His photographs have captured some of the most iconic moments in Auburn sports.
Some are etched in the minds of Auburn fans or made into posters--Cam Newton posing with the Heisman trophy--while others are printed almost daily in newspapers.
As the official photographer of Auburn University Athletics, Todd Van Emst has documented every sports team, from football to women's soccer to swimming and diving, since 2003.
"I kind of consider my job just kind of recording history," Van Emst said. "And man, I love it. It's a good time."
Van Emst said his interest in photography was sparked by a friend around his junior year in high school.
He borrowed his friend's camera for a couple weeks and enjoyed it so much that for Christmas, his parents got him his first camera, an Olympus.
"Friends of his parents gave us a bunch of dark room equipment," Van Emst said. "So we set up shop in his grandmother's basement, and it kind of took off from there."
Van Emst cultivated his passion for photography as a student at Vestavia Hills High School, where he took photos for the yearbook, covering school events, pep rallies and the daily life around school.
After graduation, Van Emst moved to Auburn, where he said he didn't do anything with photography for about a year.
He got a camera back in his hand by taking photos, here and there, for David Housel, Auburn's sports information director at the time, and by working with Village Photographers and Cameragraphics.
"He was always a hard worker and a go-getter, and he did a lot of photography for us," said John Oliver, owner of Camera Graphics. "We'd go shoot some of the games on the sidelines together and stuff like that back then."
Van Emst also took photos for "Inside the Auburn Tigers," a magazine that covers Auburn sports.
"Todd is definitely a high-energy, high-achiever type of guy," said Mark Murphy, editor of ITAT magazine and autigers.com. "Everybody seems to like him.
"If you don't like Todd, you've got problems--there's something wrong with you, not Todd. That's just the kind of guy he is."
Van Emst's work as a photographer on the sidelines in 1992 foreshadowed his current position.
Van Emst also worked as a photographer in 1993 and 1994 for The Auburn Plainsman, where he was photo editor during the Tigers' undefeated 1993 season.
"You know, we had a real good time," Van Emst said.
"It was good experience, kind of getting your feet wet and sort of figuring out how things worked."
Van Emst said he originally pursued a degree in the Aviation Management program, but costs left him looking at other options.
Van Emst said he bounced around the business school for a while before deciding to major in geography, earning a degree in the summer of 1994.
Van Emst stayed in Auburn that fall to shoot the football season before starting a job with the Selma Times-Journal that December.
Selma didn't offer much socially for Van Emst, but professionally, he said, it was fantastic.
"I got to be good friends with the mayor," Van Emst said. "He gave me flashing lights for my car. They'd call and I'd shoot crime scenes for them.
"I saw my first person die there--get shot and die. Saw some bodies from fires. You know, and that's a kind of a whole new experience. I realize we are desensitized a little bit by watching TV because it looks just like that except you're there in person.
"That was kind of a transition into seeing that stuff that you don't normally see every day, especially being right out of college."
Van Emst left Selma in 1997 for a job as chief photographer of the Opelika-Auburn News, which he left in 1999 to become the assistant photo editor at the Montgomery Advertiser.
In 2003, Van Emst was hired as the official photographer of Auburn University athletics, a job he doesn't see himself leaving any time soon.
"I just think Auburn's very fortunate to have him because he probably does the work of three people," Murphy said. "That's what he is.
"Not only is he prolific, he's just really talented. He's got a very good eye for what he's doing. He's really an artist at it. I think he takes as good a sports photo as anybody I've ever seen."
Oliver also said Van Emst was the right man for the job.
"He's always been an Auburn guy; he's been here," Oliver said. "They picked the perfect person to do what they picked him for."
Van Emst captured this season's championship run and said that after the South Carolina game he felt the team had the opportunity to be special, noting how similar it was to the 2004 team in terms of closeness and team unity.
On game days, Van Emst said he comes in early, photographing tailgaters, setting up in the stadium and making sure everything is ready for photographers.
After events, Van Emst sends photos to newspapers across Alabama, a practice, he said, that he took from his background in newspapers.
Van Emst said one memorable and eye-opening experience he has had as Auburn's photographer was when he accompanied former head coach Tommy Tuberville on a trip to visit troops stationed in Iraq as part of Armed Forces Entertainment's first Coaches Tour in 2008.
"Just seeing those soldiers and sailors," Van Emst said, "they're 18- and 19-year-old kids, very much like our student-athletes, and the maturity level between them and between what is here on campus is night and day.
"You know, you're talking about people who could be shot at anytime. So they're just a step above what the normal college student is by far. That's the thing I think we all took away from it the most--just the maturity level of the service men and women versus a college student."
Van Emst said while every sport poses its own challenges, baseball is the most difficult to photograph.
"Game's two, three, four hours long," Van Emst said, "and maybe you can get two or three pictures out of it that are really good--maybe."
Van Emst said he typically works 10 to 12 hours a day, covering events seven days a week, although he tries to take Sundays off.
"It's a blast," Van Emst said. "I don't feel like I'm coming to work every day. I get up and look forward to going and seeing what's going to go on that day.
"I'm just very happy and very lucky to be able to do it."
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