A hawk perched outside by our bird feeders.

A "7 days a week, 365 days a year" Job - copy block

     Joyce Miller has had a passion for horses since she was two years old. Her father used to ride horses, so she said "it must run in the family".  Now 71-years-old, Joyce opened the horse farm in 1981 down in Illinois where she gave lessons and housed horses for other riders.  The farm is now located here in Mount Pleasant, where she still gives riding lessons.
     Horses haven't always been fun and games for Joyce: one year, she was riding and the horse reared without giving her any indication that it was going to.  She fell, and so did the horse - on top of her.  Joyce said that she wasn't in any pain, but she knew that he back had been broken.  Once in the hospital, she was told that her back had snapped and she should have either been paralyzed or dead.
     Amidst multiple injuries and now arthritis, the work Joyce used to do with ease is now physical pain and a hassle.  While she still can teach riding lessons and smaller tasks around the stables, cleaning an entire horse stable that houses up to 13 horses is not an ideal job for a 71-year-old woman.  Joyce has two volunteer helpers, Josh and Meghan, that move the horses from their stalls into the outdoor arena (in dry weather) or into the indoor arena (in wet weather).  Josh and Meghan have the duty of cleaning the horses stalls, and sweeping around the entire stable to keep hay, matting, and manure out of the center of the stable.  Joyce is still able to feed the horses hay, give them water, and also feed them grain.
     From my time at Joyce Moody's horse farm, I could tell that horses were definitely her heart and soul.  It astounded me that she can still run the farm at 71-years-old, pick up bales of hay that can weigh up to 20 pounds, and keep riding horses even though one had fallen on her many years ago.  Tears came to her eyes when talking about horses that have died on the farm, as it brought back memories of fallen friends.  Horses have been and still are her life.  Joyce's husband has been asking her to sell the farm for the past few years, "But I can't do it.  I'm not ready for that.  I will be working here until I am physically unable to.  This is a seven days a week, three-hundred and sixty-five days a year job.  Somebody has to do it."

A "7 days a week, 365 days a year" Job

This is Joyce Moody with her horse, Dubious Bean.  He weighs 1200 lbs, and is 21 years old.  Joyce is 71 years old and has been running her horse farm since 1981.

Inside of Joyce Moody's horse farm. (from left) Meghan, Josh, and Joyce (71).  Meghan and Josh volunteer at the farm to help Joyce by cleaning the horse stables, and cleaning the indoor and outdoor arenas.

One of the horses, Loyola, watches for Joyce to come around with her bale of hay.

Joyce feeds the horses hay every day at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.  The barn dog, Jackson, follows Joyce wherever she goes about the barn.

The floor of the stable must be swept at least three times a day to keep the matting, hay, and manure off of the main floor.

Picture Story Proposal - Horse Farm

1) WORKING HYPOTHESIS and INTERPRETATION

I believe that passion lasts a lifetime, and I want to show my audience this by photographing Joyce Moody, a woman who has had a passion for horses and has been riding since she was two years old - she's 71-years-old now. I will be photographing her utilizing this passion at her horse farm off of South Shepard road in Mount Pleasant.

2) TOPIC

The subject of my project is Joyce Moody and her horse farm. Joyce began riding horses at the age of 2, which sparked her strong passion for horses. In 1981 she established her horse farm, where 9 horses currently preside. Joyce teaches riding lessons to younger children, and passes along her love of horses to others. Mr. Moody wishes that Joyce would sell the farm, but Joyce says that she's not ready to do that quite yet. Her love and passion for horses keeps her fit and active, for if she sits for too long she finds it hard to stand straight again.

3) ACTION

The activities that occur at the horse farm include letting the horses out in the outdoor arena (if it's nice out) or letting them out in the indoor arena (if it's wet out), cleaning the horse stalls, putting the horses back into their stalls, and feeding the horses (at 4:00PM). Taking photos of these activities will show what exactly goes on at a horse farm on a day to day basis.

4) MAIN SUBJECT(S)

The main subjects are Joyce Moody, her volunteer assistants Megan and Josh, and the horses. Joyce owns the farm and used to do all the work herself after she came home from her day job, but now that she's fairly old Megan and Josh help her out with the horses and do a good majority of the labor. Megan and Josh both have a love for animals, but Joyce has passed on her love and passion of horses onto them as well.

6) STRUCTURE

I want my story to show what happens on a day to day basis on the horse farm, focusing mostly in the stable because as it's colder out the horses are inside more often. I also want to show Joyce's relationship with the horses, because her love for them is so strong.

7) LOGISTICS

I want my photo story to show that if you love so much, or have a strong passion about something, you don't ever have to give it up no matter how old you may be. Joyce is 71 years old, her husband wants her to sell the farm and she doesn't think she can give it up yet. She said "It's a 7 day a week, 365 day a year job."

Event Photography - Pajamas For Children

The Honors Program Pajamas For Children Holiday Event was an open-house style event where students could come, make a holiday ornament, create an uplifting card, and wrap the pajamas for underprivileged children in the Isabella County area. The event was November 11 in Powers 136 from 2PM to 4PM.

Volunteer students at the event working diligently and thoughtfully on their gifts for the children.

One volunteer student at the Pajamas For Children Event crafting a card for a underprivileged child.

Sports Photography

Sports Reaction - Michigan State fans celebrate a touchdown by the Spartans, leading Minnesota 30 to 24. The Spartans won the November 5th game 31-24.

Sports Photography

Sports Action - Isaac Tawney defends his team's goal at an intramural soccer game on October 31, 2011.

Sports - Frisbee Exercise

Portrait #2

Megan West, left, and fiance Dave Drapper are very much in love. They are set to marry in June of 2012.

Portrait #1

My dad, Scott OKeefe, looking weary and sad the final day I was home for the weekend.

Feature Photo #2

The trees outside of St. Mary's University Parish show a progression in change of color, and ultimately the change of warm weather into cold.

Feature Photo #1

"It was something you don't see everyday!" said sophomore Andrew Knickerbocker, left, as he and sophomore Phillip Taphouse sat and watched the Fort Wayne Railrood Historical Society train stop to fill up on coal outside of the Towers.

9/12/11 in class "Getting to know your camera" Exercise

In this photo, I learned how to focus on a single subject, be able to move the camera slightly to the side, and still have the subject in focus with the background out of focus.

In this photo, I learned how to focus in on a subject at a far distance, and while the subject was moving closer to me at a fast pace how to keep the subject in focus and take a good photo as a result. This was challenging but I came up with some really nice photos.

In this photo I learned how to manually change the white balance of the camera to a +2 to make the result of the photo brighter than how it really was during the situation.

In this photo, I learned how to change the white balance from Auto White Balance to Tungsten light.