December 10, 2019

Student Feature: Eakin Howard

RIT Photo loves to celebrate student success. It has been a few months since we featured a student and we are delighted to showcase the work of 3rd year photojournalism student, Eakin Howard

Bio
Eakin Howard was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina and was surrounded by the arts his whole life. Photography in particular has always been important in his family. His grandfather is a photographer and his mother minored in photography in college. It wasn’t long before he, too, expressed an interest in it as well. His mother gave him his first DSLR for Christmas when he was approximately 14 and as he shared with us, he has not stopped taking photos since. In high school, he was the editor of the yearbook in his junior and senior years. In high school, he was the only one who had a decent camera and was willing to cover the sporting events. At that time he started going to every game and became immediately hooked. From that moment where he knew he was into sport, he started learning as much as possible about sports photography.

A cyclist rides the track during a practice in the VELO Sports Center in Carson, C.A. on April 26, 2018.

Why did you choose RIT? Can you share a reason why the photo program at RIT attracted you?
The main reason I chose RIT was for the incredible photojournalism professors including William Snyder, Josh Meltzer, Jenn Poggi, and Meredith Davenport. Especially after meeting with a few of them before officially applying, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to find a school that could offer what RIT does. In addition, the photo cage has allowed me to use equipment I would not have access to anywhere else. This has given me the opportunity to become versatile in numerous camera brands and enabled me to use industry standard photo equipment without spending tens of thousands of dollars it.

Tigers celebrate Lauren Zeglen (not pictured) scoring the first goal of the game, and her first career goal on Sep. 1, 2018 at the Tiger Stadium in Henrietta, NY. The RIT Women’s Soccer defeated Allegheny College 4-0.

What have been your experiences as a student at RIT?
While at RIT, I was selected by the World Curling Federation to help cover the 2017 European Curling Championships, attended Sports Shooter Academy ,and Volunteered at Northern Short Course. There are numerous photo related jobs on campus, many within the College of Art and Design. Currently I am the Supervisor of Photography for RIT Athletics and a Student Manager at the RIT Photo Cage.

Buffalo Bills fans honor former Bills player Thurman Thomas as jersey number 34 gets retired on Oct. 29, 2018 in the New Era Field in Orchard Park, NY. When I look up and see the No. 34 retired under my name, Ill be reminded that number doesnt just belong to me. It belongs to the Bills fans everywhere Mr. Thomas said during his halftime speech in front of a sold out crowd. The New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 25-6.

How is this community helping to shape your goals?
The RIT photojournalism professors have helped me shape the type of photography I enjoy the most and pushed me to do my best in that area. They are helping me become a specialist in sports photography.

Bull Rider Alex Raymond covers his head after falling off Blackbird during a World Championship Bull Riding event at the Madison County Fairgrounds in Madison, N.C. on July 14, 2018. Raymond was able to roll out of the way to avoid being trampled.

Eakin Shared A favorite class or Teacher Story
My favorite class by far that I’ve taken at RIT was definitely William Snyder’s Sports Photography class. Because it was such a specialized class, there were very few people in the class. I learned so much about workflow, lighting, and storytelling that I was able to apply it to almost every other Photojournalism class I have taken since.

Switzerland’s vice-skip Manuela Siegrist yells at her teammates, telling them to sweep during the semi-finals of Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2017. Scotland defeated Switzerland 7-5 in the tenth end on Nov. 24th, 2017 in the Curling Center St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

What has been your most challenging assignment as a photography student?
The most challenging assignment for me was definitely Light as a Subject/Metaphor in Photo Arts I. I am a very literal person and had a lot of trouble interpreting an assignment like this. It was too esoteric for me but none the less I was successful