Photo reflections from, Julia Castiglione

Julia Castiglione, Photojournalist

May 18, 2023

Walking into The Feather as a second-year photojournalist, I was confident in the skills I learned the previous year, producing great photos.

As Homecoming quickly approached, I was excited about photographing the king and queen dance battle. Covering the event in photo form, I was so proud of what I captured. I was concerned that by taking the summer off, I had lost skill, but viewing my work made me more confident than ever.

Maybe I was too confident.

Aubrey Graham captures a fun photo shoot with Julia Castiglione, Dec. 21.

March 7, 2023, Kids Day was finally here. Each year, we cover Kids Day and it occurs in the morning before school starts. Having taken photos for this event the previous year, I was assigned again. We went throughout the whole event and I was shooting away, not realizing the need to adjust some settings. As the time came to go through our photos, I realized I had done a horrible job. My photos looked like how I started at the beginning of Freshman year.

Advisor, Kori James had a discussion with me after debriefing on the photos I had taken. Walking alongside me, James reinstructed how camera settings worked. This taught me that I do not know everything and it’s okay if I need help sometimes. I’m not always going to get everything correct and it is okay if I make a mistake, as long as I learn from it.

[/media-credit] San Francisco Giants game, April 21

As the end of the school year began, some staff and myself on the Feather went to San Francisco for a journalism conference. On the last full day, we went to a Giants game. Capturing fun photos of the crowd, I decided to post these photos to my photography account on Instagram, tagging the Canon camera company. Within the next day, Canon commented on my post and I felt overjoyed.

Some advice I would give to future photojournalists is to not be afraid to make mistakes. As you can see, I have made mistakes before, but don’t let it hold you back. Instead, let it teach you something for the future and strive to be better.

I would like to thank Kori James for always being a constant in my life. She has been there for me since day one and I couldn’t have done this without her.

I would also like to thank Taylor Beckworth, ‘23, and Aubrey Graham, ‘23, as they have been great friends throughout the years. Even though I am sad to see them go this year, I am so grateful for the time I have spent with them. They are always encouraging me and walking with me as I go. I can not thank them enough.

Just these small moments have taught me many lessons but mostly, to have fun no matter what.

To read more from the Feather, visit Senior Reflection: Antonio Ruelas or Senior Reflection: Amanda Johnson.