This year, Mount Michael gained attention on social media because of exciting content and photography. These pictures are not taken by professional photographers, but rather by students from Mount Michael.
While most students are cheering for athletes at games, Carson Smith ’27, Joseph Schmitz ’27, and Luke Lindgren ’28 walk around the football field, cross country course, and tennis courts to record the events of the Knights.
Photography not only has a great impact on the viewers, but also on the student photographers. Smith started photography when he was 6 or 7 years old. He discovered his love for it during the process of taking pictures for others simply by using his phone. “I find it as a relaxation for me,” Smith said. He did not get his first professional camera until the end of the 2024-2025 wrestling season, and that was his first opportunity to capture the moments of the athletes.
During the 2025 football season, Smith showed up at every game, whether it was at home or away, to get pictures for the players on the field. “One of my favorite photos is at the SCOTUS game, and there was a big play,” Smith said. “I got the chance to capture the motion of Ben Alessandro ’27 after the play, and I really like that photo.”
Photography has changed him in many ways, and he finds a new fulfillment in helping others with the pictures and being able to get better every day.
Unlike Smith, Joseph Schmitz ’27 did not begin his photography journey until sophomore year. After taking pictures by using the camera of journalism teacher Ms. Maddie Robertson, he was willing to spend his free time investing in photography. He eventually got a personal camera and started the Instagram account, @schmitz.photo, for sharing pictures of The Mount’s athletes.
Since he created the account, Schmitz started to put in more time and work on photography. During the summer, he showed up for practices and games for baseball and football to practice his skill in taking better pictures and doing color grading. His hard work paid off. During the fall, he posted pictures of the athletes after football games, and people saw his work.
“I am proud of the picture I took of Jack Burke ’27 after his first touchdown, because it captured his hard work paying off after he had open heart surgery” Schmitz said. On the journey of photography, he learned what a good picture is and connected with people he would never have met.
The rising sophomore photography star, Luke Lindgren ’28, connected with photography just like the juniors. Lindgren started taking pictures for his classmates at soccer games in spring. During the process, he found his passion for being a photographer.
“My motivation as a photographer is to keep taking pictures of sporting events and to keep doing that,” Lindgren said. Lindgren learned a lot of skills from Schmitz, and they also shared experiences as photographers together. It is common to see them walking on the football field during the game and taking pictures for the athletes. “A picture that makes me proud is a picture from track, because it was a side picture of Joe Schmitz” Lindgren said.
Student photographers put in effort to make the Knights’ accomplishments memorable, and their dedication creates more connection in the community. In the future, with their photography skills, they will be able to capture more and more wonderful moments for the Knights.
