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Happening ... in the Local Church
 Father
Tim McFarland, CPPS, posts hundreds of his campus photos online. (Photo
by Caroline B. Mooney) |
 A
water lily on the college campus (Photo courtesy Father Tim McFarland) |
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scene from the college’s 2007 “Little 500” student race (Photo courtesy
Father Tim McFarland) |
 A
view of the Grand Canyon (Photo courtesy Father Tim McFarland) |
By Caroline B. Mooney
The Catholic Moment
RENSSELAER — Staff, students and alumni of Saint Joseph’s College are reaping the benefits of the skills of amateur photographer Father Tim McFarland, CPPS.
“I use Father Tim’s photos a lot in our publications — especially our alumni magazine,” Rebecca Scherer, publications and media relations director at the college, said. “I rely on him — he gets a lot of great student shots, and I use a lot of his campus photos. He is so great at getting landscapes.
“Saint Joe really puts its best foot forward with his photographs,” she said. “Father Tim is pretty much the official photographer for our capital campaign. His beautiful photographs are such a part of that. This is a very peaceful place and that really comes out in his photography. His photos really enthuse people. We are so appreciative of all his work.”
Father McFarland received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint Joseph’s College, a master of divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctor of philosophy in historical theology from Saint Louis University. He is an associate professor of religion at Saint Joseph’s and serves as the associate vice president for academic affairs and coordinator of the core curriculum. He also teaches classes for the diocesan Ecclesial Lay Ministry program.
He became interested in black-and-white photography while working on his master’s degree.
“Another priest from the Catholic Theological Union taught me how to develop black-and- white photos,” Father McFarland said, “and I created a mug book of all the students.”
At his first parish assignment in Whiting, Ind., a parishioner who was a wedding photographer taught the priest more about photography and helped him get a 35mm camera. He then started working with color photography.
After joining the staff of Saint Joseph’s College in 1985, he became a supervisor to student photographers.
“We had a darkroom and developed photos,” Father McFarland said. “I wasn’t doing a lot of my own photography at the time, just supervising the student workers.
“Around 1999 or 2000, digital photography started coming out and I really started enjoying that,” he said. “I could take a lot of pictures without the worry of developing them. I started taking photos of construction on campus and got some good feedback.
“Years ago, Saint Joseph’s held a workshop for faculty on the rudiments of Web sites and I was one of the early ones to have my own site,” Father said. “Now I use it for my courses and put up links for students, as well as a place to post my photos. It’s a real creative outlet for me.”
Father McFarland took a lot of photos on spring breaks, and began posting scenic photographs for his family and friends.
“The soccer coach here is a friend of mine,” he said, “and I started taking photos of soccer games and ended up doing a soccer page on my Web site. People started getting interested in my photography. Players’ parents just loved it … and the kids loved it, too.
“I started taking pictures of football games, and got into other campus sports, like golf, tennis and volleyball,” Father McFarland said. “That’s when I made a page of just my photography stuff.”
“He posted pictures from all the home soccer games this year,” said Dave Bokhart, head soccer coach at Saint Joseph’s. “It’s really a great way for parents to keep in touch. He’s been doing it for us for a couple of years. A lot of times you see Father Tim around campus with his camera taking pictures. He works hard to get the pictures up.
“It’s a good way for us to promote our program,” Bokhart said. “We send links to recruits and a lot of parents call him and ask about getting copies of photos. A lot of his photos also end up in our alumni newsletters and camp flyers. We really enjoy the privilege of the benefits of his photography.”
“Father Tim has really been a lifesaver for my job,” said Clark Teuscher, director of sports information at the college.
“We don’t really have the budget for a paid event photographer,” he said, “so to have someone volunteering their time with his level of quality has really made my life a lot easier.
“We use a good sample of his material in all our publications,” Teuscher said. “His photos are used on the Web site and for any media requests. Any publication we put out has at least one or two of his photos in it.”
“I enjoy photography because it allows me to be creative,” Father McFarland said. “The part I enjoy the most is putting it on my Web site. I have a counter for visits made to the site. I post photos right after football games and I can watch the hits go way up for a day or two. Then, it slows down, and after the next game they go way up again.”
Father McFarland also puts up weekly photos of construction renovations on campus that are part of the school’s capital campaign.
“College alumni and our donors can see what’s going on and follow the progress,” he said. “I also take photos of plays and other campus activities, as well as some team photos.”
He is particularly proud of a photograph of the Lourdes Grotto on campus that was chosen as the cover of Sprint’s 2006 Rensselaer phone book.
“I could never go back to film because I shoot so many pictures,” he said. “I average shooting about 10,000 photos a year.”
He even worked as a wedding photographer for some former students. He found it advantageous to know when things would happen, as well as what bothered him about photographers during a ceremony.
“Parents will tell me that they love my photos,” Father McFarland said. “One parent e-mailed me and said, ‘I just want to thank you for this family photo — we haven’t had a family photo for years, and now it’s sitting on my desk.’
“At a basketball game, one of the mothers said she loved my work,” he said. “Then, a couple weeks later she couldn’t get to a game, but she got on my Web site and saw her son making a great dunk shot. That’s fun — it’s nice to get that feedback from parents and others.”
To learn more
More of Father Tim McFarland’s photos can be seen on his Web site at www.saintjoe.edu/~timm/