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THE BUBBLE: Senior varsity girls' swim and dive member Lily Esmas competes against Cherokee Trail High School on Jan. 26 during the 100 yard backstroke event, placing first in the event with a 01:00.57. Creek went on to lose to Cherokee Trail 201-170, even though they won seven of five events competed in.
Over the course of the swim season, I'd been practicing taking photos by attending meets and sticking around before and after the event. Before taking this shot, I had been practicing by taking photos of the junior varsity backstroke events, where I could stand over the swimmers to get a bird's eye view. I used a high shutter speed to capture the waves coming up and over Esmas' face, which also worked to show the buildup of water behind her head.
This photo was featured in Bodies First, Swimming Second, both in a two page print spread and online.
This photo won First Place Sports Action Photo and Caption from the Colorado Student Media Assosciation.
-Quinn Rudnick, Nikon 25300, 55 - 300mm sports lens, 01/26/2023
HIT THE GROUND: Creek defenseman and junior varsity player Evan Eisen (#18) crashes to the ground after collision with Regis Jesuit High School sophomore forward Anthony Otero (#7). The varsity team would go onto tie 3-3, and the junior varsity team beat Regis Jesuit 2-1. At that time, Regis Jesuit ranked higher in National, State, and Class 5A rankings than Creek, so the varsity team took the score as a success, despite the tie.
While shooting this game, I moved around to multiple different locations in the arena, taking photos from far above the players and using a 300mm zoom lens to capture close photos, as well as taking photographs from behind plastic walls around the rink and within the penalty box. By alternating through these locations, I was able to get this shot from a lower angle in the penalty box, which allowed me to use the the rule of thirds and capture the puck in the middle of the photo. By using a high shutter speed for this photo, I was able to capture both facial expressions, impact, and ice spray.
This photo was featured in an online photo gallery: Varsity Hockey Grinds To Stalemate Against Regis, JV Brings Home the Win; See Moments Here.
The photo essay this photo was featured in won Second Place for Photo Essay from the Colorado Student Media Assosciation.
-Quinn Rudnick, Nikon 25300, 55 - 300mm sports lens, 01/27/2023
PROUD: A marcher waves their hands and smiles at crowds of people during Denver's annual pride parade. Held during late June to wrap up Pride Month, the parade provides an opportunity for people to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community by marching, building floats, performing, and more. The parade marked the return of the celebration, as for two year, it had been cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19 and isolation protocol. The parade and it's celebrations returned as big as ever, with a 5K race, multiple festivals, costumes, and flags. The parade was joined by almost 100 contingents, and over 100,000 people participated in the festivities across the weekend.
During the parade, there was a lot of activity to sort through and learn what to focus on. While working on shooting these photos, my main goal was to work on producing photos with good facial expressions, which meant practicing how to capture facial expressions and by using a fast shutter speed, I was able to capture a wide range of facial expressions, and sort out the best ones. I followed the parade for hours, working to make sure I was able to take photos of every part of the parade to ensure a wide range of coverage.
This photo is featured in an online photo gallery as the featured image: See Moments From Denver's Annual Pride Parade as well as the USJ's Photos Of The Year.
This photo was awarded a Certificate of Merit (CM or Honorable Mention) for Single Spot News Photograph from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and the gallery it was included in was awarded second place for Photo Slideshow from the Columbia Scholastic Press Assosciation as well.
-Quinn Rudnick, Nikon D5300, 55 - 300mm lens, 06/26/2022
PRACTICE SWINGS: Sophomore Connor Larkin stands on deck as junior Brayden Yasuzawa bats. Despite an under-.500 2022 record of 9-14, varsity baseball is currently 8-4 and nearly undefeated against in-state opponents. 2022’s season was, in a word, disappointing. The year before, in 2021, Creek had a 13-5 record and was 13th in Class 5A. But in 2022, finishing 30th in Class 5A, the team lacked “chemistry and confidence,” according to senior designated hitter Ben Steele, who is currently second in team RBIs with 11. “We struggled last year because we didn’t have the same energy and fun as we are having right now,” Steele said. “We got off to a bad start last year and it translated to the rest of our season. Even our practices are much more energetic this year.”
Taking these photos served as a learning experience as I worked to make sure I could still take good photos through the chain without damaging the quality of the photo or my lens, and I ended up realizing that I could use the chainlink to provide an interesting feature in my photos, creating a divide between teams or highlighting a certain player just by how I angled my camera. Sometimes, as I've learned through my photography experience, it can be worthwhile to focus on smaller moments in a game, like an athlete warming up for or heartfelt moments on the bench between coach and team. By implementing both the use of the chain in my shot and focusing on something that isn't the main focus of the general story, I was able to pick up on something a lot more personal.
This photo is featured in an online photo gallery as the featured image: Despite 2022 Struggles, Baseball Maintains Stellar 8-4 2023 Record: See Moments From Win Over Regis Here.
-Quinn Rudnick, Nikon D5300, 55 - 300mm sports lens, 03/28/2023
CELEBRATING EACH OTHER: The Denver Center for the Performing Arts hosted Colorado’s annual Bobby G awards on May 16. The awards seek to honor exeptional high school theater cast and crew. A member of ThunderRidge High School’s The Addams Family cast (left) hugs a friend on the red carpet. Members of The Addams Family cast came in costume to the red carpet in preparation to perform later in the evening on the Buell theater’s stage.
For this photo, I was shooting from a balcony above the crowd on the red carpet, so it was a game of recognizing facial expressions and exciting moments. By being able to predict how people would act or talk to each other, I was able to capture moments with a lot of emotion, like this one. For this photo I also used a high shutter speed to ensure that I could take this moment in as much detail and as quickly as I could so I didn't miss the moment.
This photo was featured in an online photo gallery: Creek Senior Amelia Mindlin-Leitner Wins Prominent Theatre Award: See Moments From Bobby G Awards Ceremony Here.
-Quinn Rudnick, Nikon D5300, 55 - 300mm lens, 5/22/2023
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