Meet the sports photographers and videographers everyone voted as their favorite in our area

Every high school seemingly has one nowadays.

Theyre like a mascot but with a memory card.

The photographer.

The videographer.

They are the people everyone hopes will cover their teams game or their kids or grandkids sporting events.

And more often than not, they will be there patrolling the sideline, camera in hand, ready to capture memories that last a lifetime.

For some student photographers and videographers, they hope this becomes a full-time gig.

For others, its a hobby theyll enjoy over time.

Either way, with arenas, gyms and fields filled with these folks these days, the T&G took roll call of the top students from around the area who wield cameras and film moments at high school sporting events.

Theyre very talented, all of them.

They seem like professional photographers already, Uxbridge High athletic director Beth Wandyes said.

Its smart of them to realize that (everything is online), and they see how all these companies and sports organizations, everything is on these platforms.

So I think its great theyre engaging in all that and doing it in a positive way, Wandyes added.

Theyre putting out good content and could have opportunities and careers stemming from this.

Taking it to the next level Over the past few years, a handful of students from Uxbridge High have plunged into the pool of sports social media.

With an internship program at the high school, and a local cable access television station (UCTV) in town, Wandyes has seen firsthand how the industry has shot up.

Uxbridge High alums Sam Mason (Bryant University) and Mason Sanford (American University of Rome) are currently spreading their creative wings locally and abroad, while Uxbridge senior Thatcher Kling serves as the Spartans most recent athletic intern with a camera in hands.

Its a gamechanger for me.

People say to me all the time as an athletic director that Your social media is so good, and your graphics are so great, and Im like Its Thatcher, Wandyes said.

He has so much content to use to make great graphics.

It takes a big piece off my plate.

Theyre a little more savvy than me, Wandyes added.

Its been rewarding for me to see them take it to the next level.

For Kling, his first taste of sports journalism started in 2023 with UCTV before he started shooting Uxbridge basketball games with a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera that winter.

I just started creating graphics for the high school, and it just expanded pretty rapidly, Kling, 18, said.

I kind of just went from there.

Now, Kling is wrapping up his final high school sports season before he begins filming football games at the University of Connecticut this fall.

From graphics to photos to videos, Kling is content king.

Im very grateful for the opportunity to do this, because I get to cover so many different events in sports, (and) its just been really eye-opening to everything, Kling said.

This is a passion of mine.

Im very excited that this is what Im going to be doing for a career.

Its popular now, and Im happy to be a part of it.

SENIOR GAME: Last regular home game for the Class of 2025 today at McCloskey at 3:30pm vs BVT.

Come out and support your Spartans! pic.twitter.com/cvWTJuVFZ0 Uxbridge Spartans (@UHS_Spartans) May 21, 2025Over at St.

Johns in Shrewsbury, Pete Smith oversees a stable of up-and-coming kids brandishing cameras.

The St.

Johns seventh grade math teacher, eighth grade soccer coach and school photographer started to notice a strong interest in sports photography and videography in recent years and created a club for aspiring photojournalists called SJ Pioneer Media.

Its been a great way to harness the social media following (of) some of our older students to help give an audience for the newer students getting into the craft, Smith said.

The school has been very supportive of the students.

Some of those students include 2023 grad Tripp Menhall, graduating senior Owen Ludden (2025), junior Amani Ngunjiri (2026), sophomore Aryan Modi (2027) and a few middle schoolers like Hugh Finnerty, Chris McGinty and Noa Preci, who are all members of the 2030 graduating class.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ginty Studios (@ginty.studios)I've noticed an uptick (in) the number of cameras at all of our sporting events.

It begins with a progression of kids getting their parents old DSLR, then (asking) to get their own camera (usually mirrorless) and then (starting) to really get into it, Smith said.

There is also a real shift into video.

Many are getting into editing using CapCut and do a great job with very limited resources.

Like Wandyes, Smith has seen several St.

Johns students turn their hobby into a profitable passion.

The sky is the limit with each click of the camera.

Ive seen some of these talented guys gain a real following and then take their trade to college campuses, too, getting involved in those media teams as well, Smith said.

Theyre a great creative group who really enjoys the craft.

Theyre always looking for creative ways to highlight our student-athletes.

View this post on InstagramA post shared by Finnerty_photos (@finnerty_photos)Meet some of the top local high school student photographers After conducting a recent poll on social media, the T&G compiled some of the favorite student photographers and videographers from our area and turned the camera (and spotlight) on them.

Meet these shutterbug sensations, who we asked to submit their favorite photo or video (and provided their Instagram accounts): Josiah Berg, Burncoat senior (@Flicks_by_siah) Aidan Dionne, Wachusett junior (@adshoots) View this post on InstagramA post shared by AD Shoots (@adshoots_)Will Fisher, Blackstone Valley Tech junior (@fisher_flicks) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Will Fisher (@fisher_flicks)Kailey Flynn, Shrewsbury junior (@kailey_cameraa) Wallace Gouveia, Leominster sophomore (@wallacevisuals_) Thatcher Kling, Uxbridge senior (@thatcherklingcreative) Sean Levinson, Grafton junior (@slev_flicks) Chris McGinty, St.

Johns middle schooler (@ginty.studios) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ginty Studios (@ginty.studios)Caelen OBrien, Hudson junior (@caelenobrien) Mark Quinn, Worcester Academy senior (@mquinn_media) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mark Quinn (@mquinn_media)Cam Simpson, Shepherd Hill junior (@shepherdhillsportszone and the lone broadcaster of the bunch) View this post on InstagramA post shared by Shepherd Hill Sports Zone.

(@shepherdhillsportszone)(Also, special shoutout to our own photographers at the T&G in full-timers Rick Cinclair and Allan Jung, and freelancer Alan Arsenault.)Contact Tommy Cassell at [email protected].

Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: See who people voted as their favorite high school sports photographer.

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