Photojournalism
Introduction
I was a photographer before I was even a journalist — taking photos with my dad's old camera in the backyard, on trips, inside the house. When I was younger, I attempted to capture everything with that beat-up Sony. As I got older, the medium and photos changed, but my passion did not. I started taking pictures of school events with my iPhone, using the resources I had to tell stories about my community. Eventually, I leveled up to modern Canon, and it's the medium I use today, featured in the pictures below. Tap on each to view their accompanying captions.
School Board
Superintendent Jim Wipke's Student Advisory Committee takes a selfie at the Board of Education meeting Jan. 29. They had presented "Flip the Script," an initiative to curb student drug use. “There is a problem with drugs in our society,” member Alexandra Tsygankov (12) said. “Whether you see it or not, it needs to be addressed.”
Reed Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jena Dennett received the December Excellence in Education award. After a video presentation that contained moments of Dennett teaching and a speech by Reed Elementary School principal Chris Schriener, Dennett took to the stage to accept her award. “Thank you to my mom, my role model, and to all of the strong women in my life who have helped shape me into the teacher I am today, raising strong students,” Dennett said.
Board of Education nominee Robert Snidman attends the open meeting Jan. 29. He will be sworn in at the April 9 meeting, where he will act as a member of the school board.
After winning the January Excellence in Education award, colleagues of Old Bonhomme Elementary School Occupational Therapist Miriam Gewirtz gathered to take a picture. Gewirtz has worked to make schools more inclusive, adding sensory walks in both Old Bonhomme and an underserved district in New York City. "She continuously finds new ways to help students grow, using the latest research and strategies to support their success," Old Bonhomme Principal Stephanie Simon said.
The Ladue School District School Board held an open meeting Dec. 11 to wrap up the calendar year and discuss policy changes for next year. One such agenda item was adjustments to the Ladue Middle School curriculum for the 25-26 school year, which included the addition of broadcast courses. “We're excited about that option, the trajectory that goes into [Ladue] High School,” Angela Thompson, Ladue Middle School principal, said. “We want to be able to have that opportunity.”
Elle Saleeby (9) and Josie Saleeby (8) are commended for their efforts in the 2025 National STEM Festival at the School Board meeting Dec. 11. The two are now finalists, and are awaiting their results for Phase 2 of the process. “They were among thousands of student applicants from across the nation, from which only 400 were selected,” Ladue School District Director of Communications Kimberly McKenzie said. “This is a huge accomplishment.”
Ladue Middle School Science Olympiad Director Michael Clay recognizes the team for their first, second and third place rankings at Washington University in St. Louis’ tournament Nov. 23. The program has already been commended as state champions 18 times in its 36 year history. “Our success is easily attributed to the work of our students, parents and the coaches that have put in a tremendous amount of time and often own money to create high level resources for our kids,” Clay said.
Students of Reed Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jena Dennett hold up a sign commending their teacher. After a video presentation that contained moments of Dennett teaching and a speech by Reed Elementary School principal Chris Schriener, Dennett took to the stage to accept her award. “Thank you to my mom, my role model, and to all of the strong women in my life who have helped shape me into the teacher I am today, raising strong students,” Dennett said.
Alexandra Tsygankov (12), of the Superintendent's Student Advisory Committee, speaks at the Board of Education meeting Jan. 29. They had presented "Flip the Script," an initiative to curb student drug use. “There is a problem with drugs in our society,” Tsygankov said. “Whether you see it or not, it needs to be addressed.”
As the designated school board reporter for Ladue Publications, I knew that I wanted my coverage to be engaging, so as to draw high school students into aspect of school life that many find mundane. To do so, I honed in on emotions — a teacher's pride when surrounded by supporting students, a board member's face while listening to a speaker. These moments were often hard to spot, so I was constantly taking pictures and adjusting angles so as to capture the best story possible.
Metro Air Support
Metro Air Support pilot Brent Fincher speaks to a commander of another police force as he enters the helicopter. Despite the force’s multiple jurisdictions, Metro Air Support pilot Brent Fincher said the unit has a fierce sense of community. “Those bonds are kind of hard to break – when they’re teaching you how to stay alive in a helicopter, how to fly it, all new things that you probably didn’t know (when you) came here,” Fincher said. "We all hang out after work and spend time together."
A Metro Air Support helicopter sits in its hangar. Pilot Brent Fincher said that his favorite moments of taking the helicopter out were when they had potential to save a life. “It’s fun getting the cars, and getting bad guys and stuff, but those are the important ones,” Fincher said about the search-and-rescue missions. “Where someone is seriously in trouble, they really need us, they need to be found,” Fincher said.
Chief Robert Tracy, of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, speaks at the commemoration event. He said that he appreciated Metro Air Support’s work. “In the 18 months that I’ve been here, the pilots have helped us make apprehensions, look for people that were lost, made sure that we recovered guns and car jackings,” Tracy said. “If it wasn’t for them giving us that support above us and making sure that we knew they were there, we wouldn’t be able to get our job done.”
Over the summer, on assignment for West Newsmagazine, I attended a ceremony meant to honor Metro Air Support — an aerial police force that worked between departments to provide support. In a dimly lit hangar, this event proved extremely difficult to photograph as I had to constantly adjust levels to ensure proper brightness.