COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
MUSTANG STAMPEDE
Mount Ida
Football By J. Alexander Dolan
his Fall, I interned for the Mount Ida College Football team. I found this internship through my advisor, Professor Poor-Donahue. Coach Landers was my supervisor. I designed for the Football team on my own time and was on the sidelines for game days with my camera. I was hoping to increase in my photography skills and my editing skills. My responsibilities for the Mount Ida College Football team were to design print and digital materials to promote the football team and school spirit. I took photos on the sidelines at home games to use in my designs. They will
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Breaking Tackles Jaleel Battle runs a season high 203 yards and one touchdown against UMass Dartmouth. He also earned the ECFC“Freshman of the Week award.�
be used in ads to promote the upcoming games, on the Mount Ida Football Twitter account and, hopefully, on the athletic website. I am designing for the students and local fans because the main goal is to raise school spirit and get people to attend the games. Coach Landers wants to put an emphasis on school spirit and “Mustang City.”
y first week was quite busy and memorable. I attended and photographed the team’s first home football game against UMass Dartmouth. I was extremely excited the whole week leading up to the game because I have never had the privilege to be this close with my camera at a sporting event. Because this was my first time photographing a football game, it took a bit for me to adjust. I have gone to many different sporting events with my camera, but I was never this close. I began feeling comfortable about halfway through the first quarter. At halftime, I looked through some of the photos I had taken and realized that my camera did not like the stadium lights. I changed a few settings and the second half
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went smoother for me. I was not 100% happy with how my camera handled taking photos under the lights. Hopefully, it works better in the sunlight. After the game, I was still feeling excited and wideawake so I decided to design a poster for the team. I used a
Run it in
Quarterback, Jawad Yatim, scrambles for the Mustangs’ 1st touchdown of the 2014 season.
photograph I took at that game to create the poster “Mustang City.” Thursday, I met the whole coaching staff. I showed them the start of my design. They all really liked it. I was asked if I had a photo of #4 running the ball during the game because he was the “Freshman of the Week” in the ECFC Conference.
“I want to put an emphasis on school spirit and on““Mustang City.” his week I was involved with designing a poster to advertise the Football team’s upcoming home game on October 2nd. I delivered edited photos and a poster to the coaches so they could use them on the schools website and twitter account. I also met with the coaches on Friday to talk about an idea I had for a
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poster for the upcoming home game. They liked my idea and I will meet with them again on Tuesday to show them my progress on the poster. The coaches agreed that they would like me to water mark my photos I took at the game. This more comfortable. I then designed my own signature watermark. I have never taken a digital photo class, so everything I know, I taught myself on the fly. I also learned that the next home game is for a trophy. Mr. Landers referred to this game as “The Battle of the Rock”. That is the slogan I plan to use for the poster to advertise the game against Maritime. Weeks 1-3 / Mt. Ida College Football / 4
Battle for
the Rock By J. Alexander Dolan
t this point, things have been progressing smoothly. However, I am expecting to come across a few “speed bumps� along the way. The problem will most likely be getting the poster approved to hang up around campus. I have been completing projects earlier than needed so that the coaching staff can have one more look at it before it is printed. This week, I have been running around, measuring signs and finalizing a poster design for the October 4th game. The coaching staff and I plan to print out the poster Monday in the hopes it can be approved to hang it up this week leading up to the game. I got to sit down with the coaching staff on Monday and Wednesday. These meetings were brief, so I could show them my
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design and so I could hand in the new Mount Ida College Football Team’s twitter header. The poster went over well and the twitter header is already being used. This week I learned a bit more about completing a major project under a deadline. This was unlike any project I’ve done before because it will be representing the whole team and the school. I had to make sure everyone was happy. This was the most fast paced and interesting week I have had so far. Hopefully, things will not always be this chaotic. his fifth week was bitter sweet. I completed my “Battle for the Rock” poster and the whole team loved it. I feel like part of the Mount Ida College Football Family. But because of an administrative issue that was out of our control, we were unable to print and hang up the poster I designed around campus. I was a bit disappointed but I learned that there are many people we need to get permission from to do something while working for a college team. Thursday, I walked into the locker room and my poster was hanging up. I also began to see
pictures the players took of my poster, online. People I have never met before stopped me while walking to class to talk to me about my photography and my designs for the football team. I have never felt more appreciated in my life. Today, I was on the sidelines for the game versus Maritime. Parents and students asked me why I was there, what my major was, and what I would like to do in the future. After I explained
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to them that I was a Graphic Design intern, many of them asked where they could view these photographs. This gave me an idea for my next project.
Moving the Chains
Number 12, Quarterback Jawad Yatim (left), throws for ten of his 105 yards. Runningback, Jaleel Battle (right), runs for seven of his 102 yards on 25 attempts. My poster (far left), that I designed for the game against Maritime.
Homecoming
weekend By J. Alexander Dolan
aturday night, after the team beat Maritime 7-6, I thought about what many of the parents and players said to me about viewing my photos online. This gave me an idea. So, on Monday, I met with the football coaching staff, gave them some of the photographs I took at the last game and pitched an idea to them about creating an Instagram account for the team to post the photos, while also giving me photo credit. I will be meeting with them Tuesday to set up the new account. I am really excited to have my photos be seen by the public.
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One Big Play
Number 5, Wide Receiver, Matt Greenman (right), catches a huge 47 yard pass. This set up Jaleel Battle’s two yard touchdown.
his week was a big week for me. I met with the coaching staff about starting an Instagram account for the football team. They loved the idea and then told me to gather up the “good” photos I have taken and bring them to their office so that they could post them on the account. I am very excited about this because they gave me permission to put my name on the photos. I also attended the home game against Castleton. All the coaches were happy to see me as always and some even came over to say hello before the game. The game ended and I had taken 868 photographs. I now need to go through them and save the good ones for the Instagram account. In the next few days, I will be working on the photos for the the teams Instagram account.
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y skills in photography and design have surprised me so far. When I started this internship, I enjoyed taking photographs, but, I never really showed anyone because I doubted my abilities. When I asked Coach Landers if I could take photos on the sidelines during the team’s game so I
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could get some photos to design a poster for the team I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. I now have a newfound love for sports photography. I never really thought about using my photos, themselves as a portfolio piece, until after the first game.
Defense Comes up BIG
Defensive Lineman, Dom Spaulding (above), recorded 3.5 sacks and was a terror all day on the defensive side of the ball.
When I designed my first poster for them a few weeks back, I struggled with choosing a font that worked with the theme of the poster and for the team. After much thought , I made a decision that team
Running Over the Defense
Running backs, Melquan Pinkney (above) and Jaleel Battle combined for 151 yards and four touchdowns against Castleton.
approved. They enjoyed it so much that they hung it up outside the office. This was really cool to see. After that, I started to get more comfortable and confident showing them my photography and my designs. So far, they have made me feel like I am part of the team. Althought, there is not anything specific I wish I had learned in the classroom, I do wish I had someone on the sidelines with me who could answer questions when they arise. During the games,
everything happens so fast, so, if I encounter an issue it would be nice to be able to ask someone for advice. I feel like I have done a very good job overcoming issues with shutter speed or the focus on my camera. At one point, I found out that when the seniors graduate, the team puts up a photo of them on a wall. I made a list of the seniors and I went through all my photos and separated them. Next week will be busier because I will be taking photos at the game against Becker. It is supposed to rain that day and I do not know how my camera will handle the weather. Weeks 6-8 / Mt. Ida College Football / 10
Shutout in
the Rain By J. Alexander Dolan
his week was one big speed bump. The coaching staff and I found out that Instagram does not allow two accounts to be signed in at one time on a phone. Unlike Twitter, which allows you to use two accounts at the same time. So, this entire week, we have been trying to find ways to make it work. The main issue is that Scotty would have to sign in and out of his account and the teams’ account every time he wants to post something. It is very time consuming to sign in and sign out every single time. We are still looking for ways to run the team account without signing on and off every time. Tomorrow I will be on the sidelines for the game against Becker. I am very excited because Hopefully, tomorrow will be a nice day even though
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rain is expected. I have thought about my final project and I want it to have the look and feel of the football team. My plan is to utilize my photography because that has been a major part of this internship. aturday, I stood out in the rain at the game versus Becker and took some photos. I have never used my camera in the rain so it was a very new experience. In an attempt to keep my camera dry during the game, I cut a hole in a gallon ziplock bag and used that as a rain jacket over my camera. It was actually very effective. I had concerns that my camera would not do well in the freezing rain. To my surprise, everything worked out well. My only issue was that the camera lens attempted to focus on the rain, instead of the players. Lucky for me, that issue only occured a few times during the game. After Saturday, I came up with a few ideas instead of the Instagram account because of the speed bumps we hit. My ideas were to make a Flickr account or a Facebook page for the team. I stopped by on Monday to see
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what their opinions were on my ideas and if they need any photos or designs. I feel like I am quickly getting noticed by not only the players on the team but around campus as a photographer and as a designer. I was stopped the other day and asked if I
Defense Leads the Way
Linebacker, Sean Chinova (left), had a 22 yard pick-six. Wide receiver, Matt Greenman (right), scored two touchdowns.
was “the one taking all those awesome football photos� by a few students. That felt really amazing to be stopped by someone I have never talked to, because they have seen my work. I cant see my self working for just the football team but I would love to work for the Athletic Office and design for all the teams at Mount Ida or another school. This is exactly the kind of
Hanging tough Mount Ida, led by their amazing effort on defense, shut down the Becker offense.
organization I have always wanted to work at. I love designing and taking photos for a team because the players appreciate even the smallest things. I want to be out on the sidelines with my camera and see my posters hanging up to advertise a game. Seeing people look at my designs and get pumped up, makes me happy. I would love to work for an organization like this. he one thing the team has been amazing at is posting my designs and photos
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online. The coaching staff, the players and even some alumni are now finding me on social media and following me. Just today two of my photos were posted. Yesterday, I had someone not on the team ask me if I was “the one interning for the football team.� All focus was on the championship game tomorrow. I have been posting photos all week leading up to the game. I met with the coaching staff briefly on Wednesday, but I did not want to throw any big ideas towards them because they were so focused on the big game. I will be there on the sidelines tomorrow and it would be truly an amazing experience if they won and I got to be right in the middle of the action with my camera. I believe I am as excited as they are for this upcoming game. I wish this season did not have to end.
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One last
hurrah By J. Alexander Dolan
he Season is over. Last Saturday, I was on the sidelines for the Football team’s final game of this season. They fought very hard. I am disappointed that I will no longer be on the sidelines on Saturdays. I really loved every minute of it. I am so thankful for how the team and coaching staff made me feel like part of the team during this internship. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back next year, if I could. This internship has made me realize that I want to work with an organization that makes me feel like part of their team. My internship for the Mount Ida
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Falling Just Short
Quarterback, Jawad Yatim (right), threw for 145 yards and two scores. Unfortunately, the Mustangs fell short against Husson.
Football team has been one big experience I thought I would never have in school. This past week, I had many players and people approach me and ask if I had a design page on Facebook that they could go “Like”. I honestly had never even considered creating one because I truly didn’t think I was very good. Last night I created one and it seems to be going quite well. Every photo has my watermark on it, just to be safe and get my name out there. I could not have done it if it weren’t for the confidence that the coaching staff and the players gave me.
his week was a slow week. The season is over, so I will not be on the sidelines on Saturday. I honestly miss it already. I had an amazing time photographing this season and if I could do it again, I would in a second. On Wednesday, I brought the coaches all the photographs of the seniors that I have taken. I then was given a project to create a letterhead that they can use that they can use for correspondence.
ll week I have been focusing on the letterhead project. I met with the coaches Wednesday to hear their ideas for what they want the letterhead to look like. I have learned that most of the NCAA college football letterheads are classy, clean and basic.
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Hard Fought The Muntangs dug deep and batlled until the final whistle. They had one amazing season.
I would like to thank the Mount Ida Football team. I truly enjoyed every single second of it. From day one, they made me feel like part of the family. I can not thank them all enough for everything they have done.
Overall, this internship was everything I could have asked for. I learned so much about designing for a team and a lot about my self as a designer. Specifically, I learned a lot on the fly about photography. Before this internship, I never considered a career in both photography and design. This internship has opened my eyes to so many new career possibilities. Designing for a team or company in the sports field has always been my dream. But after being on the sidelines this past season, I truly would like a job that allows me to both design and photograph. This experience was so amazing and eye opening. I am so thankful for the opportunity and the support the team gave me throughout this semester. The players and coaching staff have become like a second family to me.