Wanamaker Photography

Continuing our coverage of area High School Graduations, I headed over to Florida, New York for the 2008 S.S. Seward Graduation ceremony …

Even though it is a small school with only 61 graduates, there were a lot of people at the ceremony. Thankfully, the weather was incredible and no one had to worry about the possibility of rain!

Arriving early, I checked out the area (since I had never been there before) and waited for the first seniors to start arriving. I wandered between the setup outside and the gathering seniors inside. While grabbing a few shots of things going on around me, I ran into James Reilly, a new local photographer for the Times Herald Record. We chatted for a bit and then headed inside as the Seniors were getting ready for the ceremony.

Inside, we captured a bunch of candid shots between friends …

As the day went on and the ceremony got under way, I photographed the Seniors as they received awards and honors for their achievements. The time came when they would finally be receiving their diplomas.

As the names were read off and the Seniors made their way off the stage to receive their diploma, I snapped a ton of shots. However, there was one student that stood out … not only because of his picture … but because of his last name.

As they called Patrick Wanamaker down, I chuckled a bit as it is not a very common name in the area and I found it ironic that I would be photographing another ‘Wanamaker’ with absolutely no relation. However, the photograph he would provide me would be the best one of the day …

As the ceremony came to a close, the graduates made their way off the stage and back behind the main tent. Just before heading out for the day, I turned around the saw my final shot of the day!