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People of UAB April 08, 2026

March brought sports action, blooming petals, a fleeting snowstorm and creative assignments for the photographers in UAB Marketing and Communications. Here are their favorite images from the past month.


Two UAB volleyball players smile and congratulate each other in front of the net while a bright lens flare reflects of one player's sunglasses

“In March I had the opportunity to capture a lot of sports action from UAB’s athletics teams. I was photographing UAB Beach Volleyball at Blazer Beach and I thought it would be fun to try out the star filter on my lens. I wanted to accentuate the sun and give the images the feel of being on the actual beach. I caught a sunbeam coming off one of the players' sunglasses during a celebration after they won a point. I think this shot turned out very well!” — Ian Logue, university photographer

Catch the Beach Volleyball team on April 10 and 11 at Blazer Beach for the Blazer Beach Bash 2026 tournament.


Closeup of an employee's face, focused on her right eye, with a reflection of a light in her iris and red hair visible

“Close-up photos of people's eyes fascinate me. The irises are so different, just like fingerprints. Shannon is one of MarComm's graphic designers — I couldn't not include this photo that highlights the ring around her iris that perfectly matches her hair color. I think it's perfect that someone who works intimately with colors has so many in her irises.” — Andrea Mabry, senior university photographer


A woman smiles and looks into the camera with a focus on her eyes and irises and curly hair visible framing her face

“Perhaps my favorite image from March is this closeup of the mom of our senior photographer. She is such an expressive person! She volunteered for a photo project in which we captured eyes. With her uniquely beautiful eye colors (how many can you count?) and that look, I think she was the perfect subject. This was the part of our shoot when she shared her 'teacher look.'”— Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, university photographer


A tennis ball is at the height of its arc while a waiting Men's Tennis player is poised to strike it with both framed against a cloudy sky

“I love focusing on backgrounds in sports. It is the best way to isolate the action of the athlete. In this case, I used the cloudy sky as a clean background with extreme negative space and just had the athlete doing his serve peeking up out of the bottom of the frame. I love that the subject is backlit by the sun so he is mostly in silhouette. That also serves to pull the subject out of the background.”— Ian Logue, university photographer

Men's Tennis concludes its home schedule at 1 p.m. April 9 at the Hoover Met Tennis Center. Women's Tennis hosts its final home match of the season at 3 p.m. April 10 at the Hoover Met Tennis Center.


Lulu Gribbin gestures while speaking during the keynote address at UAB's annual Communicators Conference in the Hill Student Center ballrooms

“I had the pleasure of not only listening to Lulu Gribbin speak at our Communicator's Conference in March, but also photographing her. Her story is one of perserverance, strength and faith. I've not seen anyone her age quite so poised and eloquent. Her story is moving to say the least."— Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, university photographer


A student, wearing a necklace and blue shirt, poses in a UAB studio with her sculptures of emotion-laden faces on a table next to her, and photographs of Rodin sculptures leaned against the wall behind

“Sculpture student Kara Theart poses for a picture in her workspace with a few of her pieces. Rodin inspires her work, so Kara often works with photos of his sculptures as references. Her easy, relaxed presence is a surprising contrast to the expressions of her sculptures.” — Andrea Mabry, senior university photographer


Closeup of Yoshino cherry blossoms on a tree in a foreground, with two students walking by blurred in the background

"Spring on the UAB campus is something to behold. UAB has two types of cherry blossoms. This one is the Yoshino cherry. It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon. The bold light creates striking contrast on the blooms and the shallow depth of field gives us just enough information to know there are two students walking in the background outside of Heritage Hall."— Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, university photographer


A student, wearing headphones, walks across the Campus Green under blooming cherry trees while holding a white dog on a leash

“This student walking with her fluffy, white dog under the fluffy, white cherry blossoms caught my eye. If you look behind the dog very closely, you can make out the remains of the snowman that was built the previous day!” — Andrea Mabry, senior university photographer


A tennis ball with UAB Blazers logo sits in shadows cast on the court by the net

“Photographing sporting events isn't just about getting game action. There are always interesting visuals that can be captured at every game. I saw this tennis ball sitting in a perfect length of shadow with the UAB logo pointed perfectly upwards. Just a fun detail that can have versatile use in the future. Next time you're at a sporting event, keep your eyes open for non game action images that tell the story of the game or provide fun details.”— Ian Logue, university photographer


Do you need images, graphics and video for your presentations? Check out the downloadable resources available to all Blazers in UAB's Digital Asset Library.


Written by: Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, Ian Logue and Andrea Mabry
Photos by: Jennifer Alsabrook-Turner, Ian Logue and Andrea Mabry

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