Faces of SJU: Melissa Kelly
Garrett Miley '15, Hawk Staff
November 13, 2012
Filed under Features
Melissa Kelly was looking through the classified section of the newspaper in May of 2007 when she stumbled upon an opportunity to be the university photographer at Saint Joseph?s University.
Dissatisfied with her job working in graphic design, Kelly wanted a chance to do what she loved: shoot photos.
In January 2008, nearly eight months after she first applied, Kelly got a call from someone at St. Joe?s asking if she was still interested. She was, and became the latest visual historian of all things Saint Joseph?s.
When she was 11, Kelly received her first camera from her grandfather. She carried it everywhere she went, shooting whatever she could. She treated photography as a hobby throughout her adolescence and into college as she had planned on focusing on writing in school.
However, while at Temple University, Kelly decided that photography deserved just as much focus as her writing did. An internship for the Philadelphia Daily News led her to determine that news photography was not for her, though photography in general still was. In 2006, Kelly graduated from Temple with a B.A. in Photojournalism.
In addition to being the university?s official photographer, Kelly now owns her own business, ?Melissa Kelly Photography.? September through November and April through May are the busiest months for her. She covers roughly 15-20 weddings per year. Wedding and graduations are among her favorite types of events to shoot, she said, because of the happiness she is able to capture through the lenses of her Nikon camera.
Kelly also is enrolled in the university?s writing studies program and is currently finishing her master?s thesis, which blends photography and autobiographical writing.
While Kelly?s face may not be familiar to many people on campus, her lens is.
?I always joke and call myself the ?campus dentist? because nobody ever wants to be the subject of my photographs on campus,? said Kelly.
People are picky about photographs.
?You have to have a thick skin,? she said. ?You?re not going to make everyone happy all the time.?
Kelly knows the St. Joe?s campus as well as anyone. Her typical day on campus generally includes one or two photo shoots followed by lengthy editing and archiving sessions in her office on 54th and City avenues.
As the university photographer, Kelly covers all campus events, promotional shoots, advertising shoots, and alumni magazine shoots. She also had a major role in the re-branding of the university through the Magis campaign, and she operates the St. Joe?s Facebook and Instagram accounts from time to time as well.
?I?m a one-man band,? said Kelly. ?I?ve covered donor events, government representatives on campus, and even crew practice.?
Some of her more memorable photo shoots include the sunrise on the Schuylkill, Dan Marino, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu?s visits to campus, as well as graduations every year. Kelly?s recent portrait photo shoot of newly inaugurated University President C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., instantly became one of her favorites.
?I?m really proud of that photo,? said Kelly. ?It?s not often that I get to work with portrait lighting, so I enjoyed that experience.?
Nancy Fox, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said Kelly?s work during the inauguration was exemplary, and she is just a pleasant person to work with.
?She was at every important event,? Fox said. ?She always had a smile on her face.?
Kelly said she was happy when the university purchased the James J. Maguire ?58 Campus. It gave her more ground to cover?and more opportunities for photographs.
?I love new experiences, and the new campus gave me a whole new area to work with and explore,? she said. ?One of the things I love about what I do is that it?s never the same job.?
mary kay ash tiny houses bon iver joan of arc tony robbins abraham lincoln vampire hunter their eyes were watching god
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন