Tag Archives: homecoming

09-09-12 I Have Photographed Royalty

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2006 Watertown High School KiYi royalty by Scott Shephard

I have been to Buckingham Palace but I’ve never taken a photo of the Queen. But I have photographed KiYi Royalty many times. In this case, I am showing you a picture of all of the 2006 Watertown High School KiYi royalty. The Princess and Chieftain (following a Native American theme) were Ben Dylla and Carissa Hauck.

I am publishing this photo because Watertown High School’s homecoming week starts today and, like small town homecomings all over the US, it is marked with pageantry, celebration and a general disregard for the primary purpose of high schools everywhere – educating the young. I wonder if they let school out early for such things in China?

09-02-12 Camera Blur

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Watertown Arrows football by Watertown, South Dakota photographer Scott Shephard

I know enough about sports photography to know that this is no “money shot” because there is way too much blur. I’ll leave sports photography to the sports pros.

But I also know that if it’s done right, blur can add a sense of motion and action to a photo and I think this photo is a good illustration of that. So, while this photo would never make the sports pages, it does make my blog. :-)

For those who care, Watertown won the game. (1996 KiYi Days)

Canon 5D 1/80s f/2.8 ISO1000 200mm

We Begin Again!

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Students return to the classroom in Watertown today and I can’t wait to meet my sophomores. The girls in this photo aren’t expressing exuberance for their return to school, however. This photo was taken of the 2005 homecoming parade. And, as seniors, they were pretty excited about that.

Incidentally, if you are curious about the other blog entry for today, which I think shows up as a “Protected” entry, it is something I am doing for my world history students. So it is just for them. Sorry. I may share the final product with you if it turns out OK. :-)

We’re Seniors!

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These girls are members of the class of 2009, which I’m sure was a great class. Every senior class is, isn’t it? This photo was taken at the Powderpuff Football Game, which is part of our homecoming ritual. The seniors won. But they always do, since cheating and bribing of the referees is allowed.

On a technical note, this photo is an example of a technique I’ve used here before. It’s a combination of “dragging the shutter” and zooming the lens at the same time. To drag the shutter, set the camera to “shutter priority,” use a slow shutter speed (1/20 sec), and make sure the flash fires. To get the best result, you also have to make sure that either the subject moves or that the camera moves (or zooms). The result is occasionally an interesting ghosting effect.

Canon 5D 1/20s f/7.1 ISO500 24mm

School Is In Session

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Yesterday was the first day of school and in about two weeks it will be time to celebrate our annual Homecoming week. Students – especially seniors – look forward to the week and many teachers and administrators dread it, largely because events occasionally take precedence over the important task of teaching and learning.

Our town’s homecoming is rich in history, with a Legend enacted by students, a powderpuff football game for the junior and senior girls and a “Burning of the W” that would make ancient pagan harvest celebrants proud. I’ve always seen our homecoming week as one of the first steps in the graduating classes’ rite of passage.

This photo, incidentally, is one of my trademark KiYi photos and it is always arranged well before it is taken. I tell the students what to do and, as much as possible, where to stand. When the photo is actually taken, we have about 30 seconds to get the right shot before the crush of people fill the space we are in.

Canon 5D 1/160s f/5.6 ISO1000 23mm
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