Pulitzer Prize Winner Steph Chambers Talks Determination, Photography

Acclaimed photographer Steph Chambers discussed her journey behind the lens with the Penn State neighborhood on Tuesday night in the Foster Auditorium. The 28-year-old is presently working for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on a group that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh.

Chambers spoke throughout the night about her experiences capturing both moments of disaster and victory in her unpredictable profession.

“You actually never ever know what you might discover,” she said. “You ought to always have a camera all set.”

Chambers can confirm to that statement. The Pittsburgh local hasn’t been scared to get up close and individual in scenarios throughout her profession, and due to the fact that of this has brought to the public eye some exceptional events. One of the most unbelievable minutes she discussed was unexpectedly photographing the scenes of a MLB umpire conserve a lady from committing suicide on Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh In the consequences of the incident, Chambers spoke with the umpire, and it later on became a national headline.

The professional photographer’s passion for life’s everyday, unforeseen minutes has shown mankind both minutes of heartbreak and heroism. However not all heroes she’s photographed rescue people off bridges. A few of the best heroes she’s seen score game-winning goals on a Friday night.

Chambers has actually been covering and photographing sports for many years, a passion that has fueled a purpose in her work. Through her work, she has actually brought to light whatever from high school football pre-game routines in the locker spaces, to browsing her method in a sea of media at Heinz Field. No matter what task she’s been assigned, she always asks the same concern to herself, “What else can make this [photograph] incredible?”

“My favorite part of sports is the psychological aspects,” she stated. “You can reveal viewers something they can’t see from the stands.”


Photojournalist, Steph Chambers, smiles during her lecture held in the Foster Auditorium of the Pattee-Paterno library on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020. Chambers is part of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff that has won a pulitzer prize for their weeklong coverage of the Tree of Life mass shooting.

Photo James Leavy

Sports has actually always held an unique and emotional location in her heart. After her mom passed away when she was young, she felt a sense of convenience in the video game. She discussed memories growing up playing goalie, which would later on result in her getting an athletic scholarship to play field hockey at Missouri State. During her time as a student there, she learnt journalism, where she found out how to communicate with others in the field, a skill she worried the value of discovering early on.

The task, however, isn’t constantly a beautiful image,” she stated. “Throughout the task, she has experienced her reasonable share of blocked angles and missed out on shots. While it can be hard to recover from those losses, with time, she has found out to keep going.

“When you slip up, you process it, and after that you discover to let it go. You discover how to carry on after you have actually made more errors.”

Burglarizing the service has actually revealed her some reasonable share of struggles too.

“Persistence is substantial,” she said. “I was turned down sometimes.”

Steph Chambers may already be a Pulitzer Prize winner, appreciated photojournalist and videographer, however her career is just beginning. As a young journalist, she has already covered the happiness of her city of Pittsburgh winning Stanley Cup Finals and grieved with her next-door neighbors while recording their discomfort after the Tree of Life massacre. Throughout the unpredictable twists and turns of her career, every day, she is still discovering as she goes on how to become the finest she can be.

Chambers described being a photojournalist as someone whose task is catching the truth. In her profession, it is vital that she has the ability to deliver truth and file minutes that will survive on forever. However that’s not the most crucial element of the job. In times where life is unanticipated, she wins her greatest recommendations, that before anything, “The number one goal is to just be a human.”

This content was originally published here.

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