Mrs. Applewhite

Lottie Applewhite lives in Carol Woods Retirement Community in Chapel Hill. She has been a resident there for nearly 20 years, but moved to a more closely monitored part of the facility about 4 years ago after having a stroke and losing most use of the left side of her body. She is cared for by different staff members depending on their shift. "[The residences] feel as if we have excellent care," Mrs. Applewhite says. "They get to know our names and we have a sheet that says, 'how would you like to be addressed?'…and I prefer to be called Mrs. Applewhite because Mrs. Applewhite is a pretty name and that is with the dignity that I think that they should learn when they are working with the geriatric group. These people respect this and they address me as Mrs. Applewhite. " The relationship between Mrs. Applewhite and her caregivers is one of mutual respect and consideration. 

Lottie Applewhite kicks her foot into the air after two of her caregivers, Lydia Barnes and David Parsons, help her prepare for bed. "I save Mrs. Applewhite for my last visit every night so that I can sit and chat with her for a while," says Parsons. "She has the best stories to tell."

Conservators Center

I had the opportunity to meet Kasey Thornton, the Communications Supervisor for the Conservators Center, who gave me a behind-the-scenes look at volunteers and highly trained staff caring for its animals. The center is privately owned but offers tours to the public to help educate and grow public awareness. The center has rescued 19 species of exotic animals, including lions, tigers and wolves.

The leopards are occupying a shift space, which is an enclosure constructed to house the animals for a short period of time while they eat, to allow volunteers and keepers to enter the main habitat and clean safely, says Kasey Thornton, the communications supervisor for the Conservators Center.

Behind the scenes

For a weekly assignment, I had to shoot my interpretation of "behind the scenes." I shot The Daily Tar Heel newsroom, a student run newspaper in Chapel Hill, NC. I tried to focus on community, camaraderie and collaboration.

C'est la vie

My photojournalism classmates and I were given an exercise to document our own life for a week. When I heard this assignment, I was initially disappointed. A classmate had already documented my life for an exercise, so I began to consider things only I could photograph about myself. After some thought, I decided to focus on a characteristic about myself that no one would normally consider photographing: awkward. My objective was to create images that made the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable by focusing his/her attention to specific details that are overlooked, composing frames in an usual manner or including quirky subject matter from my everyday life. 

From left to right, Emily Bui and Emma Zisek cautiously walk into the dorm bathroom to prepare for bed. "Wait, why is there a tripod in here?" Zisek said as Bui peeks around the corner. 

Serenity

Over spring break, everyone in my photojournalism class was assigned to document his/her experiences. After the business that seems to surround me daily at school, a friend and I set out on an adventure to slowdown and enjoy the moments as they came. Here are a few shots reflecting my personal journey to finding rest and rejuvenation.