Katie's High School Graduation

Recently, our friend Katie graduated from high school! And on top of that, she was the valedictorian of her class. Of course, I brought along my camera, just as I had for Jaylin’s graduation last year, and Katie’s brother Zach’s graduation a few years before. Here are just a few of the photos that I took that night.

The Ceremony

Katie’s high school graduation

One of the graduation traditions is that the valedictorian gives a valedictory address. Katie did an outstanding job. Of course, we knew that she would.

Katie sings with the chorus at her high school graduation

Katie and the other graduating seniors also sang with the chorus one last time. You can see her on the front row here.

And of course, there were the other traditional graduation moments such as walking across the stage to get a diploma and tossing caps, too. It was a great graduation ceremony, as they always are.

Family Photos

After the ceremony, the graduates left the auditorium and went straight to the football field, where families could join them for photos and celebrations. There was a bit of a bottleneck to get there, but we eventually made it.

The Riedel family at Katie’s high school graduation

The whole family was together for Katie’s graduation. Zach even got to be there, taking a break from his doctorate program.

The large family at Katie’s high school graduation

There were also grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Burnses there, too. Katie had quite a large fan club that night.

Riedels and Burnses at Katie’s high school graduation

The Riedels and the Burnses. We were just missing Zach’s fiancée, Leah. And now five of the people in this photo are Harding graduates! Not that we hold that against the other two, of course.

Laura and Karen after graduation

Where would we be without friends to help us through our life journeys? It is great to have people to share things with.

Three class rings at Katie’s high school graduation

If you remember from Jaylin’s graduation last year (and if you don’t, here’s the link again), Laura and I wore our Harding class rings to the ceremony, and we took a photo of the three rings. We did that again for Katie’s graduation, including taking a similar photo. Cool!

It was a great night celebrating a major accomplishment!

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. - Psalm 126:3

About the Photos

There were actually a few people in the background of some of these photos, but I took them out. Not in a tackling way or a hit man way, of course. Just with some photo software.

Also, I feel that I have learned a little from my experience with our family photos after Jaylin’s graduation. Nighttime photos can be tricky, even on a well-lit football field.

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Luminar AI. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
_Date: May 14, 202_2
Location: Harding Academy, MemphisTennessee


World Bible School

Burnsland Email

Burnsland avatar
Burnsland is Steve Burns, with generous help from his lovely wife Laura. Steve is a husband, father, photographer, webmaster, writer, podcaster, artist, Christian. Steve enjoys sharing his photography, art, and stories through Burnsland.com, from the Burnsland World Headquarters in Tennessee.