Ryan C. Henriksen is the 2009 College Photographer of the Year.  Henriksen, a photojournalism student at Ohio University, interned at The Virginian-Pilot during the summer of 2009.

It is a wonderful and unexpected honor to be named the 64th College Photographer of the Year.  So far, it has been a very surreal experience and I am not quite sure what to expect.  Winning CPOY was something I had never really thought much about, because it seemed beyond my grasp and an award I considered to be reserved for students at a level of shooting above my own.  There are many students whose work I look up to and admire and I will continue to do so.

Jeremiah Hedges and his younger sister Chandra Hedges hold two of their neighbor’s children while babysitting them downtown in New Straitsville, Ohio.  (Ryan C. Henriksen)

I started studying photography at Brooks Institute in Ventura, California where I received my associate’s degree in 2007.  After that I transferred to Ohio University to complete my bachelor’s degree.  The common thread I have found between the two schools is the emphasis on teaching students to photograph those scenarios in which they are most interested.

I started my project on the Hedges family in New Straitsville partly because I wanted to do a story which focused on something besides poverty during my time in Ohio and partly because a teacher once told me I didn’t have any intimate pictures in my portfolio.  I also knew there had to be a story of personal significance for me here and I wanted to find it.  In other words, a story I wanted to tell. I’m not trying to say that stories on poverty shouldn’t be told. I just wanted to find something different.  I found what I was looking for in the Hedges family and what I’ve come away with is not what they’ve done for my photography, but what they’ve taught me about life and living it to the fullest in spite of the poverty surrounding their daily lives.  When I first met the Hedges, the obvious signs of poor living conditions were everywhere and hard to miss, but what drew me to them were their relationships with each other.  Part of the goal of my project is to show that even though there are thirteen people living under one roof, they do not let it get them down.  There is a simple joy in their lives that I have not seen anywhere else.

Wayne Hedges plays with his kids, (from left) Shantelle & Chandra Hedges and his wife’s youngest daughter Reanna Davis in the front of their home in New Straitsville, Ohio.  (Ryan C. Henriksen)

Jacob gets pulled by one leg by his older brother Jeremiah while playing keep-a-way in their backyard with his sisters Shyanne, left, and Cierra, right.  (Ryan C. Henriksen)

Jeremiah holds hands with his girlfriend as they walk across one of the main streets in downtown New Straitsville on their way to his mom’s house.  (Ryan C. Henriksen)

Regarding internships, I had my first one this past summer at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia.  I learned a tremendous amount from the photo staff at the Pilot because everyone who worked there went out of their way to spend time looking at the work I had been doing and give feedback.  Whether it was the photo director, one of the three photo editors, or one of the staff photographers—if I had a question or needed some advice, any one of them would help.  The photo staff at The Pilot is incredibly talented. Being able to see what they were shooting on a daily basis and look at their selects and how they shot different assignments helped me figure out what and how I had to shoot.  The trust and confidence they had in me to shoot some great assignments made me push myself even farther than I ever had in school. I tried to work every extra day I was needed and take any assignment I was asked.

Left to right: Seaman David Rinehart, Seaman Joshua Dissette, and Seaman Douglas Russell take a moment for themselves between jobs on the fantail of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as they prepare for the ship to dock at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va.  After a five-month deployment, every sailor was ready to get home.   (Ryan C. Henriksen/The Virginian-Pilot)

One of the most important things I have learned in school is to not be afraid to take chances with my photography and the time spent in school is the best opportunity to do that.  If the shot turns out to be completely screwed up, it can most likely be re-shot for class.  Although grades are important, I never went out to shoot thinking, “I need an A, and so I need to take a good picture.”  I found that trying to shoot with the extra stress of grades takes a lot of the fun away and the stress always inevitably showed in my pictures.

The reason I do this is because I love it.  I love meeting people, taking pictures, experimenting with the pictures and seeing what I come away with.  Having a passion for photography makes me work harder.  I am always striving for that perfect picture which always seems to be just slightly out of my grasp, but I would not want it any other way.