Photo journalist lands finalist position for photography work

Photo journalist lands finalist position for photography work - By Wa-Hi Journal

Senior Roark Nelson earned a top spot as a finalist in the 2014 Picture of the Year from the National Scholastic Press Association, which was announced on Sept. 23.

Each year the NSPA receives thousands of entries for each category and brings in professionals in the field to judge the student work, which is required to have been previously published in a student newspaper or online media site.

Nelson entered the category of Environmental Portraits with the photo he took immediately following an extensive photo shoot of dancer Summer Wardlaw (class of 2014) as a featured athlete. “It was completely unplanned. I just thought it would be cool to get a shot from above of her taking her pointe shoes off,” Nelson said. “I set the flash to angle off the ceiling for a soft glow, and after a few shots, let her get back to getting ready to leave.”

Currently the lead photographer for the Wa-Hi Journal, Nelson is enrolled in the Online Journalism class and oversees the photography work for the school newspaper and the work created for online media. He shot the background photos for the updated look of the school’s website, and he operates his own photography business, which does mainly senior and family portraits with the recent addition of some commercial shoots.

“Roark has that special ability to capture the moment in an image. He is passionate about his work, and you can see it in every picture that he takes,” Wa-Hi Journal adviser Gay Buissink said. “I’m really happy for him that he has earned one of the highest awards in the nation for journalistic photography.”

Over the summer, he attended the National Geographic Student Expedition to Switzerland and France with 15 other photographers, led by National Geographic photographer Keith Ladzinski. “It was incredible to shoot in such a renowned mountain area and work with such incredible people,” Nelson said.

Nelson’s plans after graduation are, at this point, up in the air, with communications as a possibility, “or marketing to apply to my photography or going to an art institute to further my knowledge in photography,” Nelson said.