Celebrating Title IX
December 21, 2022
AIC Reimagined: 2022-2027
December 21, 2022
Depth of Field
Photos and captions by Leon Nguyen '16
You may not know Leon Nguyen ’16 personally, but chances are you’ve seen his work. After graduating from AIC, Leon went on to have a prolific career at The Republican as a freelance photographer and joined the staff in 2018. When he’s not looking for the perfect shot to go into the Springfield, Massachusetts-based newspaper, he has been taking photos of College events ranging from sports to commencement and everything in between. Now, he’s telling his side of the story with some of his favorite moments he’s captured on camera.
Click on a photo for it to expand.
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- I had the privilege to photograph the celebration in the locker room after AIC men’s ice hockey won the Atlantic Hockey Regular Season trophy in 2019. This photo of Head Coach Eric Lang with his players will always be my favorite photo.
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- Elizabeth M. Whidden, ninety-four years old, is ecstatic after getting her high school diploma on stage in June 2019 with her grandson Brian Sunter, great grandson Cole Sunter, and Belchertown Public Schools Superintendent Karol Coffin. This photo will always have a special place in my heart. Not only did it win first place for the Personality Photo category from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020, it was also the best gift I could give Mrs. Whidden and her family. She passed away two months after getting her diploma.
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- This little chick is resting on one of the eggs inside the hatching room inside Farm- A-Rama on the Big E fairgrounds. I had permission from the Farm-A-Rama manager to get inside the hatching room. It was really hot and humid in there, but the outcome was worth it!
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- As a media member, we have a short timeframe—usually the first three songs— at any concert to get our coverage. I was paying close attention as Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey performed at the Big E Arena on opening night in 2022. When he made a quick interaction with the audience right in front of him, I knew that was my only chance to get a photo like this.
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- I somehow overcame my fear of heights (for a moment, anyway!) to get on a plane with the door open to photograph Sergeant First Class Keith Pierce performing the parachute show at the 2018 Great New England Air and Space Show held at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, MA.
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- Antonio Fernandez gets walloped by Jeffrey “Real Steel” Torres during the New England Explosion boxing match held at the MassMutual Center in 2019. This was my first time photographing professional boxing and it was definitely a fun but challenging assignment due to the fast-paced action and low-light conditions.
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- On slow days at The Republican, we have something called a feature photo assignment. That’s when we go around local neighborhoods to take an interesting photograph for the next day’s print. I happened to find three-year-old Cassidy Yeomans having fun with her mom, Courtney, at the water spray park at Chapman Playground in Westfield, MA. Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, was a really hot day—the temperature felt over 100 degrees.
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- The daughters of murder victim Ernestine Ryans couldn’t hold back their tears during Stewart Weldon’s sentencing hearing in Hampden Superior Court on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. Weldon was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole for murdering three women. This heart-wrenching photo haunted me days after I photographed it and always reminds me that holding back emotions during an assignment is a difficult part of journalism.
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- US Army Green Beret Luis DeLeon-Figueroa’s family members couldn’t hold back their tears as his body arrived at Westover Metropolitan Airport in Chicopee. Figueroa was killed in Afghanistan in 2019. Another heart-wrenching photo during my journalism career—the media corner was far away and I happened to find an open space to take this photograph. It was all about paying attention and keeping your emotions in check during more somber assignments like this.
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- I have photographed many AIC Commencement ceremonies over the years and photos of happy graduates like this one from 2022 will always be my favorite.
