Their names have become well-known in the Bearden athletics community – and deservedly so, because their hard work has made plenty of faces well-known over the past few years.
Junior Devin Alley and sophomore Landry McMurray have carved out their own brands on social media to promote photography of Bearden athletes. Alley focuses more on football and basketball, while McMurray focuses more on soccer and lacrosse.
Ethan Couvertiere, a junior on the football team, has noticed that playing a sport that gets a lot of coverage from Alley enhances his game.
“It encourages you to play better,” Couvertiere said. “The more you play, the more it makes him want to take pictures of you.
“The more you see yourself, the more coverage you’ll get from even bigger organizations.”
McMurray, who played soccer for Bearden as a freshman, started taking pictures of sports when others inspired her by taking pictures of her playing soccer.
“I liked when I played soccer, and other people took pictures of me, and it made me feel like I was noticed,” McMurray said. “I wanted other people to feel like that, and I wanted people who don’t normally get pictures of them taken to feel noticed as well.”
Senior goalkeeper Anna Wyatt said McMurray’s skills make her feel noticed and important to the overall team.
“Looking at the pictures of me playing feels incredibly special,” Wyatt said. “It’s amazing being able to look at pictures of me while I’m doing something I love.”
McMurray also gets the opportunity to hangout with the girls soccer team while she takes pictures. She said the funniest part for her is being able to take pictures of her friends and be able to hang out with them.
“Hanging out with especially the girls soccer team, because I already know all of them, and being on the sidelines with them and still being able to take pictures of them, I really enjoy the part of making friends,” McMurray said.
Alley believes having the camera around can provide a boost to the team.
“For some of the players, having the camera can bring out their spirits,” Alley said. “Some love the camera.”
Alley’s accounts are @865flics, and McMurray’s work can be found @landrys_lens.