Mountain Workshops holds a special place in any WKUPJs’ heart. Top photojournalists surround, critique, and inspire us to push ourselves past our limits. As a special treat, we were honored with guest editors Mick Cochran, Rodney Curtis and Kathleen Flynn for this week’s Through Our Eyes post. We cannot thank them enough for their time and input.  Visit the Mountain Workshops page HERE to follow our exploration of Owensboro, Ky.

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 1-5 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm in Lab 127.

Julianna Rosas cools off with a cup of water as she runs down North Broadway during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 in Chicago.  ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Blake Sarmiento and Mitchell Garcia of Western Kentucky University attempt to tackle Caleb Nelson of Murray State. WKU and Murray State played a rugby dress match to benefit breast cancer awareness.  MICHAEL NOBLE JR.

A man waits at dusk with other commuters at the State/Lake outer loop elevated metro station in Chicago.  NAOMI DRIESSNACK

Runners make their way down North Columbus Drive during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 in Chicago.  ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

“When I haven’t slept in days I make photographs that feel as strange as I do.”  ERIC SHEA

An aerialist performs at the Fly Free Fest in Adams, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 11, 2013.  KREABLE YOUNG

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 1-5 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm in Lab 127.

Melanie Durrett, 22, of Hodgenville Ky. sits with her boyfriend of a year Derail Shelton and their dog Cochece in their temporary home, The Holiday Motel in Cave City, Ky. The two have been living there for about a month. “I’ve been trying to find work”, Durrett says, “It’s been real hard, a mixture of the recession and my hand tattoos.”  KATIE MCLEAN

Reynalda Ruiz, of Chicago, Ill., watches over neighborhood children playing in a fenced-off alleyway between apartment buildings in the Pilsen neighborhood on Friday, October 4, 2013.  “I’m just babysitting for a friend,” said Ruiz, “just helping out.  This isn’t a job, they wouldn’t be able to pay me anyway.  The economy never changes, this is just normal.  This is how it always is.”  DANNY GUY

During the wedding ceremony of Jamijo Gilbert and TIm Carter, Jody Garrett, mother of Jamijo, is kissed on the forehead by her life partner Bill Surian. Though they had planned the wedding to be next June, Jamijo and Tim were married on Oct. 4, 2013 at Covenant Health Care’s Chapel due to Jody’s recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. “It’s always a mother’s dream to see her little girl get married,” Jody said after the ceremony.  SAMMY JO HESTER

Smiling as she stands in the doorway of her food truck along Veterans Memorial Ln in Bowling Green, 56 year old Barbara Jackson patiently waits for her next customer. “They’ll come, they know the food’s good,” she said with a laugh. A nurse by trade, Barbara usually spends her days at Tristar Skyline medical center in Nashville but her passion has always been food, so for extra money she started cooking for the masses and set up shop selling what she calls the best BBQ in Bowling Green.  BRIAN POWERS

Ear and throat cancer were not enough to stop Butch Elrod of Rockfield, Ky. Elrod, a 30 year truck driving veteran, who has driven over 3 million miles during his career. After retiring in 2006 Elrod traded his 16 wheels for 2 and has driven cross country on his Harley Davidson motorcycle twice. “I’m gonna live how I wanna live,” Elrod said while spending time with a friend in Bowling Green on Monday, October 07, 2013. When he is not on his motorcycle, Elrod’s other passion is horses and he stays busy raising over 30 of them on his Rockfield farm.  BRIAN POWERS

Photographers photograph the sunrise at Oxbow Bend in the Grand Teton National Park which was closed later that day due to the government shut down in Moose, DC on Tuesday October 1, 2013.  JABIN BOTSFORD

As an artist of many mediums, Finland native and Louisville, Ky., resident Marjaleena Pihlajamaki, 59, finds that most of her creativity comes from laying in bed. “The TV is on, the music is loud, the cat is laying right down there and my easel is right in front of me,” Pihlajamaki said.  “I’m most creative when I’m most comfortable.”  Since moving to the Derby City her art forms have expanded to hat and jewelry creations, which she sells in a small Bardstown Road storefront.  SALLY JEAN WEGERT

James Earl Johnson sits in his new home, previously used as a storage unit. Johnson is retired but spent the majority of his life working construction and most recently working at the ACK Controls Factory in Glasgow, Ky.  KATIE MCLEAN

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 1-5 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm in Lab 127.

The front porch of Elizabeth Pedigo, center, acts as a gathering place for her family, “It’s where we come together,” she said as she sits on her porch with her son, Wayne Gray, left, and holds her granddaughter, Aliona Beck. Aliona’s mother, Ariel Pedigo, far right, plays with her twin sister Aubrey Beck while in Bowling Green on Thursday, September 26, 2013.  BRIAN POWERS

A portrait of Dr. Rahraw Omarzad founder of the Centre for Contemporary Art Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2006 Omarzad established the only women’s art center in Afghanistan. “We taught women how to drawing and after three months we gave them hints of conceptual art and creative painting. Their art work shows the struggle and sacrifice of woman over time and is strictly open for interpretation,” said Dr. Omarzad.  DEMETRIUS FREEMAN

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts play with and make foam plate gliders and get an eye opening look at life in aviation as the Youth Aviation Adventure has a program at OSU Don Scott Field in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013.  JABIN BOTSFORD

A freshman defensive end for Western Kentucky University, Kalvin Robinson loves the game for the game itself. “I have a quote from my favorite artist and I think about that every game. The quote is, ‘You can fly, no body can stop you, nobody,” Robinson said.  BRITTANY GREESON

Joann McCoy and fiancé Joe Smith of Glasgow, Ky. lean in during a joking argument (left) and Arthur and Annette Morton of Panama City (right) laugh at their discussion while Tremekia Dice watches after her niece, Dada Hamilto, 2, and her brother Malik Dice, 12, (center) on the steps of Wigwam Church during the Cave City Proud Days Festival.  KATIE MCLEAN

WKU’s ROTC presents the American Flag before their game against Navy at Western Kentucky University on Saturday, September 28, 2013.  DEMETRIUS FREEMAN

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 1-5 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com by our Tuesday 6:30pm deadline and our officers and attendees will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm in Lab 127.

Talen Sourcy, 6, of Auburn, Ky., plays with his umbrella during half time at the Greenwood vs Logan football game.  KATIE MCLEAN

WKU alum Charqwan Harris, 25, of Memphis, watches the WKU v. Morgan State game as her son E’Mauri Hazelett, 1, sleeps. E’Mauri’s father, Ed Hazelett, plays offensive line for WKU.  WILLIAM KOLB

Freshman Greenwood High School running back Alex Hines looks out toward the field while his teammates warm up for the Logan County vs. Greenwood Varsity football game held at Greenwood High School in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, September 20, 2013.  Prior to the game, Logan County’s overall record was 0-4, while Greenwood stood at 1-3.  The score was 41-0 at the half.  DANNY GUY

Ashlee Tilford at her home in Bowling Green, Ky. September 17, 2013. Ashlee is the top participant in the walk to end Alzheimer’s. She raised more than any other participant and is very active in the fight against the disease.  DEMETRIUS FREEMAN

Joe Svensson, of Tampa, Fla., paints a model of a Gastonia dinosaur at Dinosaur World in Cave City, Ky., on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.  The dinosaurs become weathered and dirty from children playing on them and are repainted once every five years, according to Svensson.  “Between our three locations, I have 500 dinosaurs to paint,” said Svensson.  “But I don’t really like it that much, I just get really bored.”  DANNY GUY

WKU’s Student Chapter of NPPA presents some of the best images of the first three weeks of the semester taken by our very own students. To submit for our weekly posts, you must currently be a WKU Photojournalism student and have taken the images or produced the video in the last week (Tuesday to Tuesday). Send your top 5 selections to wkunppa@gmail.com and our officers will pick the best of the bunch to showcase at our open meetings every Tuesday at 7pm in Lab 127.

Princess, a chihuahua, relaxes on a boogie board with her owner Mckayla Manning during the Puppy Paddle hosted by the Bowling Green Warren County Humane Society at the Russell Sims Aquatic Center on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013.  SHELBY MACK

Edgar Esdrada, of Zacapa, Guatemala, works in the apple orchards at Jackson’s Orchard in Bowling Green, Ky., on Sept. 3, 2013.  Esdrada has lived in the United States for 17 years and has worked at Jackson’s for 13 years.  Esdrada said he has a good job.  LEAH VOSS

WKU Sophomores Sarah Buckley and Rachel Veith scream and shout from excitement after the Toppers score a touchdown. The two are sorority sisters in the Omega Phi Alpha.  ERICA LAFSER

A rider sits on a fence while waiting for his turn to bullride at the IPRA World Championship Rodeo in Cummings, Ga., on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013.  KATIE MCLEAN

Nashville freshman Holly Reynolds (center), a new member of Alpha Omicron Pi, shouts her first chant with her new sorority sisters in front of Mass Media and Technology Hall during Bid Day on Sunday, August 25, 2013.  SHELBY MACK

Freshmen couple Dillon Chambliss (left) and Drew Norwood of South Warren, Ky, share a kiss in Academic Complex before heading to their classes on the first day of the fall semester. “[Today is] going good. Glad it’s almost over,” said Dillon.  ALYSSA POINTER

 

 

 

Here are some of our favorite photos and videos taken over the summer by our students.

Program Councilor Jake Trione works to start a campfire for an evening program on Aug. 6, 2013, at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M. Trione plays the mandolin during the campfire and learned the instrument specifically for this job. Learning an instrument for the summer is a common thing for Philmont staff to do.  CASSIDY JOHNSON

Daniel Boone designated player Rachel Levens (facing) hugs left fielder Kelsey Winger after losing a perfect game thrown by Neshaminy senior pitcher Lauren Quense in the PIAA playoffs. “When one person is down there will always be someone to pick us up and be there for them,”‘ said Winger about her team. IAN MAULE

Cadet Tiara Marshall, a 21-year-old junior at Howard University, participates in the Leader’s Training Course. The assault course gives cadets a training experience for real-life situations. “I learned a lot, but it was harder than I thought,” Marshall said.  MICHAEL NOBLE JR.

Brilea Harre, 12, and her siblings Katie, 10, Walker, 10, David, 9, and Landon, 7, swim with their father Brian (top right) in Lake Juanita Saturday, June 8, 2013. Brian and his wife, Tammy, have 12 children, seven of which are adopted. The Harre’s four acre property backs up to the lake, which the kids swim in often.  AUSTIN ANTHONY

Katy Faust holds her son, Benjamin Faust, Tuesday afternoon at the Grant High School Pool. Faust, a resident of Seattle and a mother of four is a Grant High School alumni.  BRITTANY GREESON

Eungene Pette from Detroit, Mich., serviced in the US Army from 1978 to 1988, Pette got out of the Army serving as a captain.  “I grew up a lot in my first year in the service, above all to be proud, have respect and tolerance for others,” Pette said.  DREW BLY

Tangela Large, a member of the 2013 Chautauqua Theater Company conservatory, rehearses a scene from the production “The Untied, Held Peace of Walter Weede Ewing.” The production is unique in that it will debut outdoors at University Beach on July 1, 2013.  KATIE MCLEAN

Muy Thai amateur fighters compete at Center Stage in Atlanta, Ga.  ALYSSA POINTER

Hannah Fahey,10, of Elizabethtown, Pa, jumps rope with her self made jump rope at the Kutztown Folk Festival. IAN MAULE

Students play “telephone” during a class at the Commissioners College at Philmont Training Center on June 28, 2013 in Cimarron, N.M. The Commissioners’ College is a week-long school for Boy Scouts of America leaders around the country to attend to improve leadership skills and learn new scouting techniques.  CASSIDY JOHNSON

Frank Smith Jr. clutches his father Frank Sr. as he tries to fix the helmet required for when Jr. rides a horse for the horsemanship merit badge at Glover Stables. Smith Jr. was diagnosed as autistic when he was four years old, and became self-abusive when he was 18-years-old and now takes medication to control the self-abusive behavior. He was in the midst of an episode that occurs in between medication cycles, during which he yells “No” repeatedly and paces or grabs onto his father.  AUSTIN ANTHONY

Love Erchul, left, and Polly Bates, right, dance together to a rendition of the classic Sesame Street song “I Love Trash.”  BRITTANY GREESON

At the Youth Activities Center, a participant in the “Bubble Gum Blowing Competition” shows off his skills after the event finished.  KATIE MCLEAN

Klint Shamblin, 7, of Harrisville, Pa., said a prayer before the start of the Washington County Fair Rodeo. IAN MAULE

More than 1,000 faculty and staff work at Interlochen Arts Camp each summer. Some individuals can be seen leading classes and working with students. Many more work behind the scenes to keep Interlochen running.  DANNY GUY

Coco’s Pie Eating Contest.  JEFF BROWN

Brown.  AUSTIN ANTHONY

 

 

WKU’s student chapter of NPPA posts the best images and projects our students are producing at internships, trips abroad and during their free time.

Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car (1) is driven onto the track for the Pit Stop Challenge on May 24, 2013, during Carb Day at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway/ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Senior catcher Kellie Quarles, left, and senior pitcher Mallorie Sulaski, right, is hugged by sophomore Preslie Cruce, center, after the game.  WKU lost 13-1 against Alabama in the Tuscaloosa NCAA Regional Softball Championship game at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. on Sunday May 17, 2013/JEFF BROWN

A Roma family in the town of Kr‡sna H™rka hangs out in the morning before sending their kids to school/JOSH MAUSER

Madilyn O’Connell,8, of Philadelphia, Pa,  stand on top of a German tank while wearing a her mother’s SS hat during the WW2 Festival at Mid Atlantic Air Museum/IAN MAULE

Nicolas Young sits in a tree on his family farm in Cullman, Ala. on Saturday, June 1/KREABLE YOUNG

JABIN BOTSFORD

The National Guard Aerobatics Team pilots Jeff Boerboon of Phoenix, Az. and John Klatt of Lakeville, Mn. perform during the media flight at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, May 30/DOROTHY EDWARDS

A climate change activist protestor is arrested at the Westin, in front of the Facebook shareholders meeting, on Tuesday, July 11, 2013 in San Francisco, CA.  A group of five protestors sat on the ground blocking the entrance to the hotel in an attempt to delay Facebook shareholders from making it to the meeting on time. Everyone in the group of five was arrested and taken away from the protest/KATIE MEEK

Sergeant First Class Lanfear of the U.S.Army oversee’s a  stream crossing exercise with the JROTC cadets in Fort Knox/MICHAEL NOBLE

Strawberry pickers wait in line to have their boxes inspected and counted at The Parkesdale Farm in Dover, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. The pickers are paid $1.50 per cardboard box, with the fastest pickers filling over 100 boxes a day.  AUSTIN ANTHONY

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association competitive cheer championships took place on Saturday at Diddle Arena from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. This is the first year KHSAA has hosted the competition, and some of the attendees said they really enjoyed having WKU as the venue.  JABIN BOTSFORD

WKU head coach Willie Taggart was doused with the Powerade bucket after WKU’s win over Kentucky.  WKU won over UK in overtime 32-31 at Commonwealth Stadium on Sep. 15, 2012.  JEFF BROWN

Newly crowned Western Kentucky University Homecoming Queen Amy Winkler laughs as her escort, Madisonville junior Michael Frederick, attempts to fix her crown. Winkler, a senior from Murray, was sponsored by Alpha Delta Pi, Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Tau Omega.  BRANDON CARTER

Participants fire off machine guns during the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot on Saturday, April 13, 2013 in West Point, Ky.  DOROTHY EDWARDS

Geneva LaDiva gets ready backstage at the Twisted Tap in Bowling Green, Ky. “It roughly takes me about two hours to get ready before I do a show but that is one of the best parts…the makeup.”  TYLER ESSARY

Liberian refugee Shirley Bargblor takes a break from bagging leaves with her granddaughter’s Kwametee, 3, and Kwamena, 5, to speak on the phone with a friend. Shirley and her husband Eurodger live with four of their six children as well as two grandchildren in a four bedroom apartment; property of the Public Housing Authority in Bowling Green, Ky. Through different funds and charities, the Bargblor’s pay nothing to rent the apartment. “It is a gift from God,” Shirley said. Both Shirley and Eurodger attend WKU part-time and are on track to receive their business degrees.  LUKE FRANKE

Victoria Watts, 18, helps Kate Woodring, 8, bend into a bar stretch for evening ballet practice at Dance Images, a dance studio located in Bowling Green, Ky. Victoria has been a student at dance images since the age of four. Inspired by dance teacher and Dance Images owner, Kathy Wise-Leonard, she now acts as a teacher and mentor to younger dance students.
“I hope to be such an inspirational hero to Kate like Ms.Kathy is to me. Ms. Kathy is one of many heroes in my life. I hope that when Kate grows she’ll think of me like that,” Victoria said.  BRITTANY GREESON

Chris Michaels, 40, of Franklin, Ky., considers his life to be “pretty much neck and neck with being a rockstar.  It’s all smoke and mirrors and flashing lights, but I try to live that illusion, like I’m surrounded by women and partying all the time. Sometimes though I wish I was normal.”  DANNY GUY

A motel fire at the America Inn Motel in Flint was called in at about 10:30 on Saturday evening. Around 50 fire fighters from six departments responded to the scene. Everyone made it out of the motel safely.  SAMMY JO HESTER

Mississippi Rebels guard Marshall Henderson, #22, cuts down the net after the semifinals of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Mississippi won 64-52.  JOSHUA LINDSEY

Prince Mack plays on the swingset in his grandmother’s backyard in Bakersfield, Calif. His sickle cell anemia prevents him from playing with other children because catching even just a common cold could lead to hospitalization.  SHELBY MARIE MACK

Junior guard Brandon Harris screams in frustration after a foul was called on senior guard Jamal Crook, which prevented a fast break opportunity during their victory over Florida International in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship.  IAN MAULE

One of the employees hired to scare customers at the Psycho Ward and Nightmares Haunted House in Kalamazoo, Mich.  JOSH MAUSER

A man struggles with mental illness. He’s working to lead a more stable life through medication but senses that the medication won’t be enough to reign in his illness.  KATIE MCLEAN

Mar Rah waits anxiously for his friends to pick him up for work.  He continually casts glances back and forth between the clock and the door after the men are over five minutes late for collecting him.  In many ways, the lives of Mar Rah and his family are dependent on others.  All the help they receive due to the good deeds of others helps facilitate their lives in order for them to assimilate and function more easily in American society.  KATIE MEEK

Nick Slattery gets the Western Kentucky Rugby Team hyped before the game during the Nash Bash 2013. MICHAEL NOBLE

Kaelin Vernon is a farmer’s son. With his dad, he ran a 20,000 cattle operation for a few years, but after a whil the stress of big farming got to him. Vernon left and bought his own five-acre farm in Plano, Kentucky. Their little farm is growing, though in its own way. Vernon has two farmer’s sons of his own, Elijah and Amos. With the help of his wife, Heather, they have grown to 17 sheep and about 200 chickens. They spend most days at home, but still have to work jobs in town to make ends meet. They hope to be able to quit those jobs someday soon and live off their farm. ABBEY OLDHAM

Gloria Akakpo.  BRITTANY SOWACKE

Jay Armfield is a Western Kentucky University senior who fought to represent PIKE, his fraternity, in the 8th annual Sigma Chi Fight Night Battle of the Greeks.  MORGAN WALKER

Jackson Cofer has completely separated himself from Tina Maria. Tina is a person of the past. Jackson now leads a new life in Lexington, KY with friends and family that support him. ADAM WOLFFBRANDT

Bikers race through the bike course at the UCI Cyclocross Elite World Championships that were held in Louisville, Ky. at Eva Banman Park on Saturday, February 2, 2013.  KREABLE YOUNG

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

RAE EMARY                           PEYTON HOBSON                REBECCA LUMBRIX              SAMANTHA MCGUIGAN        ALYSSA POINTER

                

As you can see, we had a great year in photojournalism at WKU. Thank you to everyone who submitted, and congratulations to everyone for creating these wonderful images and videos. Keep up the good work; we will be updating Through Our Eyes throughout the summer!