When UVA Today editors asked our photographers and designers to share their favorite images of the year, the request was met with some reluctance.
“How do you narrow down close to 200 assignments, hours of walking Grounds and somewhere in the ballpark of 400,000 images?” senior photographer Matt Riley asked. And those numbers were just considering his 2024 work.
But the talented group of University of Virginia artists persevered and gave us their top picks for 2024. Take a look.
Matt Riley
Senior Photographer
Capturing the sights on Grounds at night provided some of my favorite shots of the year. I never imagined I would see the Northern Lights in Virginia, so when I was driving home with my son from a UVA baseball game and saw them over the pond in our subdivision, I knew I needed to turn around and head back to Grounds. This photo ranks high on my list.
My first Final Exercises in the rain was also memorable. Sure, there were lots of smiles and joy to capture, but the rain and the ensuing mud pit the Lawn became certainly made it a challenge – and not a pleasant one. There was one photo that stood out to me, not because it was great, but because it will always remind me of that day. A student trudging down the Lawn wearing fun white slides in the brown muck.
Finally, when sorting through my images, I had to include the people who inspired me. There were hundreds of portraits of people who achieved and inspired greatness, but there were two moments I kept coming back to. Both unexpected.
I was assigned to photograph Jelly Roll at John Paul Jones Arena, and I can’t say that I was all that excited about it until he took the stage. He started his show with the song “I Am Not OK.” When the sellout crowd began singing this song with such a powerful message, I felt chills like I’ve only felt a couple of other times in that arena.
My final selection comes down to a person who has meant so much to me and the University. In October, Tony Bennett unexpectedly retired as the head coach of our men’s basketball program. The news sent shockwaves through the community and the college basketball world.
To have chronicled his amazing 15-year run from introductory press conference to his retirement press conference and all the wins in between will always hold a special place in my heart. The end of the Bennett era was hard to process, but surprisingly I came back to Jelly Roll: “I’m not OK, but it’s all gonna be alright.”
Emily Faith Morgan
Multimedia Specialist
As a UVA Photographer, your portfolio contains every possible angle of good old “Tundy.” We usually see the Rotunda in all her glory, shining bright in the sun with impressive columns. But I noticed this framing between class changes on the first day of the fall semester. I loved the deep, dark green of late summer trees that highlighted the brighter white columns and orange brick. It’s a much quieter Rotunda, almost like she’s taking a breath between all the hustle of that day.
On a hot day in late August, a week before classes began, I was asked to get photos for a story about the ROTC program. The candidates completed the obstacle course that day. At the top of one obstacle, one cadet just barely paused for 1/2000th of a second to wipe the sweat from his face. With the idyllic Blue Ridge Mountains and the clouds in the background, this photo highlighted just how gritty and tough these cadets are.
Most athletes have pregame rituals, and I knew UVA men’s soccer player Joey Batrouni would pray near the goal just before each game started. I asked his permission to make sure I wouldn’t interrupt, pointing a camera in his face. I brought a wide lens (16-35mm) because I knew I wanted to get as much of the goal in the frame as possible. I had to rely on manual focus because the bright white net would catch the autofocus. So, as Batrouni walked from the huddle to the goal, I adjusted my focus and made sure his face was sharp. It was a good moment before Virginia won the game, 5-0.
When I took this picture at the UVA men’s basketball “Senior Night” game last season, I did not know it would end up being Tony Bennett’s last game at John Paul Jones Arena as the head coach. As the hype video played before the starting five was announced, Bennett took his place and crossed his arms. Everyone’s eyes looked up at the screen, including Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn in the background. I love the wide angle of the crowd cheering behind Bennett. It feels stoic and emblematic of his time at Virginia.
Erin Edgerton
Social Media Manager
Something is always happening on Grounds if you look close enough. UVA students are continuously finding ways to treat Grounds like it’s their home. One example was when members of the University Salsa Club showcased their love of dance through a pop-up event on the Rotunda’s terrace. Dancing in their front yard, on the terrace with classmates and friends? It doesn’t get any more special than that.
One of my favorite days of the year is the first day of classes in the fall. It is always so much fun engaging with students on the Lawn, helping take photos of students to send to family members and friends. Energy is high. Everyone is ecstatic to be at UVA and for the school year ahead.
April 8 was an incredible day as the UVA community gathered on the Lawn for one giant solar eclipse watch party, with the crowd stretching from the base of the Rotunda to past the Homer statue. This photo sums up the historic event.
The work of the balloon brigade at Final Exercises is often overlooked. The volunteers collect the balloons from the graduates and stash them in classrooms during the festivities. UVA Sustainability gives the balloons a second life, delivering them to patients and their families at UVA Health Children’s. This act is high on my list of what makes UVA, well, UVA.
Iconic. Gorgeous. Straight out of a Hallmark holiday movie. I love this photo so much and I think it perfectly captures how magical and dreamy the University can be. Like wow, you just might want to attend UVA after seeing this photo.
Clara Castle
Web Content Specialist
Moving Creatures was an event I happened upon while reviewing submissions to the University calendar. I spent an evening ahead of time watching the students rehearse “Celeste” and “Kiki’s” movements and had a blast getting different perspectives.
The event was very moving. The festival founder’s widow spoke and was in awe at how the architecture and drama departments paid homage to her husband through their elaborate creatures. Community members came out with T-shirts from the original 2014 festival and a contagious joy filled the air the whole night.
The solar eclipse in April was a very cool world event. I was grateful to have a moment to stop, enjoy and capture! I viewed this event with a group of high school students in Crozet and was able to nab this shot as the clouds shifted slightly.
Final Exercises is an energetic and overwhelming day of celebration, and this was the first time I was able to be in the fray and see it up close. I spoke to many parents that morning who were eagerly waiting to see their kids walk down the Lawn, and one family was kind enough to gift me with a poncho to protect myself and my camera from the downpour. It was so heartwarming to see all the families there in support. This image really jumped out to me from my collection that day because it happened so fast, and I could feel the love.
UVA Today partnered with ProCamera – owned by a friend and high school classmate of mine – to do a photo walk on Grounds. I used three cameras for the walk, to capture digital and film images. I have really enjoyed my return to film because it forces me to slow down and really look at what I am seeing through the viewfinder before choosing to capture an image. I also feel like the colors and textures film creates are unbeatable. I am also a sucker for the fall season, so this fall foliage image from the side of the Rotunda is beautiful to me.
John DiJulio
Digital Designer
The mosquito illustration is one of my favorites because it encapsulates a lot of what I’m trying to do when illustrating a story. In this case, the story was about the increase in mosquito-borne illnesses and the solution developed at UVA.
I started playing around with a couple of different images of mosquitoes and arranging them in different compositions. Originally, I was going to have the mosquitoes in a line sort of marching across the image but decided to incorporate the fly swatter to symbolize the “solution” aspect of the story. I arranged and transformed the mosquitoes and swatters into a chaotic collage and then colored them with UVA brand colors.
The end result is an image that represents the problem (mosquitoes) and solution (represented by the fly swatter) in a UVA-branded way. I think it gets the point across without being so on the nose that the image loses visual interest.
The Taylor Swift illustration was for a story about her influence on the 2024 Super Bowl. Her relationship with Kansas City Chief Travis Kelce had a massive impact on the game and how it was televised and marketed.
I originally tried to draw the singer’s face in field markings in an aerial shot of a football field, but it didn’t work. While searching through stock images of football fields, I found an image of a chalkboard with an X and O play diagram and thought that would be a cool way to represent Swift.
