographed Sandwich Hub, a new food cart that serves sandwiches across the city. Story here.

Jo Fernandez owns Mindful Cleaning Co., a company that focuses on cleaning as a form of self-care and mental well-being. Jo told me she felt a little nervous, but you’d never know from how she beamed in every shot. Story here.

I have so many vibrant photos of Terry Parisi of Parisi Farms, a farmer who is trying to get rid of plastic use on her farm. I could have followed her around forever. Story here.

I think this photo of Eric Dahmen of Valhalla Vodka — and the photo above of Jo — are the two best profile photos I took all summer. Story here.

These photos are from my capstone project, a profile of The Flock, the fan group for Madison’s soccer team, Forward Madison FC. I went to four games, interviewed more than a dozen people, and got to take a peek into an incredibly welcoming and unapologetically hyped group of people. Story and photo essay here.