Picture Essay: University Photographer Captures Campus Life Via Every Season

Story and pictures by Jason Halley

After greater than a decade as Chico State’s photographer, this campus nonetheless evokes me prefer it’s my first day on the job.

Between assignments, a lot of my work occurs within the windowless basement of Meriam Library, the place I edit till the hours blur collectively. But the second I step exterior, I’m greeted by wildlife: squirrels darting between bushes, an elusive otter in Big Chico Creek, red-tailed hawks, and owls watching from above.

Whether it’s the spring blossoms bursting forth from the chilly with their pink hues or the colourful fall colours adorning the campus in autumn, magic is in every single place. These photographs might evoke reminiscences of acquainted sights and sounds for you. Maybe you recall your individual quiet nook of the library or the buddies who turned a walkway into your favourite gathering place. Because each Wildcat’s expertise is completely different, this campus leaves an indelible mark on our reminiscence.

But Chico State is extra than simply gorgeous seasons and exquisite brick facades. The folks filling its pathways, lecture rooms, and commons convey campus to life. The jolt of vitality I really feel every fall when the scholars return—hopeful and bold—drives me.

Watching new Wildcats step into their first semester and seeing acquainted faces return to the place they now name residence frequently renews my dedication to telling the University’s story. Over the years, I’ve realized to look previous the apparent. I really like remodeling the strange into one thing extraordinary, like a scholar leaning over a textbook, former roommates reuniting at Wildcat Weekend, or the best way mild cuts via the Laxson Auditorium arches. Every nook of campus has a narrative to inform, and I’ll by no means cease looking for them.

I used to be as soon as requested if I’d ever get bored with photographing the identical campus day after day.
The reality is I haven’t even begun to see all of it.

When it involves portraiture, I don’t simply take pictures—I create experiences. The means folks really feel within the second is each bit as necessary as the ultimate picture. I do know standing in entrance of a lens might be awkward. My aim is to rework that vulnerability into authenticity. With the appropriate stability of sunshine, pose, and setting, a portrait turns into one thing bigger than itself: a celebration. A joyful expression of tradition, heritage, and persona. A brand new school member, nervous but stuffed with potential. A scholar finds their voice and function via follow and laborious work. These moments inform tales that linger lengthy after the shutter clicks.

Left: Management professor Ghadir Ishqaidef poses for her school headshot. August 2015.

Top proper: Annelise Perez (Agriculture, ’21) was one in all about 50 scholar staff deemed important staff in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, holding University Farm operations operating when most studying moved on-line. Before daybreak on a cold October morning, we joined her on the swine unit to comply with her every day routine—a part of reporting for “Ag Can’t Wait,” the quilt story for Chico Statements that fall. October 2020.

Bottom proper: US Navy veteran and laptop animation and sport growth main Ryan Machus has his face scanned throughout “3-D Scanning” (CAGD 350), which teaches technical foundations of 3-D content material for sport and animation manufacturing. April 2025.

Below: Humberto Partida (Political Science, ’23; MA, Political Science, ’25) has a magnetic vitality that brings smiles wherever he goes—whether or not performing with Sueños de las Estrellas Ballet Folklorico or volunteering on campus. Here, he takes heart stage on the third annual Latin American Independence Day Celebration, hosted by the Cross-Cultural Leadership Center and El Centro Resource Center. September 2024.

There’s an adage from my photojournalism days that also rings true: no two days are the identical. I could plan fastidiously for campus occasions, studio classes, and enhancing, however my function can shift from the sidelines of a ceremony to a snowstorm in a single afternoon. Over the years, historic occasions have pulled me away from my calendar to bear witness as wildfires turned our skies orange, a pandemic emptied lecture rooms, and weather-related occasions reaffirmed nature’s unshakable energy. My job has been to doc not simply moments of pleasure, however the challenges that reshape our group. These photographs function reminders of resilience, loss, and the hope we feature ahead.

Above: Professor Emerita Cindy Wolff returns to the ruins of her residence on Honey Run Road, misplaced within the Camp Fire, the deadliest and most devastating wildfire in California historical past. December 2018.

Below: It’s at all times enjoyable when individuals are keen to interrupt out of standard settings to pose for pictures. The change in context reveals one thing new or charming. Dance scholar Natsumi Kawamura waded into Big Chico Creek for this shoot, and the ensuing pictures have been value each minute within the chilly water. April 2021.

It’s a real privilege to {photograph} college students each in and outdoors the classroom. I basically get to expertise faculty once more, however with out homework. I’m studying alongside them: witnessing the unbelievable issues they’re learning, watching their passions come alive within the discipline, and sharing the enjoyment when somebody sees a photograph and says, “I didn’t know we offered that.” To me, that’s the essence of training—exploring, discovering, and opening doorways to new alternatives.

Above: Haseeb Rehman (Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, ’25) measures with lasers, fiber optics, knowledge transmission, and holography in “Lasers and Their Applications” (PHYS 451). April 2025.

Below: A hummingbird pauses in Chico State’s 132-acre campus arboretum, which can be a Certified Butterfly Garden, Monarch Waystation, Certified Wildlife Habitat, and Bee Campus USA. August 2023.

Photographing Commencement is a marathon, however one I gladly run yearly. In 2025, I coated six ceremonies and 5 celebrations throughout 13 days and 128 hours, delivering 2,661 edited photographs and capturing greater than 45,000 moments. The numbers might sound extreme, however I wouldn’t commerce a single shot. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know many college students via my lens, and watching them cross the stage is as significant for me as it’s for them. This spring marked my eleventh Chico State graduation as University Photographer—and the twenty first of my profession.

Top left: Feroz Khan (Computer Science, ’25) with fellow graduates from the College of Agriculture and the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management. May 2025.

Top proper: Sociology graduate Kumia Wood celebrates throughout Commencement. May 2025.

To seize distinctive views, I’ve crawled on flooring, leaned off balconies, and climbed bushes. At Commencement, ladders typically give me one of the best view, as seen above in the course of the College of Agriculture and College of Humanities and Fine Arts ceremony. May 2025.

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Jason Halley (Communication Design, ’05) has spent the previous 11 years documenting Chico State and the folks, locations, and moments that outline it. A nationally acknowledged, internationally awarded photographer, Halley beforehand spent 9 years as a photojournalist and earned his Master of Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in 2013. On campus, he’s simple to identify: digital camera in hand, utility belt at his waist, consistently shifting between initiatives, sharing laughs with college students and colleagues alike.