By Maggie McNinch, Editor-in-Chief

Stretched out in bed after a game, you open your phone to OBX SportShots and search for your sport. Already, the photos from the event just two hours ago have magically appeared. Smiling, you send the occasional “unfortunate” photo of your teammates to the group chat – and marvel at the sheer quantity and exceptional quality of the photos compiled there.

This was a common occurrence for many First Flight athletes, but how many paused to wonder about the identity of the person behind the lens and the proprietor of the well-known website?

That person was Nags Head resident Wright Emory. He attended almost every home game and even some away ones. He shot, edited and published countless, meaningful photos that will be treasured by students and their families for many years to come.

Emory passed away unexpectedly on March 16. His death shocked the community and saddened the hearts of those who knew him.

“It was hard to ever be at a First Flight sporting event and not see Wright there,” newspaper and yearbook adviser Steve Hanf said. 

Having never known a stranger, Emory forged many friendships through his hobby. Junior and fellow photographer Taylor Newton shot alongside Emory at numerous sporting events. 

“Once I got into high school and started shooting full-time, we were practically at every game together,” Newton said. “So we ended up getting to know each other pretty well, cracking jokes on the sideline, and showing off pictures to each other during breaks.”

Newton first met Emory in middle school, not by taking photos together on the sidelines, but by being an athlete in the lens of his camera. 

“I was always super excited to see myself pictured playing sports; it was definitely a first for me,” Newton said. “And honestly it might have sparked the idea that I wanted to take sports pictures myself.”

An inspiration to Newton, Emory also encouraged newer student photographers at various games. Hanf recalls joking with Emory about seeing beginner photographers standing in clusters instead of venturing apart, but that Emory would always give them some photo tips. 

“Over the years we have prided ourselves on improving the quality of our photos and on how many of the photos in our yearbook are ours,” Hanf said. “But we knew that we could always count on Wright for that emergency photo or that ‘just perfect’ photo we knew he had shot that was going to be a great part of our telling the story of the year.”

Happy to share his photos for free with First Flight school publications when asked, Emory was less motivated by the financial gain of selling his photos on OBX SportShots and more by taking pictures for the love of it. 

“He joked around about how he never made a lot of money doing it and he worked for a few years to save up for a trip to Richmond to see a show,” fellow photographer Aaron Jennings said. “He didn’t do it for the money. He did it because he enjoys it.”

For those who either worked with him or simply enjoyed his photos, the consensus is clear: although he did it just for fun, his skill as a photographer was unparalleled. 

“Wright’s ability of consistency and a fast turnaround time always blew my mind,” Newton said. “He would have a photo gallery out pretty much the night of the game.”

Added Jennings: “He made sure to capture every player and make them available to the parents and the students. If the outcome had been decided already and you got some of the younger players out, he made sure to get shots of them because it’s not every chance that a given student is going to get to play.”

While photography played a major role in Emory’s life, this was not his only job. Emory worked at The Outer Banks Hospital since 2003 as the supervisor of Materials Management. 

“Wright ensured that 500-plus team members had the supplies and medications they needed on a daily basis to provide safe and effective patient care,” said Ronnie Sloan, president of The Outer Banks Hospital.

Despite Emory’s critical job at the hospital, he still managed to find time in his day to pursue his passion, and not just at FFHS sporting events. 

“I found out about Wright’s passion for sports photography on the very first night that I started at TOBH,” Sloan said. “I was invited out to a Dare Devil’s game back in June of 2011. During that game, I was pulled out to do a dizzy bat contest. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Wright was standing outside the fence on the third base side taking photographs. I didn’t think much about it until a few days later when Wright gave me a collage of my performance. An embarrassing moment at the time quickly turned into a connection with Wright and an understanding that the culture here was just what I wanted – fun and family.”

When he wasn’t working at TOBH or shooting photos, Emory could be found attending theater performances in New York City and Durham, as well as spending time with his family. Although he did not have any children of his own, he viewed his niece, Rebecca Emory, as a daughter. 

“He was a great host for us when we would visit him in Nags Head,” Rebecca said. “He knew the best restaurants, took my friend Arielle and I sailing when we were younger, and always had activities that could keep us busy.”

Rebecca also recalls fond memories of holidays spent together, exchanging gifts, enjoying the holiday food and watching their favorite Christmas movie, “A Christmas Story.” She noted Wright’s ability to make friends wherever he was, explaining that in his early adult years he traveled abroad to Australia and Ireland and even lived in England for a while, making connections with many. 

From shooting sports games to dizzy bat contests, it is clear that Wright did not go far without his camera and enjoyed photographing many different scenes. 

“He loved capturing pictures of not just sports but wildlife, social events, nautical scenery and anything, really,” Rebecca said. “He always made sure I had the best pictures when it came to proms, graduations and even my engagement proposal.”

With his abilities and rapport as a well-known photographer, hard work at TOBH and a genuinely kind and giving personality, one thing is for certain: Wright influenced the lives of many and will be terribly missed. 

“I know Wright’s going to leave a hole in the community as far as going out and shooting games,” Jennings said. “I just know that that’s going to be a hole that the community is going to look for someone to fill, just capturing their kids playing.”

Senior Maggie McNinch can be reached at 22mcninchma07@daretolearn.org.