When a member of the NC community attends or participates in a sporting game, a handful of factors stand out as hallmarks of the event: a hype crowd, long lines at the Snack Shack and NC’s latest photography hotshot, sophomore Gregory Buranich. Commonly referred to by his Instagram handle, @g_madeithappen, Buranich has found local fame for his work at basketball games to senior nights. At any meet or match during the 2023-2024 school year, students eagerly await his arrival, and they receive a guarantee that their home runs or touchdowns may live on through Buranich’s lens.
After observing his photography-experienced mother capture NC’s Senior Night during his freshman year, Buranich saw the vast world of photography that lay so closely at his fingertips. With his prerequisite love and appreciation for sports such as football, he understands the importance of capturing moments in action; from career-making slam dunks to clutch touchdowns, Buranich recognizes the cruciality of his shots and how they tell the story of a ball game. Similarly, he acknowledges how his photos can help improve the lives of others, and he seeks to do so with every shutter of his camera.
“I thought this would be a cool thing to do, and I really thought about it and I really thought I could make something out of this and make myself a bigger person or share what I want to share with people. It really made me feel that I can put myself out there and make people put themselves out there and perhaps get them recruited. It really motivates me to help get people out there [with my photography] so that coaches can see and do what they want to do with it,” Buranich said.
Since his beginnings with photography in 2022, Buranich’s work has recorded several significant feats over the course of NC history. From the NC Lady Warrior Volleyball securing a historic win against the Walton Raiders at State to the dramatically memorable Homecoming game this last fall, the young artist has embedded his portfolio into the local community. As a member of NC’s yearbook, “Panorama,” Buranich can actively capture and report on the student life around the school and hone those same skills with his extracurricular work.
Buranich has also expanded his portfolio to other ventures around the NC community. For example, he photographed football Warriors such as seniors Zachary Addison (78) and Cayden Trotter (20) for the 2024 Prom season, capturing both their sharp outfits and cherishable memories. Buranich hopes to bridge this exposure to out-of-school photography by taking pictures at external events or student volunteer opportunities.
“He [Buranich] was a cameraman for football, and seeing his work in football I just knew that he could take great photos for me and my friends for prom. My favorite component [of his photos] is how he edits, and the way that he makes the photos pop out is really eye-catching. How he can make such a bright photo pre-edited turn into such a clear frame is captivating,” Addison said.
As for his future plans, Buranich hopes to continue to record moments around the NC campus and his community and send the photos on to future audiences for students and athletes to receive exposure. Similar to NC alumni who have pursued photography, such as Gary Kinyanjui, Buranich seeks to find opportunities in the industry as he ventures through his education. Although graduation lies two years away for the young prodigy, he aims to attend college and pursue sports photography in and around its campus. He also hopes to intern with the National Football League (NFL) or National Basketball Association (NBA) and hone in his craft on a predominant stage.
Despite receiving recognition for his Instagram handle as opposed to his name, Buranich embraces how his reputation feigns highly synonymous with his photography portfolio. With an eye for design and an altruistic touch, his work continues to gain momentum through every repost and profile picture. As his time at NC reaches the halfway point, Acworth and Kennesaw residents can eagerly await the artistry that resides in his SIM card, with every State Championship match or warm-up session.
“It’s good to know though that people know who I am [through my work], and I’m always doing stuff around campus. I see it as they know who I am because of my work, and that’s good because it means [to me] that when they see a picture, even without my tag on it, they know that it’s GMadeItHappen. That means I’m doing something right— like they know what my style is or what my perception is. So they know who I really am because of that,” Buranich said.
