Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 7:00pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Lab 127.

Lars Wallentin (presenter) at Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes by Integrating Research and Reality here today, Tuesday November 18, 2014 during the American Heart Associations Scientific Sessions being held here at the McCormick Convention Center. Scientific Sessions is the leading cardiovascular meeting for basic, translational, clinical and population science, in the United States, with more than 18,000 cardiovascular experts from over 105 countries attending the meeting. LUKE FRANKE

WKU’s Leon Allen soars through the air during Saturday’s game against No. 19 Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia. Allen rushed for a game-high 237 yards and a touchdown. NICK WAGNER

Sue Thayer has been teaching the Aquasize program at the Family YMCA in Owensboro, KY for 40 years along with her husband Jack. Together they teach at least two classes a day per week while also holding separate jobs. As they come and go through the YMCA, they walk hand in hand inspiring others with their pride of working together and of their love of 20 years. TYLER SANDERS

Ellen Buchanons family has been in the flower business for the past 6 generations. “I actually went to college to be a nurse, but the business has been in by family for generations and when my parents wanted to step down, non of my siblings wanted to take over. So I just did it.” Deemers said. DITTE LYSGAARD HOLM

Retired military chaplain Louis W. Pointer, 81, served in the United States Army during Vietnam War in 1969. He was 33 and on the reserves list when he got his draft letter in the mail. He left behind his daughter, Katherine II and his first wife, Katherine. Upon returning, he spent a few months with his family until, one day, his wife died after being hit by s train on the tracks. ALYSSA POINTER

A Marshall fan sits in disbelief after her Thundering Herd was upset 67-66 by Western Kentucky University in an overtime thriller Friday in Huntington, West Virginia. No. 19 Marshall was undefeated with an 11-0 record prior to its loss against the Hilltoppers. NICK WAGNER

John Young (left) and his younger brother, Nicolas Young (right) sit in their backyard in Birmingham, Ala. During the summers, John Young is an Interpreter, or canoe guide, at Northern Tier High Adventure Base in northern Minnesota and southern Canada. The camp is one of four High Adventure Boy Scout bases within the United States. Nicolas is following in his footsteps by taking over John’s previous position on the waterfront staff at Camp Comer, also a boy scout camp, in Fort Payne, Ala. KREABLE YOUNG

Michael Brown’s Mother cries out after hearing the ruling of the Grand Juries Decision to not charge Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown
Monday, November 24, 2014 in Ferguson, MO. The jury decision came over 108 days after the shooting of Michael Brown. MICHAEL NOBLE JR.

Meredith Wadlington, on Dec. 2, 2014. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Left: Charles Pretri, sushi chef at Shogun Bistro and Hibachi, poses for a portrait on November 23, 2014. Right: Magura, crunch crab rolls, California rolls, sake, and rbi arranged between chopsticks. NICOLE BOLIAUX

 

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 7:00pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Lab 127.

Westin Hotel facade in Atlanta, Georgia. JUSTIN GILLILAND

Jessica Alvarado left her home country of Honduras with her husband Jose Alvarado nearly one decade ago, leaving their four year old son, Tomas, to live with her extended family.  The Alvarado’s who had a daughter, Emily, in 2009, were reunited with their son last year. ALYSE YOUNG

WKU junior, Mitchell Garcia, catches the ball in a line-out against William Gipson during the WKU rugby team’s final game of the semester against the Memphis Tigers.  WKU suffered a hard defeat but looks forward to more matches in the spring. ALYSE YOUNG

Cameron Dodge, of Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, rides during the Derby City Cup at Eva Bandman Park in Louisville, Kentucky, November 8, 2014. JUSTIN GILLILAND

Elijah (age 4) gets his haircut at JC’s barber shop in Bowling Green Kentucky on Thursday, November 13th. Elijah didn’t smile or say a single word the entire time. SAVANNAH NEDDO

 

Check out what the Practicum class is up to this semester! Beyond Breath is a documentary about legacy and how families live beyond themselves. Look forward to seeing it before the end of the year.

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 7:00pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Lab 127.

Rosalino Santiago Garcia, 32 of Santa Ana, Oaxaca, Mexico, gives his son, Leandro, 5, a shoulder-ride home on November 5, 2014. Garcia is taking two weeks off of work from the Kentucky tobacco harvest, returning home to accompany his pregnant wife who is due to have his third child anytime. NICK WAGNER

Nurses prepare Steven Curry, 19, of Bowling Green, Ky. for an EKG to measure the electrical current of his heart, Nov. 4. “I hate my body because they can’t solve it. They can’t help me at all,” Curry said. KATIE ROBERTS

A participant in the 2014 Homecoming Step Show steps into a sliver of light moments before steeping onto the stage and performing. Four WKU chapters were represented at the event, which was held in Diddle Arena, but most Greek chapters arrived from surrounding universities. LUKE FRANKE

Junior running back Leon Allen (33) is lifted in the air by his teammates after sealing the Hilltopper’s win with a fourth quarter touchdown making the score 35-27 during WKU’s homecoming victory over UTEP, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, at L.T. Smith – Houchens Industries Stadium in Bowling Green, Ky.  Allen had 136 total offensive yards in the game and two touchdowns. MIKE CLARK

Jamie and Rebecca Adams Simpson hold each other as the results from the last precincts come in during Rebecca’s Family Court Judge election result party at Lost River Cave on Nov. 4, 2014. Rebecca Adams Simpson ultimately lost to her opponent, David Lanphear. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Left: Cecile Garmon, a communications professor at WKU, poses for a portrait in her red Liz Claiborne glasses. Garmon has been a professor since the 1980’s and has sported her collection of colored glasses since the 80’s as well. She has colors from orange to green and says she wishes she would have bought every color when Liz Claiborne came out with the glasses in the 80’s. “I love Homecoming, but it isn’t as much fun as coming to class everyday,” Garmon said.
Right: WKU cheerleader’s pom-poms rest on the sidelines of L.T. Smiths Stadium during the Homecoming game on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. KATIE MEEK
Left: Jayna Kubuske, a Toledo Ohio senior and WKU Feature Twirler, clipped WKU accessories into her hair for the Homecoming celebrations at WKU on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014.
Right: Ashleé Robinson, a Nashville senior and captain of the Major Redz, leads her team in a dance routine at the Homecoming game on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014. KATIE MEEK

Beau Spencer drinks beer out of another person’s shoe during the Old Boys Rugby party in Bowling Green, Ky. ALYSE YOUNG

Sumra Kanwal, a graduate student at WKU sits quietly during the WKU homecoming queen pinning ceremony. Kanwal came to the United States from Pakistan in 2013. She has become a resident assistant in Pearce Ford Tower and a member of the Pakistani Student Association. Kanwal placed top ten in the competition for homecoming queen. ALYSE YOUNG

Every month, the Western Kentucky University NPPA Chapter produces a “Student Spotlight” segment that focuses on recent work from a student. Photo stories, videos, personal projects, or even successful shoots are eligible for the Student Spotlight. If you have a current project you’d like to share, please email wkunppa@gmail.com.

Liam plays the piano while Valentina dances with Spicy.  ‘There’s a certain satisfaction [our] way of life brings,’ Liam says.

Until recently, Liam and Valentina Wilson lived a quiet life in their small country home.  They are ardent pacifists and their beliefs include existing in peace with all living things and with nature. For the Wilsons, this means not consuming fossil fuels or electricity, growing most of their own food and maintaining a vegan diet.

A recent fire destroyed the home they rented 6 miles outside Berea, Ky. Their future is uncertain, but for now they live in what remains of their home as they prepare for it’s demolition at the end of November.  They hope that in the spring they will be able to find a piece of land on which to build a new home.

Valentina washes a pot in the stream running through their land. Because they have no running water in their house, they rely on the stream to wash and on rain and spring water to drink.

NPPA: When you first drew the Wilson’s name out of the hat, what were your initial thoughts?

Mike: The slip of paper with the assignment on it just said that they were artisan breadmakers and nothing else. That left me with a lot of questions and blanks to fill in, but I had a lot of faith in the faculty at the workshop to assign us stories that would challenge us and help us grow.  I went in with the idea that even if my story were to fail for whatever reason, and the previous year my story did fail, I’d still be able to learn a lot from the experience.

The Wilsons are avid readers. Liam reads in his native English and Valentina reads in her native Russian or Italian.  Some of their favorite authors are Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi, who have influenced their pacifist beliefs.

NPPA: You can see in the photos that they live a beautifully simple life with their cat, Spicy. Can you tell us about the way they live?

Mike: Well the main thing about how they live is they are ardent pacifists and this really affects everything they do.  Not only are they pacifists in the nonviolent sense of the word but they try to live peacefully with nature and even in the way that they speak to others they just come from a very peaceful, understanding and loving place.

Liam and Valentina share a quiet moment in the garden behind their house.  ‘For me it’s a very direct way of living,’ Liam says. ‘We try to be as intimately connected to every aspect of our life as possible.’

Valentina kneads a ball of dough to make bread.  The Wilson’s sole source of income is the sale of the bread they make which Liam estimates brings in about $4,000-$5,000 a year. They have never needed more than that, Liam says.

NPPA: When you heard the news of the fire, what did you do?

Mike: When Liam called me I was sitting with my coach Jahi Chikwendiu going over the final edit of my story which was focused around their way of life and their connection to nature and their house was a central part of that story.  So to hear that their house was on fire and especially before I arrived there and didn’t quite know the extent of the damage I was just in shock.  I asked Jahi what I should do but I knew he’d tell me to go out there and document what they are going through, so that’s what I did.  On the drive out there, I was really quite nervous because I’ve only covered spot news like this a couple times and it was never involving anyone I’d previously met.  I was worried about Liam, Valentina and Spicy.  I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to handle the situation and not be able to do their story justice.

Liam holds Valentina as they wait for the Berea Fire Department to clear their house.  The Wilsons were at the Berea Farmers Market when the fire started, which is one of the few times a week they leave their property.  If they hadn’t been away, Liam thinks he could have lessened the damage.

Liam and Valentina survey the damage from the fire with firefighters from the Berea Fire Department.  Initial findings suggest it was an electrical fire originating in their basement.  The Wilsons leave the electricity turned on to charge their one electronic item, a cell phone. 

Liam hands the body of Spicy to Valentina. Members of the Berea Fire Department found Spicy at the bottom of the basement stairs but were unable to revive him.

NPPA: It’s tragic that the Wilson’s lost their only pet. How else did the fire affect their lives?

Mike: It now seems like they will lose their home as well.  I spoke with Liam today and according to him, the company that insured the house determined it was a total loss. So the house is going to be demolished at the end of the month and the property will be sold by the owner.

  

 

NPPA: What was it like to photograph someone going through such a terrible event in their lives?

Mike: I was on the verge of tears for a lot of it, especially when I saw Valentina’s reaction when they found Spicy. It was hard staying composed while witnessing someone in such grief. I had to take breaks every few frames just to keep myself from losing it. So I would take a couple frames and then just sit quietly for a short time to compose myself. It was difficult.

 

Liam and Valentina bury Spicy in their garden. “Property isn’t very important to us,” Liam says, “but losing Spicy weighs heavily on us.”

NPPA: What are the Wilson’s plans now?

Mike: For now they are staying at their house through the end of the month, despite the damage, but their future is uncertain.  For the Winter, they need to find a place to live but come Spring they would like to find a piece of land near Berea where they could build a structure themselves and one of their friends has started a FundMe for them to help finance that.

Valentina takes a break from sorting through the debris outside her house. The Wilson’s house will be demolished at the end of November. “Now we rebuild,” Valentina says.

NPPA: What have you learned from this experience? How did it affect you?

Mike: From the whole Mountain Workshop experience I learned way too much to really describe succinctly, but from Liam and Valentina specifically, I learned to approach the people I meet with an open mind and an open heart. I also learned that it is incredibly difficult and taxing to photograph people I really care for during such a dark moment.  If I’d kept a bit more emotional distance I would have been more calm and my photographs may have been a bit better composed but would it have been better for Liam and Valentina?  Would I have been comfortable or even able to document such a personal moment if I was more detached?  I don’t really know how to find the right balance yet but it is something I know to be conscious of if I find myself in a similar situation.

Our hearts go out to the Wilson family.

_____

Bio: Mike Clark is a photojournalist from Washington, DC.  He is currently in his second year in the photojournalism program at Western Kentucky University.  He currently works for the College Heights Herald and the Talisman yearbook and has previously interned at the Santa Barbara Independent and worked at The Channels, the Santa Barbara City College student newspaper.

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 7:00pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Lab 127.

Alpacas are turned loose in the front yard sometimes to “mow” the grass. Alvina Maynard herds them back into their field when the job is finished. ERICA LASFER

Wanpen Cline, owner of Wanpen Thai & Chinese Restaurant in Berea, KY, prays multiple times throughout the day – before going to work, before opening the restaurant and after close. Wanpen has practiced both Buddhism and Christianity since moving to the United States in 1977. “You pray first,” she says. “You pray so they can protect you.” LAUREN NOLAN

 

Madison Southern High School freshman, Zach Howard, prays in the locker room with the rest of the “Mad South Eagles” football team before their 2014 playoff qualifying game. ALYSE YOUNG

Pearl Hicks, 2, explores Robie Books in Berea while her mother Jill reads and brother Reuben browses the Young Adult Mystery section of the store. The Hicks, who live in the Red River Gorge area, make it a point to visit the bookstore during their weekly visit to Berea for Reuben’s fiddle lessons. LEANORA BENKATO

WKU second year graduate Alena Cieszko poses in front of the Felts Log House off of College Heights Blvd on October 28, 2014. Cieszko said she got her clothing from a theatre whole sale in Louisville, Ky. She said the style of her clothing matches her personality. TYLER ESSARY

Wrapped tightly in a warm bath towel with head burrowed in his father’s arms Stellan Gonzales, 1, stares on with sleepy eyes as his father Fred Gonzales Jr. carries him to his room to prepare for bed. LUKE FRANKE

Guillermo Hernandez Martinez of Austin, Texas walks around a pond in the early morning at the Battlefield Park near Berea, Ky. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Holden Berry, 12, of Berea, Ky. stands in the doorway of  Lucifer’s Lair in Berea, Ky. on October 23, 2014 while waiting for the haunted house to go live. The haunted house is open yearly from the last weekend in September for the Halloween season. Donnie Lamb, an employee at Lucifer’s Lair says he thinks it is great what the haunted house does for the youth in the community. “If they are here, it means they aren’t on the street,” Lamb says. DOROTHY EDWARDS

Each Thursday, WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA brings you some of the best images of the past week taken by our very own classmates. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video within the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 1-3 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 7:00pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7:30pm in Lab 127.

 

Amanda Haas, 25, poses in front of her oil painting titled “Elizabeth”, a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor. KACEY SLONE

A doe crosses the road at Barren River State Resort Park in Barren County, Kentucky on the morning of Saturday, October 10, 2014. WILLIAM KOLB

Molly Hennessy, 19, studies theater and creative writing, but her thoughts are always on astrology. “I’m a Virgo-obsessive, neurotic, and always on time,” Hennessy said. Shot with a FutureEyes Prism. NICOLE BOLIAUX

Frank and Carol Kersting tack their sailboat for a sharp turn during the Great Minnow Regatta.  The Kerstings first met while in the Peace Corps. They have lived in many places including Korea and Ukraine. Frank, now a retired WKU professor, spends much of his time with his wife and their friends at the Port Oliver Yacht Club. ALYSE YOUNG

WKU associate professor of Environmental Science Emmanuel Iyiegbuniwe peers out the front door of his own store in Bowling Green, Ky., Ka Ce International Store & Fashions. Originally from Africa Emmanuel opened the store in mid-August of this year hoping to help similar immigrants in Bowling Green, Ky. find food, products, and clothes that are relative to their home countries. “You don’t find most of these products at Walmart,” Emmanuel said jokingly. “I know these people and I know their families. I want to help them out and that’s the joy of doing this.” LUKE FRANKE