More Than Just a Sport: A Rephotography Photographic Series
Awarded First Place at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and was featured in the Student Juried Art show at Valdosta State University.
Since 2021, I’ve been an assistant sports photographer for Valdosta State University Athletics while I complete my degree in Art & Design. I drew an interest in the University’s historical archives, specifically sports photography. I started to compare the old photographs with my new images and this comparison made me appreciate the history of athletics and the numerous changes the university has made to it over time. I wanted to showcase these comparisons concretely, so I created a handmade photobook inspired by Rephotography: a genre in photography where a photographer recreates photographs at the same location to showcase a comparison of time. In my process, I designed the photobook strategically by placing historical archives and new photographs in an assortment of ways to demonstrate changes throughout time in sports. By researching these archives, I became aware that my photographs will also become archives in the future. This project serves as a document, both as an art form and as a historical artifact, for the university body and Valdosta community to appreciate the history of our athletics. Going forward, I plan to create a professionally printed photobook for the school to look back on.