2026

VISUAL JOURNALISM & PHOTOGRAPHY

The capstone experience is the culmination of the Visual Journalism & Photography Program at Western Kentucky University. In our Photojournalism & Documentary track, students develop and produce in-depth visual stories to explore meaningful subjects with creativity, purpose, and journalistic integrity. In our Photography track students present an image portfolio of photographs taken in and out of the studio gathered during the semester. Their final presentations reflect both their personal vision and readiness for the professional world.

2026 CAPSTONE PROJECTS

photojournalism & documentary track

VJP 436

Filling in the missing pieces

For Marion and Gail Taylor, dementia has slowly taken shape as a series of missing pieces—names, memories, and moments once shared easily between them. For Jenny Jacobs, those same missing pieces are exactly what her program, Defying Dementia, is designed to help families find again.

By Garrett Woodrum

Deeper than Roots

Lewis Cutliff, a 94-year-old man reflects on a homecoming to the land he was once displaced from - Mammoth Cave National Park. Despite being an ever-changing governmental entity, Cutliff lived a life that ensured his place in the park's history.

Shelby Brown, a 13-year-old girl with Down Syndrome navigates the world around by the help of her family.

By Brodie Curtsinger

Throughout kitchens, dorms, churches and homes, six stories reveal how food means more than just a necessity of life — it is bonding with family, providing for others and building communities. Though it may take different forms, one thing remains the same: food is how we connect.

By Hallie Stafford

In the fading "Coal Capital" of Muhlenberg County, Ky. a community of former miners and their families carry the industry's heavy legacy in their lungs, their history, and their blood.

Every Saturday for eight months out of the year, you’ll be able to find Jack Shuttleworth guiding a fly-fishing trip from his favorite spot in South Central Kentucky. It's not just a hobby, but instead a way for him to share experiences with others, building a community, one cast at a time.

By Preston Jenkins

Willie and his wife will never be wealthy by conventional standards, but on their regenerative farm, they're building something richer, a life deeply rooted in land, faith, and community.

By Kayden Mulrooney

Making Fun On My Downhill Run

Retired art teacher and local potter Bob Brigl reflects on getting older, the purpose of art, and the lives he touched throughout his career.

By Dominic Di Palermo

Saying without speaking

Edvin Rahim is a happy four-year-old, he plays with his mom and is obsessed with the color orange. His mother, Stephanie Taylor, is his full-time caretaker while he lives with the complexities of severe autism spectrum disorder.

photography track

VJP 433

By Jared Winter

By Melissa Taylor

By Zach Andress

By Jacob Sebastian

By Hannah Kronfeld

By Marlowe Hanel

By Myah Griffin

By Jacob Stanfield

By Clarissa Dean