Junior Marcus Primason is an up and coming photographer at CHS who recently won the Randy Siddon Best Photo Story Award. Marcus attended the High School Journalism Institute summer session at Indiana University. The photojournalism workshop was designed for students that would serve as photojournalists in their respective staffs. It aims to teach students how to cover events, take environmental portraits and create photo stories. Learn more about Marcus’s time there and his journey leading up to receiving the award.

When did you learn about photography and when did it become a passion or hobby for you?

Photography started back in freshman year. I was taking a visual journalism class and I was starting to get more interested in graphic design and photography. My family had an old DSLR that my mom had bought a few years earlier, but it’s kind of been sitting around. I picked it up one day and kind of took it on a short trip we had to Michigan. I really liked it, so slowly I started shooting more events and more things around Carmel. I started doing some shoots for the yearbook when I got in sophomore year, and slowly I just started doing more of it.

What was your reaction when you found out you won Randy Siddon Best Photo Story Award?

I was really excited. I had no idea that I was actually going to win. There were a ton of people at this camp, and all the people there were really great photographers. Everybody there was really talented. I really liked my photos and so I’m glad that other people also saw them in that same light. I was just really thrilled.

What does this recognition mean to you personally as a student journalist?

I think this recognition is really important to me. It’s kind of like self-validation. I knew I’d been working really hard towards this and this was actually my first time at the camp. I didn’t really know what was going to go on. I just feel happy that I have an award behind my name, and I could put that somewhere if needed.

How did being part of Pinnacle shape the way you like storytelling through photography?

There’s so many aspects that we cover through the school. Many people just shoot sports or other events. I like to do all sorts of stuff, so I really get a feel for all the stuff that goes on at CHS. It’s really interesting to see how the point of the (Pinnacle) is to show how things are happening at CHS. I like the photos to accurately represent what’s really happening. I think I take pride in making my work represent that and making sure everything is accurate to what.

What inspired the story behind the photo story that you won this award?

For the photo, it had a lot to do with that week on campus in Bloomington. We were there for about a week and the photos had something to do with the students, their interaction with each other and their interaction with things like the campus and stuff when the Bloomington students weren’t there. The dorms are like recreational areas outside of camp time playing basketball, getting ice cream or or actually learning from their teachers and professors. It was really interesting just to see the life of a high school student at this camp and it was kind of a storytelling throughout the week in different lights and different scenarios.

Gallery • 13 Photos

Submitted Photo: Marcus Primason

What challenges did you face while capturing this particular story and how did you overcome them?

It was really challenging just because there was a lot going on. I still had to focus on my stuff that I had to go through to the camp while also looking at what other people were doing. The photos needed to be candid, so making sure that like sometimes I didn’t want people to know I was there, and then they’d all just keep looking at me. That was actually a really difficult part of it, and making sure I got the right angle. It was crowded and I didn’t really always have my first choice of location or anything. The high school students had free will to go wherever they needed to be, so I just had to follow them. It was interesting having to adapt to my surroundings and the environment in order to capture the photo that I needed to get.

How would you say your style or perspective as a photographer changed when you first started?

When I first started photography, I didn’t really have much of a vision before I had started. I just kind of started taking photos. Now looking back on it, I feel that as I’ve gotten more experience throughout the last couple of years, I really have a vision in my head of what I want to capture and trying to make that happen. Whether that be at the football game on Friday or covering Dance Marathon, I’m always looking for a specific shot and I think when I have that in my head of what I want to get before I actually start shooting, the pictures tend to turn out better.

What is one piece of advice you would give to other students who want to create a compelling photo story?

Advice for other students who want to make a compelling photo story is that all of the photos need to be an accurate representation of what actually happened. I think that my photos from HSJI (high school journalism institute) were really representative of how the students were living at the and being taught at this camp.

There were lots of people and one of the things that I really liked and made a priority in my photo story was how to interact with other people, whether that be between campers or between us. We did an interview with the women’s basketball team, and some of those interaction photos ended up being some of my favorites.

Do you see photojournalism as part of your future career?

100%. I think I’m really interested in photojournalism. As a photographer I’ve really grown over the last few years. It’s really something that I’m really interested in. I’ll continue to pursue it and I still find new ways to implement it in my life and I think that for sure it would definitely be a next step for me.

Is there something like you would love to take a picture of someday?

I really want to continue to do more sports photography. I ended up wanting to do maybe some professional sports, at some time in my life. I’m sticking to a lot of high school right now, but slowly finding myself being able to seek out more opportunities outside of the high school, and hopefully do some high level things like that.