MSUM alum and adjunct professor Dave Arntson provides a photojournalistic approach to capturing wedding moments at Milestones Photography in West Fargo.
He and associate photographer Britta Trygstad, also an MSUM graduate, are the most award-winning photojournalists in North Dakota.
Wedding photography has traditionally produced formal, posed photos. In candid or photojournalistic photography, the photographer must “anticipate when the great moments will be without being obtrusive,” Arntson said.
Photojournalism tells a story through pictures, in this case the story being a wedding day.
Milestones’ philosophy is to let the subjects tell their own story, while the photographers merely document the events visually.
“Overdone images don’t stand the test of time,” Arntson said.
Student group travels to Washington for inauguration
Eighteen members of MSUM Student Leaders For Progress traveled halfway across the country in two vans to witness Barack Obama become the 44th president of the United States. The organization was sponsored by Students Training Our Campus Against Racism, and was made up of members from the American Indian Student Association, student senate, Umoja (Black Student Alliance), College Democrats, College Republicans and the History Club.
The group spent two days on the road to and from Washington stopping halfway in Constantine, Mich. Ursula and Rick Bernhardt, friends of freshman Travis Loker, who went on the trip, provided the group with places to stay (in their home on the way there and at the First Congregational United Church Of Christ on the way back) and free breakfast. Accommodations in the nation’s capitol were provided by the St. Paul Lutheran Church and the Washington Seminar Center.
To view photos from the trip, click play on the Flickr slideshow below:
Or if you prefer, view them all at our Inauguration 09 Flickr Set
Site offers unique way for artisans to sell their work
Unique, handmade wares were once a hard-to-find niche. Etsy, an online collection of worldwide artisans, is a marketplace of splendor, inspiration and individuality, providing an outlet for creative self-sufficiency and social awareness.
Conglomerate corporations often place a stronghold on worldwide commerce, suffocating independent business owners. Through the buying and selling of strictly handmade goods, Etsy is bringing about a revolution of activism, handcrafts and craftiness.
“I think it’s born out of the anti-consumerism aspect of the newer generations,” MSUM alumna Angie Feuk said. “It’s a rebellion against the big companies and sweatshops.”
Countless other Etsy shop owners agree.
Even though he is on sabbatical, mass communications professor Wayne Gudmundson is keeping busy.
Two projects involving his documentary photography students are being presented in the community: the book, “Bad Medicine: At the Lake” and an exhibit at the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center called “Living on the Edge in Fargo-Moorhead.”
While coffee shops have become a common late night stomping ground for many students, two local residents have found a different student-friendly niche to fill.
Teaberry, located in Fargo’s budding downtown specializes in an item like no other in the area, the Taiwanese Boba tea. Also known as a bubble tea, Teaberry offers this delectable drink in a colorful array of 27 exotic flavors from avocado to lavender or mango.
“Boba teas are healthier, lower in calories and everything is natural,” Trung Nguyen, co-owner of Teaberry said. “We use cane sugar and non-dairy creamer.”
Most people in the Fargo-Moorhead area have never witnessed the marvel that is roller derby: a full-contact, theatrical, girls-only sport with loud, enthusiastic crowds and referees on roller-skates.
A professional sport, roller derby remained obscure to many in spite of the comeback it has experienced recently, after being dead since its peak of popularity in the `70s.
International student from Tokyo brings the art of hula dancing to MSUM
A ukulele melodically strums as the dancer’s hands flow, the motion of her hips following in a quick, yet graceful side-to-side motion. This is the art of hula dancing, an art, international student Yui Okajima has mastered.
Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Okajima has attended classes at MSUM since fall. Fellow students discovered her skills via Facebook.
A number of wooden circles hanging in the campus mall last week caused people to stop, look and wonder, “What the heck are those things?”
The answer is rather simple; they are circles, created from cedar shims. There are 14 circles to be precise and each one varies in size from two to 11 feet in diameter. The kinetic sculptures contain roughly 240 shims and took about two hours to assemble.
The Dragons 4 Wellness club has invited home-schooled children to participate in a weekly physical education class.
This class allows Dragons 4 Wellness students to gain hands-on teaching experience as well as giving home-schooled children an opportunity to participate in different games and activities.
The classes are held Fridays in Nemzek and consist of home-schooled students from ages 5 to 11.
The students play games such as tag and “red light green light.” Students also participate in trust activities and work on team building skills.
“I love dressing up for Halloween,” sophomore Karla Schaefer said. “I thought dressing up for Halloween stopped after elementary school, but it doesn’t.”
