kyle rivas – The Hilltop Monitor

Saying goodbye to the man behind the camera

Sarah Crosley — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 03:01:33 +0000

Rivas came to the College as a first-year in 2004 after an older brother had attended and graduated from Jewell. And while his family advocated for him to attend WJC, Rivas described his initial unwillingness and hesitancy.

“I wanted to go to UCM [University of Central Missouri], which was CMSU [Central Missouri State University] at the time, because they had a photo program and everything there,” said Rivas.

Once here, Rivas was placed into a radio major, a field he had not worked in previously. Before Jewell, he had focused on photography and videography, and though he found himself in unfamiliar territory again, he was not daunted.

“I set some goals and said that by the time I graduated I wanted to have my first camera, own that, I wanted to do an internship somewhere in the area, and I also wanted to have some sort of job that pertained directly to that,” said Rivas.

But instead of taking four years to accomplish these goals, Rivas had completed all three of them within a few months. From there Rivas expanded the number and types of shoots he was doing.

He has worked for the Kansas City arena football team, then known as the Kansas City Brigade and now known as Kansas City Command.

“It was really entertaining being on a short, astro-turf, indoor football field with two cannons that are shooting flames 40 feet up into the air, like a Chiefs game but indoors and it doesn’t feel safe whatsoever,” said Rivas.

He is currently taking photos for the Kansas City Royals, a job that has picked up with the continuation of the Royals’ postseason.

Rivas’ work for the College also expanded with what he did for Jewell generally and the marketing department more specifically.

“My first year I only did 40 or 50 shoots for Jewell, my sophomore year I did about 130 shoots and my junior and senior year is when things really ramped up and I was doing nearly 250 shoots a year for Jewell,” said Rivas.

And all while Rivas was capturing photos for Jewell, he was majoring in communication, playing for the men’s golf team and serving as the photo editor for the “Hilltop Monitor.”

“I didn’t realize how much [the workload] was growing at the time and how much I was growing at the time,” said Rivas.

Rivas reflected on his time with the “Monitor.”

“It felt like we weren’t the most organized in terms of getting things done the quickest, but we were very, very methodical and very, very thoughtful about how we put together the newspaper those years. I always felt like those were our best years with the paper because there was this really talented staff that we had that would just make it work, and we focused on an impact image on the front page and a good story to go with that. And the College was doing a lot of great things; we had a lot of news stories my junior and senior year; some were good, some were not so good,” said Rivas.

The number of shoots Rivas has done for the College, as a student and an employee, may seem massive and overwhelming. But nevertheless, Rivas was able to pick out a few of his favorite shoots.

Every spring, some of the soon-to-be-graduated seniors put on their caps and gowns for the iconic cap-and-gown shoot. This tradition may seem as though it came with the establishment of the College. However, it began with Kyle Rivas.

For the last issue of the “Hilltop Monitor” of the spring 2008 semester, Rivas had no ideas for the final photo. But similar to many other good things, the cap-and-gown shoot came out of a little desperation, a little creative thinking and much determination on the part of Rivas.

After spending some time driving around campus, he was struck by the signage by the fountain at the College’s main entrance. He gathered some students, including his then girlfriend, now fiancée and business partner, and did a shoot that would become a rite of passage for many Jewell seniors to come.

While he may not have recognized the importance of it then, he certainly does now.

“What it started for the next seven years was really special to me, and each year I felt like we were getting bigger and better and doing crazier things, but still creating something that I knew was really important to the seniors and something that they would reference for the years to come. It is one of those things that I knew how important it was to them and I also knew how important it was to me because of my own experience with it. Even though I’m the shooter, it was still important to me,” said Rivas.

Within this tradition, that may soon be ending, there is a particular year that stood out to Rivas.

2011. Picture a spring storm. Normally the storm would have ruined the opportunity to shoot, and in some ways it did ruin the original concept. Instead of being located in the area around the schoolhouse and Grand River Chapel, which would have included the well-known swing, Rivas and the seniors took to the roof of Yates-Gill Union.

“[It was] something that we used to do until [the College] figured out that it wasn’t the greatest place, which I give them that. What ended up happening was that we were in between storms, and there was a storm that had stalled right over the Gladstone area and the sun was setting. The sun set underneath the storm and I had just had every layer of color that you could possibly have leading up to black. I did these silhouette shots of [the seniors] jumping on the rooftop, and I ended up backing up 30-40 feet toward the porch area but still shooting on the roof. It was just this really gorgeous view of everybody and we did a lot of individual shots and things. It just kept getting better and better. It was one of those shoots where you just can’t do anything wrong,” said Rivas.

A final Jewell memory stands out to Rivas, one that reflects his admiration for the sports photography he does now.

In 2006 the men’s soccer team was having the season of a lifetime. They had qualified for the NAIA National Championship and were traveling to Florida, and Rivas was invited to document all that happened next.

The main focus of this story is on a man named Andy Shields who was the goalie at the time. When the Sweet 16 game for the Cardinals went into overtime and then penalty kicks (PKs), Shields came through to continue the Cardinals’ run towards the championship. When the Elite Eight game went through the same process, Shields came through again.

“Andy just lit up like I’ve never seen an athlete before. He blocked at least four of the goal kicks [in the Sweet 16], and each time he did it, it just got even crazier just because of his emotion and his reaction. And there was already a lot of emotion wrapped up into that [game]. He ended up single-handedly winning the game for us, for his PK blocks the first round. Then the Elite 8 came and it went into PKs again and he did it again. I just got this absolutely beautiful series of him just letting out every piece of emotion that he possibly could as a human,” said Rivas.

Then came the Final Four game.

“The only goal that got by [Shields] was a shot outside the penalty box. It was like from 25 yards and it was this ridiculous shot where this guy started it 15 feet outside of the goal post, bent it in, and it got into the corner. You have this shot of Andy reaching up, and it is the only foot and a half that he couldn’t cover. You couldn’t have hit this any more perfect and it got by him. It was the only goal that was scored that game,” said Rivas.

And thus ended the season for the 2006 men’s soccer team.

Shields passed away as a result of a massive stroke a few years later.

“[It] just taught me what it is I’m doing, what the importance behind it is and why I do what I do and why I try to invest so much time in the craft and just getting to know people. I’m just trying to take a step further than just taking pictures. I’m trying to figure out the story behind people as well as capturing them in the day to day,” said Rivas.

And now Rivas is now turning his focus to his company, Rivas Media Photography, and shooting events in KC. He reflected on his time with the College.

“[At Jewell] I am documenting lives on a daily basis. Whether the students realize it or not I’m watching them grow up a substantial amount, and a lot of times I’m watching them grow up just as much as I grow up. And that’s a big reason why I stayed as long as I did and the reason why I feel at home and why I’ve approached what I do, [which is] to blend in the students and to be part of the campus on a daily basis,” said Rivas. “And I’ve watched the community grow more like a family in the past 10 years than I ever thought [it would].”

All photos by Kyle Rivas.

From the Ed Staff: A goodbye to Kyle Rivas

Editoral Staff — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 15:00:26 +0000

The following comments reflect the opinions of the Editorial Staff.

Kyle Rivas’s departure from William Jewell College feels particularly bittersweet to the Editorial Staff of “The Hilltop Monitor.” Bitter because one our biggest supporters and contributors is leaving, but sweet because we are confident that wherever he ends up, he’ll do great things.

Rivas’s photos can’t be beat, whether it’s a perfectly timed action shot at a football game or a candid picture of a student caught doing something unaware. For a publication like the Monitor, these are the sorts of photos that make a good publication great.

If you sift through our publication, you’ll notice how often we utilize a photo that Rivas has taken. His consistent attention to detail and his positivity and willingness to help out the Monitor has always been encouraging and inspiring.

We’ve all seen Rivas’s passion, dedication and talent at work at Jewell, and we know those qualities will make him successful wherever he goes. We appreciate all Rivas has done for the College and the Monitor, and we wish him good luck and a happy future.

Alumni Spotlight: Kyle Rivas

Haley Sheriff — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 22:32:16 +0000

From sports games to campus concerts, carnivals and convocations, there is always one familiar face in the midst of it all: the man behind the camera. Kyle Rivas has been William Jewell College’s official staff photographer for almost six years, but he has taken pictures for the College since he first arrived in 2004 as a student.

While Rivas is better known for his still images, his interest in photography originally started with his involvement in video production classes in junior high and high school. During his freshman year, he and his classmates created Kearney’s Bulldog Broadcasting Network, which covered the high school’s sports events. The group had a full broadcasting booth manned by two anchors, and they were able to feature commentary, graphics and videos in their segments. However, the students had to learn from their own trial and error, as this had never been previously attempted at their school.

“We didn’t really know what we were doing. We all just tried to coordinate ourselves and decide who would do what,” Rivas said. “The first time we tried doing the broadcast, we actually didn’t have any broadcasting equipment, just walkie-talkies.”

The growing success of the high school’s athletics program increased the need for more sports coverage. As the years went on, the network received more funding and better equipment, and by the time Rivas graduated, a local cable company had begun to broadcast it. To this day, the network is still a major source for sports news at Kearney High School.

It was also during this time that Rivas noticed particular moments in film that he wanted to capture in still-frames. So as a junior, Rivas joined the yearbook staff, but having never touched a photography camera until then, he again had to teach himself.

“I had no clue what I was doing. I really didn’t know any of the functions, so I just stayed with the settings that my teacher set up,” Rivas said. “But I wanted a camera in my hands and once they gave it to me, I went to town.”

Rivas began his first semester at William Jewell as a radio major. He admits that it was an awkward pairing given the fact that he did not like radio, but he did enjoy working with the people in that field. It was also how he met his future fiancée, as she had to monitor the equipment when he was in the radio room in Brown Hall. He later switched his focus to the communications department, which he said has continued to help him interact with his clientele. It also revealed his limitations and proved how much he was capable of acheiving.

“I feel like a poster boy for the communications department, but the major really tested me and pushed me to a breaking point that I didn’t even know I could get to. It taught me what I can do as a human being, what I can be pushed to do,” Rivas said.

Despite his initial uncertainty at attending William Jewell due to its then lack of photography or video outlets, Rivas was determined to make the best out of the situation and sought opportunities in the community. He set three goals, intending to complete them before he graduated: he would own his own camera, intern as a photographer at a local newspaper and get a summer job with a company that worked with photography and video.

“It was super weird because all of those things happened within a month and a half of me stopping myself and saying that this was what I wanted to do,” Rivas said. “I went from zero outlets to having no time to do anything else.”

After getting his camera, Rivas started worked for Eagle Vision Productions, a video company that was just starting to integrate more photography into their work. Rivas was also able to get an internship with the “Liberty Tribune,” where he saw the gradual deterioration of the newspaper industry.

“I saw myself working in the newspaper industry after college. I wanted to work for a major publication and put myself out there,” Rivas said. “But I ended up watching this whole situation evolve where there were fewer and fewer photographers. I finally recognized that the industry was not in the greatest of shape.”

Meanwhile, Rivas was also the photographer for “The Hilltop Monitor” and the Jewell marketing department. He started out doing between 70-80 shoots for the College, but by his senior year he was covering over 240.

“I didn’t realize that while I was here, I was monopolizing, as a student, all of the campus photography. It was all being fed through me,” Rivas said. “By my senior year, I was getting asked ‘What are we going to do after you leave?’ almost daily.”

Seeing this opportunity, Rivas submitted a proposal to work as the College’s staff photographer. Three weeks after his graduation in 2008, he was notified that the position was created and he could start in two weeks.

As he continues his job at the College, Rivas also does work for Getty Images and Cal Sport Media. He photographs all of the major sports in the area, including the Chiefs, Royals, Sporting Kansas City and local college athletics. This has given him the opportunity to network with other local photographers as well as to be published nationally and internationally. His images have been featured on “The Colbert Report” and in seven issues of “Sports Illustrated.” He even found his work in a Japanese newspaper during the 2014 World Series.

“I’m happiest with my photography whenever my images are getting out there and seeing a whole different mass. I really don’t care about the whole getting paid part, although that’s a necessity to do more things and obviously, to have a life, but I am much happier just seeing my images in these publications,” Rivas said.

Additionally, he has corporate clients like the Red Cross and KC Arts Counsel, as well as his own full time wedding photography company, Rivas Media Photography, which he manages with his fiancée.

“She’s also my second shooter. I’ve taught her enough of the basics, so she can hold-her-own behind the camera and put her vision onto different scenes,” Rivas said. “She’s been a substantial help. I couldn’t do it without her.”

Interacting in so many different environments with various people has led him to meet many diginitanies, like President Barack Obama, and celebrities like Kevin Bacon. Rivas met Vice President Joe Biden when he came to speak on the Hill during the 2008 presidential race.

“Within 30 seconds of Joe Biden coming into the Mabee Center, it looked like he and Dr. Sallee were old golfing buddies. They just started chumming it up for maybe three or four minutes before [Biden] comes up to me and starts shaking my hand and asking me who I am and what I do. I appreciated that,” Rivas said.

Regardless of all of his experiences, Rivas has no preference when it comes to genre.

“I like to shoot everything. There’s never been a particular thing that I enjoy more than another; it’s the environments that I like to shoot. I live in those moments,” Rivas said. “I like being in the center of something crazy without being the center of attention, to blend in and capture it as I go. It’s when I’m at my best, when I can be there to do my work without disrupting anything.”

Rivas has also received recognition for his work. With “The Hilltop Monitor,” he won the Missouri College Media Association’s Photographer of the Year award back-to-back in 2007 and 2008, and he has also been the recipient of rewards by the Missouri Press Association and a five-state photography contest hosted in Hayes, KS. He credits the critiques and advice he received in his earlier photography days for his current success. A photography convention he attended as a sophomore in college was especially influential for him.

“The people who told me that I sucked were the people that I appreciated the most,” Rivas said. “When I put my portfolio out there for the first time, I got shredded to pieces. I left that convention almost in tears, but it made me start thinking, and I adapted to the things that these people said.”

It was through his openness to criticism and willingness to learn that Rivas, through a friend at the “Liberty Tribune,” picked up the technique of approaching an image at multiple angles.

“Ever since then, it’s been the philosophy that I take with a lot of my photography. I’ll shoot a couple of images of what’s in front of me and then I’ll try to move and change my lighting,” Rivas said. “I try to work in an almost three-dimensional way and think of things much more dynamically instead of just taking what’s in front of me.”

Just as these people helped him along the way, Rivas also strives to assist the aspiring photographers that work for him.

“I love to teach. The thing about photography is that I’ve learned by doing. I’ve sat in on classes and picked some things up, but most of my photography experience has come by multiple forms of working with different people or learning off the Internet or watching what other people are doing. That’s why I think it’s very important that I verbalize and give the reasons why I do things when we’re on shoots,” Rivas said. “I also like it when they ask me questions, too. That tells me they’re interested and that they’re willing and wanting to learn.”

While he may give pointers, he is not very strict in his instruction. He is very flexible with his own work, believing that the best expectation is the unexpected.

“I can get behind the camera and feel comfortable in most situations but the times when I’m doing the best is generally when I feel uncomfortable, when I’m in a unique environment,” Rivas said. “You can have the greatest plan in the world, but if you stay by those rules then you’re inadvertently putting yourself in a box, so I see it as a good thing when things change and go differently. It’s the things that you don’t think about that can really shape and change you.”

As Rivas thrives with a busy schedule, he has no intent on slowing down anytime soon.

“I get into these lulls and boring points in my life, and then I know that I’m going to regret it when I say that because I know that something crazy is going to pop up,” Rivas said. “But when I’ve got a whole bunch of things going on, for some reason, I stay more motivated. I think I work in reverse from most people; I do my best work when I’m under stress. I just stop thinking after a certain point and just start doing.”

This article is the second installment of the Monitor’s alumni feature series. Each week, a staff or faculty alumnus/alumna will be highlighted for their contributions to William Jewell College when they attended the institution as students and now as employees.