Matthew TeBos-Final Essay.

Welcome to my final essay for photojournalism! 

Let's go! 

Let's start at the beginning of this adventure. So my first venue for my essay is my church! To be more exact, the children's ministry where I volunteer at the Saturday night service of our church, which is Ada Bible Church. I wanted to capture somewhat of the atmosphere of the environment. The people we work with are amazing. What my responsibilities are here is that I am the tech person and my mom is the storyteller. Actually, our whole family is involved in this service.

This next venue is a little different but still good.

Welcome to Apex Controls...aka my dad's company. Since I've worked here in the past I thought it would be a good place to snap some pics of the dudes and some of my cousins working. I worked here as my first summer job for 2 years back when I was in high school. It was a good job, but I considered finding another job when I realized that this particular job got repetitive quite fast. (I actually kinda like that first pic for some reason, even though it's rotated differently than all the others.)

Ok onto our 3rd venue. You like coffee?

 ...because our next stop is the Hudsonville Biggby Coffee. Actually, this venue and the previous one were shot just one after another (since this is like 1.5 mins away from my dad's office and I was running out of energy.) The two girls that are at the beginning of this said yes to me taking pictures of them and I went from there! This one was a little more chaotic and stressful for me since it is in public and when people see you with a big DSLR, they tend to run, hide or just try to avoid you all together. Or they could be curious or they compliment you on it.  But I liked this venue, it was fun and everyone there was really nice.

Ok, final venue. This final venue is actually right across the street..........

So, here's a tip. If you visit Fredrick Meijer Gardens on a Saturday, expect a long, long line. And yes, I had to stand in it. But it actually went pretty fast. (5 to 10 mins max.) The first picture shows you how long that line actually was. Luckily, my family has been members there for the past 15 years or so, and that meant I got in free. I was headed to one spot only since by the time your reading this, they have been gone for a few days now. I really like coming here and seeing the butterflies. The conservatory was packed since it was a Saturday and all, but I got around pretty easily. And no butterflies wanted to leave with me, so that's a plus!

Overall, this assignment was crazy since I started a bit too late but it was still fun driving around to the various locations. Luckily, I got what I needed and was successful in all the venues. And yes, I do have more pics of all the venues but these stood out to me the most. Thanks for viewing!!

Final Photo Essay // Madison Herrema

Life of a Pre-Med Athlete 

Meet Trenton Gillman. He is a Freshman at Cornerstone University. He wants to be a doctor or do something in the Medical field, so he is at Cornerstone University for a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He is from Clarkston, MI. The main reasons why Trenton decided to come to Cornerstone was because he loved the Christian atmosphere, he could play baseball, and because Cornerstone had a Pre-Med classes. 

He is a hard worker, on and off of the field. After baseball games and practices, he studies and works on homework. When he does have time off from school work and baseball, he hangs out with me and spends time with my family. Trenton eats and drinks a lot to keep up his energy. His favorite food is Chinese. He usually eats two or three plates full of food because homework, baseball, and lifting can take a lot out of you. 

Trenton lives on campus in Quincer. He gets frustrated because it is really loud in the dorms all day to 1:00 in the morning. This makes it really hard for him to concentrate and study for exams and write papers. To get a little peace and quiet, he drives to my house to complete his work. He is really friendly and goofy, so he gets along with my siblings and parents really well. There he can get naps in, work done, and get some home cooked meals.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Trenton Gillman for the past four or so months. He really inspires me to work hard. I have never seen anyone work so hard in school or in a sport. He is really something special and I have a new appreciation for students who are in Pre-Med classes. 

 April 13, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. Freshman, Trenton Gillman, stands in the driveway to get his photograph taken.

 April 13, 2018. Grandville, MI. At Rivertown Mall, Trenton Gillman goes on a study break to hangout at the mall and eat his favorite Chinese food.

 April 13, 2018. Grandville, MI. At Rivertown Mall, Trenton takes a look at some his favorite Classical Vinyls on his study break.

 April 13, 2018. Grandville, MI. At Rivertown Mall, Trenton Gillman picks up his ultimate favorite classical vinyl in Barnes and Noble.

 April 14, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. At the Herrema house, Trenton Gillman studies for his exams at the table.

 April 14, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. Trenton looks at the Zoology class slideshow to study for his exam.

 April 14, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. Trenton studies the key organelle of a contractile vacuole for his Zoology class.

 April 13, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. Braely Herrema laughs with Trenton while they watch funny youtube videos.

 April 13, 2018. Hudsonville, MI. Mrs. Herrema makes burgers for Trenton on another one of his study breaks.

 April 29, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University's cafeteria, Trenton asks for paper plates to take his food on the go, right before his baseball practice.

 April 29, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton takes two plates full of food to his baseball practice.

 April 29, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton fills up his cup with lemonade.

 April 29, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton poses for a photograph outside on a sunny day, right before practice.

 April 18, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University baseball field, Trenton tosses a baseball for Karen Ryan, at the Cure for Cancer baseball game.

 April 25, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton is up at bat for their game against Davenport.

 April 25, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton gets a hit and ran to first base.

 April 25, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton celebrates their teams runs for the inning.

 April 25, 2018. Grand Rapids, MI. At Cornerstone University, Trenton Gillman high fives his teammate #22.

Final Photo Essay // Kristin Lenoir

Unseen Ministry

         Many times, society does not realize how involved the church is with the community. But the biggest element that people do not realize is how much time members of the church put into the oncoming service each and every week. I followed the inner workings of Frontline Community Church to see how much goes on behind the scenes of a large church in the Grand Rapids community.  

[April 15, 2018] Frontline Community Church is packed every week with preparations for Sunday service as well as community events that take place throughout the mix of preparations. 

[April 10, 2018] Students of HIS Dance Academy line up on stage to have recital photos taken.

[April 10, 2018] As other groups have their pictures taken, students of HIS Dance Academy practice their routine in the back of the auditorium.

[April 11, 2018] Frontline's main youth pastor, Brad Vanderson, watches in the back of the auditorium as a video plays for the youth group members.

[April 11, 2018] Students attending youth group take part in watching an inspirational video about a photographer who went from nothing, to complete fame, but quickly left it for a photojournalist life in suffering countries.

[April 11, 2018] Brad Vanderson, Frontline's lead youth pastor, talks after the short film to discuss the impact God had in the photographer's life and how we can apply it to our own lives.

[April 11, 2018] Frontline's youth group, titled NowGen, meets each Wednesday night after school and sport activities. 

[April 10, 2018] Children's coloring pages and various notes are found throughout Corey Post's office. Corey is the Worship and Arts Pastor at Frontline Community Church.

[April 10, 2018] Corey Post, Frontline's Worship and Arts Pastor, received his degree from Grace Bible College and has it hanging in his office.

[April 12, 2018] Worship and Arts Pastor, Corey Post, leads the team in worship practice for Sunday morning service.

[April 12, 2018] The main auditorium of the Frontline seats about 1,200 people and hosts two separate services each Sunday.

[April 12, 2018] A volunteer from ResLife Church helps to fix the lights within the main auditorium using Frontline's scaffolding equipment.

[April 12, 2018] A tedious job, the ResLife volunteer works in minimal light to fix any issues with the lights in the auditorium.



          Frontline Community Church hosts an array of events each week for classes and the local community. There is no lack of preparations for each Sunday service and the time and effort that goes into each and every one. Frontline has a large team of volunteers and employees who work diligently and faithfully to make sure everything that happens in the building goes smoothly. Many times, people within the community as well as the church itself forget, or do not realize, how much time and effort goes into each and every service. We as church members and Christ followers many times go to church with the expectation of it being a "perfect service" with little to no mishaps, but forget that the preparations for the service is a form of ministry in and of itself. Frontline demonstrates that idea of "background ministry" by never bringing it out into the open of how much they put into the services, but instead serving the congregation with praise and humbleness.

 [April 12, 2018] The worship team takes a short break to discuss the expectations of practice and Sunday morning service, as well as a time for team prayer.

 [April 12, 2018] Corey Post leads the time of prayer and discussion before continuing with worship practice for Sunday morning service.

 [April 12, 2018] Ineke Wilkinson and her child wait patiently for further direction in worship practice. 

 [April 12, 2018] Ineke Wilkinson's child sits within mom's eye-view, letting him play as worship practice continues.

 [April 12, 2018] Singer on Frontline's worship team, Ineke Wilkinson, shows affection towards her child as worship practice continues.

 [April 12, 2018] Corey Post, Worship and Arts Pastor at Frontline, sings out as the team practices their last song for the oncoming Sunday service.