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!

A few weeks ago, we announced that Minisink Valley High School had selected Wanamaker Photography to cover their graduation ceremonies. When the day finally arrived, I think we were a little more excited than a lot of the Seniors!

Since September, we had the opportunity to follow a bunch of the Seniors through many of the different sports that they played for Minisink Valley. From Football to Lacrosse to Baseball, we had captured hundreds of shots of each Senior … and now we had the opportunity to capture their final photo as they graduated from High School.

As we arrived at the school, the day brought with it uncertain weather. I continually checked the radar on my phone hoping for some luck. As the clouds became darker, I would check more often. We headed out to the field and started taking some pre-ceremony shots of the band, arriving parents and the Minisink Valley ROTC practicing for the main event …

As the Minisink Valley Seniors began walking out onto the field, everyone’s prayers were answered. The dark clouds disappeared and the sun poked through … as bright as ever!

As our coverage continued, we took over 3,000 photos of the graduates during candid moments and while receiving their diplomas. In the end, we were extremely happy that we could share in such a special day with all of the 2008 Minisink Valley High School Seniors!

* We took so many photos that it was extremely hard for us to pick a few for the blog and the homepage. If you are a 2008 Minisink Valley Graduate and would like to see all of the images we captured, please contact us and we will be more than happy to provide you with a special access code to our online gallery!

We have great news for all of the seniors we’ve had the chance to follow through football, wrestling, lacrosse and baseball this year …

We’ve been asked to photograph the 2008 Minisink Valley Graduation on June 27th! We’ll be out in full force on the field capturing each and every senior receiving their diploma as well as all of the candid moment between friends. We look forward to sharing this incredible day with all of you!