April was an awesome month for spending time with fantastic photographers. I kicked off the month by attending MPPA and meeting a bunch of talented folks as well as getting to spend time with some other photog friends I'd already known, and I ended the month by traveling to Utah to hang out with another wonderful photographer. (Separate blog post coming for that soon.) At the MPPA conference, I watched hundreds of photos be judged by three award-winning photojournalists, and simply listening to their critiques was educational. Ross Taylor, one of the judges, would ask his colleagues, "Which photo will linger with you? Which photo will you be thinking about next week?" Those words really resonated with me -- who doesn't want to make pictures that stick with people, right? I'm not where I want to be with my shooting, but I'm making my way there day by day. I hope my images will linger longer the more I photograph. - CP Kalamazoo Central senior Garrett Tanner hits a shot during the Greater Kalamazoo Golf Invite in Augusta, Mich. on Thursday, April 14, 2016. The Greater Kalamazoo Golf Invite in Augusta, Mich. on Thursday, April 14, 2016. Gwen Bahlau, 2, feeds a giraffe as her mother Katie Bahlau watches at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Mich. on Friday, April 15, 2016. Binder Park Zoo opened Thursday for its 41st season. New to the zoo are a handful of animals as well as safari tents in which groups can stay for overnight adventures. Students from Galesburg-Augusta High School celebrated "Everlasting Elegance" at this year's prom at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Kim Weiss flattens out crosswalk material that is being used to create a piano crosswalk in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Monday, April 18, 2016. The Gilmore had two other similar crosswalks installed to promote their international keyboard festival happening April 29 - May 14. Juanita Goodwin poses for a portrait in her home in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Tuesday, April 7, 2016. Goodwin was an athlete throughout her life, competing in many sports, and was also Kalamazoo's first African American woman to be principal of a secondary school. She will be one of the recipients of 2016 YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award and will be honored at the 32nd YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award Celebration on Thursday, May 5th. Members of the media in a simulation room in the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Culinary and Allied Health Building, photographed on Monday, April 18, 2016. The Culinary and Allied Health Building creates a space for students to make connections between food, health, and sustainability. Lexi Akerson dances with a life-size cutout of her boyfriend Brandon Turner at Lawton High School's prom in Lawton, Mich. on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Turner has been serving in the US Air Force for two of the three years he and Akerson have been dating. He is currently stationed in England, so Akerson brought the cutout to make sure he was part of the special night. Around 160 students gathered at Lawton Community Center for the prom. City crews respond to a water main break that affected residences and businesses in the Gull Road and Mt. Olivet area of Kalamazoo, Mich. on Thursday, April 28, 2016. Friends and family of Tyler and Richard Smith prepare to release a lantern in their memory at Mattawan High School in Mattawan, Mich. on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. Friends and family gathered to remember Tyler and Richard Smith on this day in particular to celebrate Tyler's 18th birthday and to dedicate a tree as a living memorial to the father and son who were killed in a mass shooting in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Feb. 20, 2016. Police Chief Jeff Hadley speaks during a recognition ceremony honoring Eric Zapata in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Zapata, 35, a Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty on April 18, 2011, while coming to the aid of a fellow officer who came under fire while responding to a report of gunshots in the 1400 block of Hays Park Avenue in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood. Judy Smith poses for a portrait. Smith put LED lights in her dress using fabric tape. Students from Galesburg-Augusta High School celebrated "Everlasting Elegance" at this year's prom at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Family members of social work graduate Dashawn Bur II take photos of him before Western Michigan University's spring commencement at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Over 2,600 students graduated in Western Michigan University's spring commencement ceremonies. In all, the University conferred 2,615 degrees: 2,004 at the bachelor's level, 571 at the master's level, one at the specialist level and 39 at the doctoral level. Tiana Carruthers, one of the Kalamazoo mass shooting survivors, pauses during a personal statement at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Thursday, April 14, 2016. The press conference was the first time Carruthers has made a public appearance since she was shot four times by alleged gunman Jason Dalton on Feb. 20, 2016. John Butler and Gene Turner both served in the Navy aboard the USS Kidd in World War II, and were on the ship when it was hit by a kamikaze outside of Okinawa on April 11, 1945. The two never met on the ship but instead met for the first time nearly 71 years to the day since the attack. New alumni walk across the stage one last time after Western Michigan University's spring commencement at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Over 2,600 students graduated in Western Michigan University's spring commencement ceremonies. In all, the University conferred 2,615 degrees: 2,004 at the bachelor's level, 571 at the master's level, one at the specialist level and 39 at the doctoral level.