Geneva College Golden Tornado Marching Band - 2016

 

This semester, I was asked to work as the official photographer for my college's marching band. As a homeschooler, joining the band was a totally new experience. As someone who comes from big football country in the southern Midwest, I'd always taken marching band to be dorky. But in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, band is an art, and sometimes even a bigger deal than the teams they play for.

My favorite thing about interacting with the band was the culture of the different squads. Percussion, at least at Geneva, is both super serious about their drums but also just as likely to goof off and randomly hammer out beats at the oddest times. 

 

I also learned that you don't call the color guard, "flag people." 

And the tubas are the chillest people you'll find. 

 

Shooting with only my D3100 and a prime lens, I was not able to shoot everything I would've liked. It was definitely a lesson in experimentation and making do, and I learned to run around the field and up and down the bleachers and press box as fast as I could without being seen.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lot of work and energy, but it was worth it. People love candids (especially parents and our director, affectionately known as Coach). Also I got free hot chocolate, so there's that, too.

Don't forget to like my Facebook page! You can find more band photos there: https://www.facebook.com/photosbyrachelanne/?fref=ts