Sophomore photo-journalism major Leslie Cusano checks her camera settings outside the Loft during the 24-hour shoot at 1:30 a.m. Friday. Participants of 24 roamed Portage County documenting everyday lives of the county’s occupants. KATIE ROUPE | DAILY KE

Credit: Jason Hall

A lot can happen in one day.

Kent State students and alumni got a good idea of what that phrase means during a 24-hour photo shoot that took them all over Portage County. The shoot began at midnight Thursday and ended at midnight Friday.

Gavin Jackson, junior photojournalism major and Daily Kent Stater photo editor, helped organize the second annual shoot. He said the shoot was open to anyone who had photojournalism experience.

“It’s really just an opportunity to show Kent State students what else is around Portage County, and what else is around Kent besides, you know, bars and frats,” Jackson said.

Katie Roupe, sophomore photojournalism major, said she took some pictures at parties downtown, but she also stopped at Deluxe Pastry Shop in Ravenna and Beckwith Orchards in Brady Lake.

“It was a good idea for me because I’m not from around here,” Roupe said. “It gave me a chance to see the area and what goes on around here.”

Jackson said the inspiration for the shoot came from a Lima News photo project that some Kent State students participated in during Spring 2005.

He said about 30 people participated in this year’s shoot, and the goal was to have every hour covered with a different photograph people wouldn’t expect.

He also said this year’s shoot would be different from last year’s because the photographers took audio recorders with them. They are hoping to make an online audio slide show with the pictures.

Leslie Cusano, sophomore photojournalism major, said she thought the recorders were a good idea.

“They put a voice to the pictures,” she said.

Cusano, who was with Roupe for most of the shoot, said they recorded children singing songs about apples at Beckwith Orchards.

Cusano also said she took pictures of people dancing as bands played at 425, an art gallery in Kent.

“It was really trendy; it was really hip,” she said. “People were just doing really crazy things. It was good for pictures.”

Roupe said she didn’t run into very many problems, and the shoot had plenty of perks.

“I heard a lot of funny stories … We drank so much coffee, and we got a lot of free food, too,” she said. “It was really a great experience to get to know some of the other photographers and the surrounding areas.”

The Daily Kent Stater plans to feature the photos in an eight-page spread at the end of this month.

Contact College of Communication and Information reporter Kristen Russo at [email protected].