Gallery of Art sports a collection of athletes
Photos of NBTHS teams adorn hallway of N.B. municipal building
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
Aspike over the volleyball net. A tag at second base. A dive into the pool. A vault over a pole.

Jacqueline Morrison's photographs are on display this month at the Gallery of Art at the North Brunswick Municipal building.

Jacqueline Morrison, the certified athletic trainer at the North Brunswick Township High School, is displaying her photographs of high school athletes as the North Brunswick Artist of the Month.

The former township resident has 37 frames with 43 images hanging at the Gallery of Art at the municipal building. These pictures, mostly from the 2007-2008 school year, include images from baseball, softball, track and field, soccer, volleyball, swimming, football, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, wrestling, gymnastics and cross-country.

"It's my job to watch the athletes so it's where I am all the time," she said. "Many people tell me capturing action is very frustrating but I have a good eye, I pan well and I know where the athletes are going to be [on the field]."

The photographs are an array of action shots, posed pictures and teammate assemblies, taken as the situation warranted. Morrison said the pictures just happen as they happen. As she selected the photos for the exhibition, she "really thought about how [to] show the friendships, especially as a gift to the seniors."

"Any good teacher or faculty member gets a feeling for or understanding of who the kids are beyond what they see every day. It's neat to capture them in victory, in defeat, in their emotions, so someone else can see that moment," she said.

Morrison said her favorite sports to photograph are diving and gymnastics because she enjoys those sports the most. She said track is the easiest "because they run around you, you know where they're going, they can't leave the path … so their action is directed" but lacrosse can be difficult because the sticks often block the players' faces.

Morrison's interest in photography dates back to her time in college, and upon her graduation she received a new camera as a gift. Since then, she has been capturing dogs, school plays, water scenes, workshop presentations and basically anything that she comes across.

She said her favorite photos are the result of "careful anticipation, looking outside the box and capturing the moment; you shouldn't have to explain to the viewer what they are seeing."

The North Brunswick exhibit is Morrison's third venue, as her photos were also hung earlier this year at the Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro and at the Franklin Library. She hopes that the canine pictures at the Franklin Library display which were taken at Colonial Park in Somerset and at Rocky Top Dog Park in the Kingston section of South Brunswick, encouraged passersby to think about pet adoption, as the timing of the Franklin display coincided with the first annual "Paws for a Cause" Walk for Animals, sponsored by Second Chance for Animals.

Her artistic background also extends to cross-stitching, an extensive stamping collection and various arts and crafts her mother taught her. She said her dad could fix about anything, so she is just naturally very handy.

Therefore, she decided to turn her hobby into a business and recently established JRoss Creations. She usually prints her own photos at home on a wide format printer, but for pictures that require a higher quality, she will send them out to a professional. She is also looking into creating greeting cards "because I am very interested in combining thoughts with photos."

PHOTOS BY JACQUELINE MORRISON

For other aspiring artists, Morrison advised that a photographer know their equipment, research their subject and venue and anticipate the action.

She also said that pictures should show an appreciation of the subjects, with value and reason, and that emotions should express what has happened without an explanation.

For information or to purchase a photograph, contact Morrison at JRoss_Creations@yahoo.com.