Alumni Lawn photographer
captures Commencement memories in a flash
Carla Puckett has had a box seat at Commencement for the past 21 years.
Although it is directly adjacent to the main stage on Alumni Lawn, those
attending Vanderbilt's May Commencement exercises have probably never noticed
her or her assistant unobtrusively perched to the right of the stage, cameras
in hand.
Puckett is celebrating her 22nd year as chief photographer on Alumni Lawn
during Commencement ceremonies. She and her husband, Bill, own Tennessee
Flash Foto, a local special events photography company that provides graduation
pictures and a panoramic photo of the Alumni Lawn crowd for Vanderbilt graduates
and their families and friends to purchase.
Timing is everything for Puckett who has mere seconds to capture one of
the most momentous occasions for a Vanderbilt student.
Puckett and her assistants shoot more than 100 rolls of film during Vanderbilt
Commencement. They are present at all the separate school ceremonies except
for the School of Medicine, which has its own photographer. Graduates receive
color proofs a week to 10 days following the event.
"There's something gratifying about this - you are making a memento
of somebody's life," she said.
Although she does several area graduation ceremonies, Puckett says Vanderbilt's
is the most enjoyable because it is so well organized.
Coordinating with the behind-the-scene workers in various offices on campus
makes everything run smoothly, Puckett said. "It really takes a lot
of people to pull this off and everyone works so well together," she
said. She makes special note of the Commencement Office, headed by Felicity
Peck, and Plant Operations. "Felicity's office is the best - if I have
a problem, I can call and it is immediately taken care of," she said.
Plant Operations crews trim tree limbs that are in the way, build ramps
and even build and custom design the wooden box that Carla and her assistant,
Linda Themm, crouch on while taking graduates' pictures on Alumni Lawn.
"They always joke with me every year that there's either a dead bird
or live snake under my box," she said, laughing.
Tennessee Flash Foto is truly a family-run business. The Pucketts' 15-year-old
daughter, Emily, works in the office, and her Vanderbilt Commencement experience
began when she was 12. She started out loading film in the cameras and has
moved up as an assistant photographer for Peabody's ceremonies the last
two years. "I think that she will take over the business some day,"
Puckett said. "But I'll do graduation as long as I can get on my box
- even if someone has to help me up there." The Pucketts also have
an 11-year-old son, Nicholas.
Planning for Commencement is a year-round process, Puckett said. At "post
mortem," an annual meeting held the week following Commencement, those
involved meet and discuss what went right and what went wrong in preparation
for the next year.
Puckett also shoots a panoramic shot of the crowd on Alumni Lawn. The first
one was taken in 1987, the last year Commencement was held on Curry Field.
The first panoramic shot is unique, Puckett said, because it was taken on
an original circuit camera, a large boxed camera that rotates on its axis.
The new panoramic camera is stationed on a 12-foot high pole that is placed
near the back of the stage. Plant Operations crews drill a small hole in
the stage for the pole. The lens sweeps across the crowd for a memorable
shot - it takes about six tries to get the perfect picture.
Puckett said Vanderbilt's Commencement has become an important part of
her life.
"You remember certain days - your wedding, your kids' birthdays -
I always remember Vanderbilt's Commencement."
-by Jamie Lawson
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This document created May 22, 1997
HTML Translation by Billy Kingsley