Brian Kingsberry's Blog: 2015

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Saturday, October 31, 2015

"They're just little girls" A message worth reconsidering.

Last night I took my annual trip to the Lynden Christian Schools to photograph the Lynden Christian vs. Mount Baker varsity football game. A trip to Lynden is a little out of the way for me, but I like to get around all of Whatcom County so that my photos can reach more than just one community. Photographing sports at LC is always a little different. They're a tight knit community with strong core values. A private school where parents pay $8,478 per year for a high school age kid to attend (discounts for multiple kids). The private vs. public school discussion is one that has been hashed out for years, but I know a lot of LC grads and they're typically very successful, hard-working, good people. Plus LC tends to put together some great athletic teams that compete year in and year out for state titles in multiple sports at the 1A level and always provide opportunities for great sports photos.

Last night I was busying doing my thing trying to get photos of the sports action on the gridiron as well as snapping a few shots here and there of the student body, cheerleaders and fans. I'm not a photographer who shoots just the game action. Well, i try not to be anyway. I think some of the best moments at a game happen between the action. My media coverage for the WPA Network of an event is different than a typical newspaper photographer. When I worked for the paper it was about getting a shot or two that would be published in the paper. As a freelancer for the WPA network, we provide more comprehensive photo coverage. We try to shoot both teams and anything else that might photographically tell the story of the event. As freelancers, we volunteer our time. We're there to promote athletics, to celebrate sport and to hopefully sell a few photos along the way.

Every year the schools put together a mini cheer program where the cheerleaders teach the young girls of the community a routine or two, then march them out there on the track and perform along with them for the crowd of fans attending. It's always a good time and for the last 15 years I've taken photos of the youngsters doing their thing. Yes, I've been at it for that long. :) I always look forward to the mini cheer routine. It brings some extra parents and family to the games and they typically respond well to the photos I've captured of their little tykes performing for the first time for a crowd of people. Last night there was a wall of those parents lined up with their cell phones and Ipads looking to capture their kids in action. I walked over to join the wall and snap a few pictures, but was asked by one of the event organizers not to take pictures. I was a little thrown off by such a request, so I asked "why not?" to which she responded "They're just little girls". I asked one of the teachers about it, to which he shrugged it off. So I didn't get pictures of the routine.

I can understand the propensity to want to shield the youth from the media, but we're in the 21st century. Everyone has a cell phone capable of taking video and photos, and in the click of a button they can be out there to the world wide web. It's a little scary sometimes, but this century is also a great time for humanity. We are on precipice of achieving equality. We have a black President and a woman competing for the democratic nomination for the next presidential election. So to be stopped in my media coverage with the message that little girls are not worthy of the same photo coverage as boys is not something I can get behind. What kind of message is that to send to the young girls and boys of the community? Statistics show that women currently make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Female students comprise 57 percent of college student populations, yet receive 43 percent of participation opportunities. Maybe it's because some of these little girls still grow up in communities believing they aren't deserving of equality.

The LC school web site promotes a way of life that speaks of "shaping minds, cultivating hearts and promoting service" That message is proudly displayed on their web site. Personally, I like that message and the more I think about it, my service to the community as a freelance photographer does all three of those things. However, the idea that little girls are not worthy of the same photo coverage as the boys perplexes me. Sometimes people need to trust in the media. Sure, a lot of media coverage is questionable, but realize that most media know right from wrong. A good photo that promotes your school, your program and your way of shaping minds, cultivating hearts and promoting service will ultimately do more good than harm to those "little girls" striving for equality. Just my two cents.