I remember this event. The LGBTQ+ Welcome Assembly hosted by the Pride Student Union. It was one of the first few things I shot for The Alligator as a photography intern during the Fall 2019. I was a newbie at shooting for a newspaper, and I took 600+ pictures at that event. Seventy of them I sent to my editor, and three were printed. After trying my best to get photos of the performances, with their difficult lighting and fast movements, I grew frustrated and started walking the halls behind the ballroom. I knew I wanted to get some sort of behind-the-scenes photo, but I also didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy while they were changing costumes. Ivy Les Vixens, a local Burlesque dancer, let me come into her dressing room and said she was just finishing up her makeup if I wanted to take some pictures. So I did. After taking this photo, I felt much more confident about photographing the event, and I even ended up underneath the stage to get another epic shot. As one of the first events I photographed that was a full photo story, this photo helped convince me this was what I was supposed to be doing, and I was capable of shooting for a newspaper. One picture may seem trivial to a freshman just trying to make her mark on campus, but it was monumental to me.
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Dec. 18Satchel Raye, the owner of Satchel's Pizza, speaks to officials from Gainesville Police Department and Gainesville Fire Rescue after the arson of the Satchel's Pizza van. (Photo courtesy of Satchel Raye)
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Dec. 13A Luigi Mangione lookalike contest flyer sits inside a newspaper stand on UF's campus on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.
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Dec. 13Contestants of the Luigi Mangione lookalike contest stand in a line in the Plaza of Americas on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.