• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Resources
  • Submit
  • Tips/Contact Us
  • About
  • MIPA
theupstart.mipamsu.org

The Upstart

Covering the 2026 MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop

  • Home
  • Narratives
  • News
    • News Briefs
    • Announcements
  • Trends
  • Profiles
  • Commentary
  • Visuals
    • Photography
    • Design
    • Video
    • Data Visualizations
  • Submitted Work
    • Design & Graphics
    • Multimedia
    • Photography
    • Writing

Veteran photojournalist has personal connection to county fair

August 2, 2011 by TaylorHale Leave a Comment

On Aug. 1, Melanie Fodera from Troy High School wandered around the Ingham County Fair struggling whether to photograph her given assignment, “people and food” or the idea that captivated her most—farm animals. Out of the amount of rides, food stands and race car derbys, farm animals are typically the least interesting feature, but to Fodera it’s the only attraction.

Melanie Fodera during an interview at the Ingham Country Fair By Weston Cowan/Upstart Staff

“I show my animals at my county fair, so I think animals are most appealing to me here,” she said. “I see a cow and I’m like, ‘Oh cool!’ I think it’s amazing.”

A few photography students were given a photography theme and selected to attend the Ingham County Fair to get an off-campus, hands-on experience.

“I was given people and food, but it’s hard to do it without being creepy. I’d prefer to photograph the animals,” Fodera said.

As a MIPA veteran, Fodera spoke about how MIPA helped fulfill her passion for photography. “MIPA really helped me with my pictures for yearbook,” she said. “I started photography myself in middle school and it just sort of went from there.”

Fodera decided to abide by her given topic for a while, but ultimately her knowledge of the dogs, horses, donkeys and other animals that she shows persuaded her to photograph animals the most. By Taylor Hale/Upstart Staff

Filed Under: Narratives, Profiles Tagged With: animals, Ingham County Fair, photography, photojournalism

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow on Instagram
1 week ago
1 week ago
@mipaupstart
The Upstart
@mipaupstart
Follow on TikTok
42Videos
2Following
124Followers
872Likes
Student journalism at MIPA!
@mipaupstart @mipaupstart 2 weeks ago
Dialed in for badbucks!! . . . #mipa2026 #mipa #journalism #upstart #summercampcontent by: @Zolton Hall Jr.
View on Twitter
 photo
View on TikTok
@mipaupstart @mipaupstart 2 weeks ago
Our students are excited to jump into MIPA. #mipa2026 #mipa #journalism #msu content by: @Zolton Hall Jr. @jess
View on Twitter
 photo
View on TikTok
@mipaupstart @mipaupstart 2 weeks ago
Don’t let the fear win! #mipa2026 #mipa #fyp #fearless
View on Twitter
 photo
View on TikTok

More to See

An afternoon at the skatepark

July 23, 2026 By Ella Yip

Tuning into Impact 89 FM

July 22, 2026 By Isha Savi

Work From Across MIPA

Why The Curtains Are Blue: The Importance of Reading On Our Empathy

By Christina Karcher | Sophomore | Grosse Pointe South High School [This work comes from the Art of Storytelling class, taught by Julia Satterthwaite.] Ever since I knew how to string letters into words, and those words into sentences, I have loved to read. I would read for hours at a time, fiction about fairies […]

Careers in crayon

By Baity Wagner | senior | Wylie E. Groves High School [This work comes from the Art of Storytelling class, taught by Julia Satterthwaite.] I soaked in school like a sponge. I loved learning about shapes, addition and how to write a proper sentence. Despite the abundance of lessons that are thrown at you in […]

Footer

Search

Recent

  • Goodbye MIPA 2026 July 23, 2026
  • An afternoon at the skatepark July 23, 2026
  • MIPA Class Round-Up July 22, 2026
  • Tuning into Impact 89 FM July 22, 2026
  • Everyone’s a critic July 21, 2026

Copyright © 2026 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in