Mac Users bring Sports Illustrated photographer to Harper Center

Kyle O'Reilly News Reporter	February 25, 2009

Photography, video, Apple software and a Pulitzer winner. All were present at Creighton on Feb. 20.

Creighton University hosted Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Bill Frakes and his partner Laura Heald in the Harper Center Auditorium. Frakes and Heald were brought by Apple Inc. to discuss the tools used by professionals in journalism today and the evolving way that multimedia is being used.

Frakes is a Sports Illustrated photographer based out of Florida. He has worked in more than 100 countries and done advertising work for companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, Reebok and more. He has won numerous awards for his photography, including Newspaper Photographer of the Year and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

With Heald, he founded Straw Hat Productions, a company that creates multimedia presentations for Sports Illustrated and other companies.

The Creighton Mac Users Society, a campus organization dedicated to educating students on Apple computers, was key in bringing Frakes to the campus. They contacted Apple through the company’s campus representative, Scott Elson.

“The CMUS went ahead and talked to me and said that they’d like to throw an event about convergent media,” Elson said. “After I found out about it, I had to make sure we had a venue, and Creighton’s Harper Center is one of the nicest venues in the nation right now.”

“Apple actually arranged for Bill Frakes to come out here,” said Joel Davies, Apple Distinguished Educator, graphic design professor and moderator for CMUS. “They were thinking about bringing a major speaker to the Midwest. I just consulted. Almost all the groundwork was done by the CMUS.”

The nearly 500-seat auditorium was full during Frakes’s lecture, which started at 4:30 p.m. and ended shortly after 7 p.m.

Frakes and Heald showcased photos, video and interviews they had taken from the Nebraska State Wrestling Tournament. They also showed videos they had done, ranging from a piece on NASCAR fans they did for NASCAR to a piece on America’s oldest skate park for SIKIDS.com.

Frakes and Heald also answered questions and demonstrated how they used programs like Final Cut Studio and Aperture to create their videos. Prior to the lecture CMUS hosted a demo room equipped with half a dozen Apple computers with CMUS members on hand to demonstrate the programs.

“The demo room was setup so people could see hands-on the software Bill Frakes was using,” said Jim Kult, CMUS president and Arts & Sciences senior. “Each computer was loaded with the same Pro Applications that Bill uses every day, like Final Cut Studio and Aperture.”

“I thought it was really neat to see how they used the different Apple programs,” said Katie Reichert, Arts & Sciences sophomore.

The event, which was sponsored by Apple, was open to the public, and Creighton students weren’t the only ones to attend.

“Students from Kansas State were there,” Elson said. “Kansas University, Iowa State, UNO, UNL, South Dakota and more. A total of 15 other schools in all came to see Frakes. It was a great opportunity for Creighton to showcase their importance in the field and to show what’s going on here.”

CMUS is also working on other events to host on campus.

“Through technology, the group is able to host a variety of events that cover almost every imaginable subject,” Kult said. “For those interested in music, there are live concerts every second Thursday of the month at Billy Blues. For those interested in health and fitness, the group is looking to host a Nike+iPod event, and those looking for a chance for community service, CMUS teaches education workshops at our community service site, Precious Memories.”