Noah Molenda is a photographer currently attending Merrillville High School (MHS). He serves as the sports editor of the MHS Yearbook and is a proud member of the MHS National Honor Society.
His journey in photography began with capturing moments on digital cameras during vacations and gatherings with friends. Over time, his passion and skill have evolved, leading him to have a knack for athletic photography for his school newspaper and yearbook.
“I realized that I liked the photography side of things more than I did interviewing, so I focused more on photography going into my junior year when I joined the yearbook club,” said Molenda. “I was still a member of the newspaper as well, but I used the yearbook to get more into the photography side of things.”
He enjoys photography, particularly in capturing sports moments that resonate with his athletic nature – Molenda is a member of his school tennis team. Even though he had a childhood passion for sports, he realized that a career as a professional athlete wasn't likely to occur, so he decided to pursue photography instead.
“I played basketball and volleyball growing up, and now I play tennis at Merrillville,” said Molenda. “I realized that, realistically, I probably wasn’t going to play professional sports, so I thought, ‘Why not give sports photography a shot?’ I'm super passionate about sports, and I love how it brings people together. There are so many amazing moments in sports, and I can capture and share those moments in my unique way.”
During the summer of his junior year, his passion for photography reached new heights as he reached out to athletes he knew, capturing moments that helped boost his visibility and gain valuable experience in the field.
“I knew I'd be interested in pursuing sports photography after high school, so I upgraded to a Sony camera,” said Molenda. “This truly helped me as I could capture more high-speed things for sports such as skiing. That summer, I reached out to a bunch of athletes at my school who played sports such as basketball and football, and it just grew from there once I was named sports editor for the yearbook my senior year.”
Molenda’s background in sports gives him an understanding of the ideal camera angles, settings, and shots required to capture the perfect moment.
“Sports photography is so different from still-shot shooting or wildlife photography,” said Molenda. “You have to put on the right settings, and I feel having a background in sports helps you know what you're looking for in the photos that you're taking.”
The best part about Molenda lies in his self-taught photography, making him a prodigy in his field.
“I never took a photography course,” said Molenda. “If I had questions, I would use social media as there are many people on those socials searching up the same questions that I have. I would research for hours and hours to find whatever information I could obtain online and then put it into practice. A great deal of it was trial and error; if something didn't work, I would try something different next time.“
Molenda sees the rise of sports photography among youth and is fully committed to supporting and promoting it.
“I love seeing other young people get into photography because I know that it's brought me joy, and I enjoy seeing the influence it has on other people's lives,” said Molenda. “Everyone should give photography a try, especially if they play sports and have realized that they probably won't be playing forever.”
In the fall, Molenda intends to attend Purdue University in West Lafayette to pursue a degree in mass media communications. Through numerous visits and conversations, he's learned about the university’s exceptional programs in sports media.
“Purdue has great programs for sports media, as people at Purdue have amazing connections and are in the same mindset that I am,” said Molenda. “Sports at Purdue are known around the nation – they recently went to the championship game for basketball. I also heard that the communications department took three students to the national championship game to take photos and videos. I know that there are opportunities for me out there. I can't wait to get to West Lafayette and see where things will go from there.”
For the upcoming summer, Molenda plans to shift his focus from sports photography to capturing graduation moments, helping friends create memorable and stylish graduation photoshoots.