Jacob Halsema

As an experienced member of The Daily Orange, I work to cover Syracuse University athletic events as a Staff Photographer, at both home and away games. Being able to cover these high-level games helps add experience to my creative development. As I work with more photographers, I want to help not only boost the engagement of their work at The Daily Orange, but also mine as well. I thought of the idea to collaborate with the official social media channels of The Daily Orange. By doing so, this allows the important photography work being done to have a larger outreach to the newspaper's audience.

Joining The Daily Orange as a Contributing Photographer within the first few days of stepping onto campus as a freshman in college allowed me to get involved right away. From there, I was able to start producing sports photography work for the newspaper's audience.

I work closely with Media Director, John Holt, and Media & Production Assistant, Kristie Kaminski, to creatively capture the moment in various CIAC tournaments each year. Events Covered: • 2025 Varsity Baseball Class L, S, & LL State Playoffs Tournament Championship Games • 2024 Varsity Football Class MM, L, & LL State Playoffs Tournament Championship Games • 2024 Girls Varsity Lacrosse State Playoffs Tournament Championship Games • 2024 Varsity Baseball Class S State Playoffs Tournament Championship Game • 2024 Boys Varsity Ice Hockey State Playoffs Tournament Semifinal Games • 2023 Varsity Field Hockey State Playoffs Tournament Championship Games • 2023 Varsity Baseball State Playoffs Tournament Championship Games • 2023 Boys & Girls Varsity Outdoor Track & Field State Playoffs Tournament Open Championship Match • 2023 Boys & Girls Varsity Tennis State Playoffs Tournament Championship Matches • 2023 Boys Varsity Ice Hockey State Playoffs Tournament Semifinal Games

Jacob Halsema Photography is my brand that I have built from the ground up. It is one the main focuses of my creative athletic media brand, with attention on capturing split-second moments through the lens, which is vitally important in standing apart in a competitive field.

My time as an Athletic Communications & Marketing Intern at Sacred Heart University was nothing short of inspiring. Sacred Heart is truly where compassion and innovation intersect. From designing bold graphics with SHU-specific visual identities to capturing moments through photography & videography, I was given the freedom to just keep on innovating, all with the goal to draw the eye back to the Pioneers.

Capturing the extreme highs, and the lowest lows for these athletes, coaches, parents, and fans has been remarkable. This is the pinnacle of youth sports, and I was determined to encapsulate the feelings behind the Baseball being played, during the 2024 Little League Baseball World Series. The internationalism of the Little League Baseball World Series helps this tournament stand alone in the world of youth sports. What an unbelievable production this is for the game of baseball.

Shadowing, as well as working hands-on with various television cameras used to film day-to-day news stories, allowed me to expand my craft. Creatively collaborating with numerous editors and field photographers has not only helped me understand the type of focus, energy, and grit that it takes to succeed in the news world, but helped me gain an appreciation for the line of work. Close guidance and team work from Adam Francis and Ryan Bernat has helped me sharpen my Adobe Premiere Pro editing abilities, as well as how to craft a high-yielding story with creative elements and visual identities.

To be on the sidelines, up close during the Dallas Cowboys Summer Training Camp is quite the privilege. Experiencing the sweat, grit, and determination that goes into NFL training camp is something that is so important to capture on a camera. Why? Because those small moments are what build focus for an upcoming season, and I was fortunate enough to capture those moments for the City of Oxnard. Working directly with the Oxnard, California Office of Parks & Recreation staff, producing and providing high-level Dallas Cowboys action photography was a pure gift. Experiencing a true football community in Oxnard, rallying around the Dallas Cowboys added a whole new layer to the task at hand.

Working alongside fellow student videographers, broadcasters, and managers, I helped creatively tell the story of the 2022-2023 Syracuse University Men's Club Ice Hockey team through in-action game and practice photography, as well as off-ice team activity.

Under the guidance of Brad Ahern and Brady Carlson, I helped prepare creative social channel graphics with Yale-specific visual identities in advance of the university's 2022-2023 athletic year.

As I continued to establish my creative media work at Guilford High School, I independently founded "The Guilford Cave", an Instagram account that featured all things Guilford High School Athletics, featuring creative media. This page, which was passed down in June 2022, is THE headquarters for athletes, fans, students, parents, and all those who engage with the happenings of ALL levels of all athletic teams, helping to boost school and community spirit.

I started to work closely with a handful of athletic teams, which provided important access to creating meaningful graphic design projects with visual identities for said teams' different social channels, as well as managing those channels to boost engagement for their audiences.

Beginning my career in sports photography as a freshman in high school allowed me to gain significant experience with high-level high school athletics.