Ten years ago I was in Florida, shooting my first graduation. Kids in caps and gowns buzzed around me, little moments happening quickly, me struggling to catch any with my (film) camera.

I remember one particularly poignant hug, happened right in front of me. I didn’t get it, but the more experienced photographer from the larger competing paper did.

She looked at me and knew what I was thinking.

“Happens pretty fast, doesn’t it?” she said.

Sure does. Graduations are a feast of moments and expressions and emotion for a photojournalist. They’re also a feeding trough of cliches and ritual and repetition. The challenge is to make something meaningful and true.

Since that first graduation 10 years ago, I’ve shot countless others, and I’ve got a bit better at snagging the fleeting moments.

In the past week alone, I shot ten graduations. Here are a few frames.