Hey all,
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Cole Burston, recent graduate of Loyalist College’s Photojournalism program, and currently interning for the summer at the Moncton Times & Transcript in Moncton, NB.

Lets start from the beginning…

A well-known photojournalist came to help out around in my Grade 11 Photography class at Northern Secondary. Patti Gower strolled into my class, and I didn’t even know it. All I saw in Patti was an extra watchdog in the class to make sure we got our work done. Patti helped us in the darkroom a bit, showed us tips and tricks when developing our film, she was a great help. But, It wasn’t till she sat us down, a few days into her stay, that I realized what I wanted to do. Patti ran a slideshow of her images and instantly, I was intrigued. All her images were so different from what I’d seen before. One image struck me. I think it was a repatriation of some sort, and it struck me as something so unique and different. “To get this effect, I shot through a Canadian Flag”. I’m pretty sure I yelled, “Holy shit, you can shoot through a flag!” and interrupted the whole class. Before leaving Northern, Patti plugged Loyalist College, and left a few Booklets from the College, at the front of the class.

April 4, 2010–I was very excited when I first hit New Brunswick this summer. I decided to take a photo to celebrate. (Cole Burston)

Those booklets sat there for a full year before I picked it up and realized that I would give it a shot.

Lets skip ahead a little here to the present. I am a summer photographer for the Times & Transcript, which means I shoot anywhere from 1-7 assignments a day. The majority of my assignments are community events. It’s rare that I get a portrait assigned. News doesn’t happen very often here apparently, so features eat up my day. Making something out of nothing is how I look at my day sometimes. Finding photographs, where there aren’t any. I’ve had some really super bad assignments, but I’m learning that making a photograph in that situation, where there is really nothing going on, is tougher, and makes me work the hardest. The Times & Transcript is a strange place for me.

June 17, 2010– Dr. Brian MacArthur, President of Crandall University addresses attendees of the Naming Ceremony for the Stuart E. Murray Hall at the University. (Cole Burston/Times & Transcript)

I have lots to say, I promise. Just tonight, my brain is fried. It was a long of weekend chasing athletes and writing down names of countries of never even heard of. The IAAF World Juniors Track & Field start Monday night and the paper is giving it LOTS of coverage. In the coming days, I hope to touch on lots of things that have been floating around in my head ever since I was asked to blog for NPAC a few weeks ago.

Tomorrow I will tell tales of the Worlds, and much more, but for now, I need to sleep.

After all…It’s my first day.

- Cole Burston

July 11, 2010– A Great Blue Heron dunks its head into the water on a shallow peninsula in Bourgeois, New Brunswick, while hunting for fish. (Cole Burston/ Moncton Times & Transcript)

Cassandra Pascal of the Take Flight Track and Field club out of Missisauga, Ontario, leads the pack, followed closely by Audrey Jean-Baptiste of Perfmax Racing, a club out of Quebec, during Heat 4 of the 200m dash preliminaries. Pascal placed 1st in her heat, while Jean-Baptiste placed 3rd. (Cole Burston/ Moncton Times & Transcript)