Photos by Isabel Adventures

My name is Isabel. I am twelve and would like your help becoming a better sports journalist. I am working towards a professional sports lens and a new camera body. My story is below. Thank you.  

I was ten when I started Highline Pirate Wrestling.
My grandpa asked me to take photos of my three older brothers at a wrestling meet. When the pictures turned out, I sent them to the local news blog to see if they would publish them. They did!

The Pirates are a small (2A) school and normally do not get a lot of news coverage. I decided to become a local sports reporter for them and made a Facebook Page to share my photos and stories.  

At my third match, an experienced journalist offered to be my mentor. He loaned me a fixed lens and gave ongoing advice. I had never taken sport photos before, so was learning the sport AND how to use a camera!

I followed the Pirate wrestlers all season. When they made it to State, I asked special permission for a media pass; normally you have to be a certain age and working for a news company to get one. The day before State, I became the youngest person ever to get a full media pass to the tournament. I was also the shortest. When I got there, event staff did not believe I was a "real reporter" and would not let me in. I did not give up until security escorted me to the media area to check my story. When the media staff greeted me by name, the surprised security guard smiled huge as he apologized for not believing me. 


In the spring of 2015, I began shooting Pirate Track. I was not old enough to be on the field like a regular reporter, so I used my savings to get a basic telephoto lens. It was exciting to figure out how to use it in different stadiums. By the end of the school year, I earned the nickname "Official Unofficial Pirate Photographer" with my photos on Seamount Athletics and regular articles in the B-town Blog  (search "Isabel").


In May 2015, I was asked to report on a new semi-pro team in White Center, WA. I did not know anything about baseball, so quickly practiced shooting Pirate Baseball. After the Bears saw my opening game photos, they asked me to became the official Highline Bears team photographer! I reported on almost all of their games and even travelled to Canada with them.

At the end of the Bear season, I wrote the Mariners to ask to shoot a game as a pro. They said yes to one inning in August! After my time in the pit, the photographer told me I was the best prepared kid he had worked with. 


In the fall of 2015, I received my first official press pass from South King Media. I took it to ask permission from the District Athletic Director to access events as a reporter. She had been a fan for some time and was excited to meet me in person. She granted access to any Pirate sporting events I could go to. 

I have since shot many Pirate sports and now have eight Facebook pages for athletes, families, and fans. I borrowed a professional sports lens for some night stadium games and really liked the photos. Now my goal is to get my own pro lens and upgrade my camera body to get even better photos for Pirate and Bear fans. 

A lot of people are surprised to learn I am a kid when they meet me, they expect me to be an adult.  I have a rotating photo installation at Aussie Pie near Highline High, I still write for the B-Town Blog, and I have had my photos on national news for an unexpectedly sad event I was the only reporter at in October, 2015. 

These are my Community Facebook pages:

      HHS Soccer                                  HHS Wrestling 
      HHS Football                              HHS Baseball 
      HHS Basketball                         HHS Track
      The Other Sports Page         Highline Bears


Why Help Me?
I love my Pirates too much to charge for my photos and the district 'frowns upon' people making money on student images. In my community, many families are busy working and cannot go to games or get nice photos. News reports focus on only the best player and forget about the other hard working athletes on a team. But not me, I do my best to share photos of every Pirate in action. I also like spreading good news with the community instead focusing on bad stuff. 

Since I am not old enough to be paid by a media company, this is a way fans can help me reach my goal of sharing better photos with them. 


How will I use the funds?
1. Professional sports lens
     - Sigma EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS  
     ----  I took a $1100 loan to get this lens, so I have to work on paying this back. 

2. New camera body - my Rebel is getting worn out
      - Canon T6s body  - GOAL MET! 

3. Bigger hard drive to hold photos
     - I discovered I kept over 20,000 wrestling photos...and that was just one year and one sport!

4. Travel
     - I cannot travel on the Pirate bus, my parent drives me.
     - The Bears are going to Canada and maybe their 2016 World Series in Kansas. 

Other things about me:
I am a 4-Her in photo journalism, a Girl Scout, love playing soccer and wrestling my brothers, play the violin and recently earned a Presidential Volunteer Award and a Boy Scout Extra Mile Award for my time behind the camera. I now use Canon Rebel T1i and T3 given to me by my grandpa and a T6s I bought with funds from here. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. I am really thankful I am able to help my community become a better place by sharing my photos.