The Archives
Continuing to refine the work that defines the creativity of Jacob Halsema Photography is an ongoing project
that will never end.
The Archives contain the best work from Never Forget Your Roots (NFYR), Fast, Clean, Polished & Organized (FCPO) and Split-Second Standard (SSS), ultimately from the first athletic event I ever covered to the most recent.
With each event covered, the standards become clearer and clearer. It's my responsibility to uphold, honor and maintain them.
Guilford High School
2018-2022
Roll Grizz
Everyone remembers where their roots are. I keep my roots very close to my heart, because Guilford is not only my home, but also where my creative career was born. Being a resident of Guilford, Connecticut means that you're a part of a community that represents selflessness and something larger than oneself. Knowing that those around you in a tight-knit community carry those pillars every day builds character.
My principal motto, Never Forget Your Roots (NYFR) came to be during my reflection of my time at Guilford High School. In an attempt to instill consistent humility into all facets of life, Never Forget Your Roots was born. Guilford High School was the birthplace of my creative career, and I will forever be in debt to those who made that possible. Never forgetting the path that you took to get to where you are now is vital.
The Guilford Cave is something that represents more than just a student section Instagram account. It's a physical representation of the point made in the previous paragraph. A community that not only verbal and physically supports the Guilford Grizzlies, but also a community that supports the development of sports media. Those two important pillars of the Cave community continue to fuel the next generation of creative thinkers. The meeting point for generations worth of Guilford Grizzlies fans alike, I love seeing the continuing development of my Sports Media passion project that I created all of those years ago.
I did not set out to become the head student sports photographer at Guilford High School (Guilford, Connecticut), yet one friend coaxed me to attend a high school ice hockey game in January 2019 and the journey was set from that point on. I fell in love with sports photography after taking my first amateur photographs at that hockey game. And so it began, the domino effect. By the end of my freshman year, Guilford High School came to know me for my evolving passion for sports photography.
The journey as a high school undergraduate ended on June 22, 2022 as I turned my tassel from right to left, but the countless hours will never be forgotten.
Baseball
Basketball
Fencing
Field Hockey
Football
Golf
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Swimming and Diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
Wrestling
Syracuse University
2022-2026
Orange Mindset
I'll be honest. When I first stepped foot onto the Syracuse University campus as a freshman, I did not want to be there. Not only was it the beginning of college, but it was also a completely new environment that I didn't know how to get used to.
There was a big aspect of the 'Syracuse experience' that I was looking forward to, right off the bat: the sports. Coming from a sports-centric background out of high school, I wanted to get involved with being on the sidelines as soon as possible while also taking in football games from the stands. Fortunately for me, I was thrown to the wolves on day three. I was getting acclimated to the college game.
Getting involved and leveling up with The Daily Orange, Syracuse's independent student-run newspaper, taught me a lot of life-long lessons. The lessons of camaraderie, teamwork, selflessness, and humility are all traits everyone should have. These traits are what describe the 'Orange Mindset', a term coined by Syracuse University, with the hope of instilling said traits into all of their students.
Personally speaking, these traits represent my Syracuse University experience as well as life in Central New York, because let's face it, CNY is gritty and rugged. It takes a special type of person to survive those winters.
Club Baseball (Non-NCAA)
Basketball
