Cupcakes at *ndulge Bakery

Cupcakes are on display at Ndulge Cupcake Boutique on the 200 block of West College Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2010.

Sara Bintrim, 21, of State College, poses at Ndulge Cupcake Boutique on the 200 block of West College Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2010 in front of the Halloween gingerbread house that she made with fellow staff members. Bintrim, originally of Pittsburgh and a graduate of the culinary school of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, has worked at the boutique for five days a week since it opened in May 2010.

Vickie Milton Henry, 61, of Bellefonte, Pa., packages cupcakes for delivery at Ndulge Cupcake Boutique on the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2010. Henry, who retired from Penn State in 1999 after 33 years of managing endowments, has worked at the boutique since it opened in May 2010 "for fun." Henry said her favorite flavors are carrot and coconut, but says she hasn't been able to finish a whole cupcake that she has baked at the boutique. 

Pastry chef Sara Bintrim, 21,  answers phone calls at ndulge Cupcake Boutique on the 200 block of West College Avenue on the morning of Tuesday, October 12, 2010. Bintrim, originally from Pittsburgh and a graduate of the culinary school of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, now lives in State College working at the boutique five days a week since it opened in May 2010.

Election Day Coverage

For the election, we were sent to find interesting polling places to photograph. After viewing the website for voting in Centre County, I decided to pay a visit to Mike's Video and Electronics on North Atherton Street, as well as Remodeler's Workshop, a kitchen and bath remodeling store in Boalsburg.
All photos by Chloe Elmer, all taken on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

From left; Jeanette Baumbach, 60, Jean Brownley, 68, and Naomi Leubuscher, "over 60," sit and wait for voters in Mike's Video and Appliance store on North Atherton street on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. By the afternoon, they had seen a few hundred voters turn out. 

Jeanette Baumbach, 60, of State College, counts up voters at Mike's Video and Appliance on North Atherton Street in State College on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

Naomi Leubuscher, "over 60", of State College, helps John Fegyveresi, 33, and a first-year geoscience Ph.D. student, sign up to vote at Mike's Video and Appliance on North Atherton Street in State College on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.

From left; Louise Young, 52, Nancy Swartzell, 65, Nancy Kurzinger, 68, and Helen Alters, 67, await voters in the Remodeler's Workshop, a  kitchen and bath remodeling specialist store in Bellefonte, Pa., on Tuesday afternoon.

Clockwise from left: Louise Young, 52, Nancy Kurzinger, 68, Helen Alters, 67, and Nancy Swartzell, 65 sit and await voters in the kitchen and bath remodeling store Remodeler's Workshop on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. The group had been there from 6 a.m. and expect to be able to leave around 9 p.m. At 5:00 p.m., they had seen around 1/3 of their 300 registered voters.

Campaign signs are displayed outside of the Remodeler's Workshop, a full-service kitchen and bath remodeling specialist store, on Tuesday November 2, 2010 in Bellefonte, Pa., where voting took place all day.

Studio/Photo Illustration

A coconut-cream pie with a graham cracker crust accented with cranberries, chocolate morsels, lightly toasted chopped pecans and a swirl of whipped cream.

Photos By: Chloe Elmer

Assignment 4: "Defining Beauty"

This week's assignment was to define what we see as beautiful. As a former dancer, I wanted to show the beauty that dancers can portray through their work. I had contacted the ballet club at Penn State, Volé, asking to photograph a point technique class. When I showed up at the time the girl had told me, however, I was surprised to find that it was only a rehearsal for a piece for their semester showcase. More than a little bit disappointed, as it was Monday at 11 p.m., I continued to shoot hopefully to get something useable. I found out that the girl who was choreographing the dance had knee surgery, yet still keeps dancing because it is her passion. To me, displaying her scar and continuing to go for her dreams even after overcoming a major obstacle is the definition of true beauty.

Becky Kelley, a Penn State senior majoring in integrative arts and dance, instructs four fellow Volé club dancers in the White Building on Monday night. As a senior and member of Volé, the ballet club on campus, Kelley choreographed a dance for Volé's showcase for the Fall of 2010 set to Ella Fitzgerald's "Fever." Kelley continued to pursue her passion of dance even after having knee surgery, which left a scar on her right knee.

Melanie Angle, a Penn State Senior majoring in psychology dances during a rehearsal for a showcase piece for Volé, Penn State's dance club, in the White Building on Monday night. The piece was set to "Fever" by Ella Fitzgerald, and was choreographed by senior Becky Kelley, an integrative arts major.

Assignment 3: "A Real Superhero"

For this assignment, I photographed volunteers of the organization Meals on Wheels on Friday, September 10th, 2010 at the Grace Lutheran Church in State College. It is here that the organization prepares meals to be delivered to clients. A number of volunteers work on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to prepare and deliver meals. Supervisor Anna Carol Buffington said "I think everyone in our organization is a hero. They go about their volunteering in a quiet manner, but they make a huge impact on the clients whom they serve." The State College branch of Meals on Wheels is now in its 39th year of operation, and has served between 1.2-1.3 million meals in that time period. 

Photo By: Chloe Elmer
Dawn Crews, 42, of State College, Pa., puts cling wrap on cheese sandwiches for Meals on Wheels at the Grace Lutheran Church on Friday morning, September 10th, 2010. Crews has volunteered for Meals on Wheels for three years, but says "I love it. I feel like I've been here forever." Meals on Wheels delivers hot and cold meals  to eight different routes in the State College Area School District. After preparing the meals for two hours Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the volunteers pack up decorated brown bags and insulated packages and deliver them to the clients. A team of eight prepared 160 of both hot and cold meals to deliver this day.

Photo By: Chloe Elmer
Bob Lindsay, 69, of State College, Pa., delivers a hot meal and a cold meal to Margaret Budd on Fairmont Avenue on Friday morning, September 10th, 2010. Lindsay, a retired employee of the U.S. Department of Justice and Penn State Alumnus, has been volunteering with Meals on Wheels for about 5 years. Lindsay drives Route 7 (out of 8 different routes throughout the State College Area School District), which is the local route, including homes in his own neighborhood.

Assignment 2: "Alphabet Portrait"

For this assignment, we were instructed to find someone with a profession beginning with the letter we picked out of an envelope. I got the letter "n," and I found a nail technician. We then had to take 2 portraits of this person, one as an environmental posed photo and the other as a candid.

Nail technician Rachel Taylor, 26, poses in front of an O.P.I. nail polish display in Looks Hair Design on Friday, September 3rd, 2010. Taylor has worked at the salon for almost two years after graduating from Empire Beauty School doing manicures and pedicures among other procedures. Taylor says her favorite part of  working as a nail technician is the variety of clientele she serves.

Nail technician Rachel Taylor, 26, paints the toenails of Tiffany Zak at Looks Hair Design on Friday, September 3rd, 2010. Zak, a Penn State senior majoring in biotechnology, gets manicures and pedicures often, but came to Taylor because she "heard she's really good." Taylor, originally from Altoona, Pa., has been a nail technician at Looks for about two years. She enjoys her job because of the variety of clientele she serves.

Assignment 1: "My Favorite Place"

"My Favorite Place"
Activities Center for the College of Engineering in the Hammond Building

8 a.m. 

Lecie Houston, a Penn State senior studying chemical engineering, gets an early start to the morning in the Bayard D. Kunkle Activities Center for the College of Engineering in the Hammond Building on Monday, August 30th, 2010. Houston was seen here studying around 8:00 a.m., and was among only three other early risers. This building, located across from the intersection of Allen Street and College Avenue, is one of my favorite buildings on the Penn State University Park Campus. The windows stretch three stories high, and an open studying area is the perfect atmosphere to study on both a hot summer day and a cold winter day, as the scenery from the large windows is unlike  most other buildings on campus.

1:30 p.m.

Students study in the Bayard D. Kunkle Activities Center for the College of Engineering in the Hammond Building on Monday, August 30th, 2010. The photo was taken around 1:30 p.m., when many students were on campus for classes.

 10:00 p.m.

The vacant Bayard D. Kunkle Activities Center for the College of Engineering in the Hammond Building lacks the students that were studying there earlier on Monday, August 30th, 2010. This photograph was taken at 10 p.m., after the main doors to this entrance are locked.