I’m cool and collected when a 250-pound linebacker hurtles towards me on the sidelines. My heart doesn’t pound when faced with roaring flames in front of the camera. And my palms don’t sweat when I’m watching one of our local athletes win the race or break a personal record.
Not to say that none of these aren’t exciting, but there’s not the rush of adrenaline they once held for me. And I never would have expected that an assignment to photograph a girl receiving an oversized check could make me feel what all of these things don’t.
Last week, I was sent to photograph 18-year-old Sharon Reyna, a student at Toppenish’s Eagle Alternative School. Sharon had won a $10,000 scholarship for designing a greeting card and was going to find out the big news at an assembly of her fellow students as well as the teachers and mentors who have helped her.
Only those teachers, some school administrators, the man with the check, and the members of the media knew. As she walked in the door, I positioned myself to stand near her so I could get a reaction shot when she figured out that the assembly was for her.
As I waited, she joked with her peers. I remembered the uncertainty about how I was going to pay for college, and the huge difference an education made in my life and the lives of many young people. I knew that this money would be a life-changing event for Sharon, a door opening. I thought about how I would feel if a new world opened up suddenly before me, if a huge weight were taken off my shoulders, if a road of struggle suddenly became a little easier.
I was so excited for Sharon and as she started to figure out what was going on, I switched to auto focus so my shaking hands wouldn’t blur the picture, wanting to capture that moment, when hope becomes reality, when the future is, for a moment, bright and wide open.
– Sara Gettys
