First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Brandiss, Scarlett, and Easton send a Chinese lantern into the night sky after the celebration of life for six-year-old James Hutchinson at Barnitz Stadium in Middletown, Ohio, on March 2, 2021. Brandiss and her family are members of the Rylee Sellars Foundation, a non-profit that was created to advocate on behalf of children that are abused and neglected, and came to the celebration of life to honor James’ memory. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Musa, 27, a park ranger, leads a hike down the Chaimu Crater in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya, on July 16, 2021. “I’ve used my rifle a few times … only to scare away animals, never to kill,” said Musa. The volcano was named Chaimu or “a place of the ghosts,” 150 years ago when it last erupted. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Maria Gian, Aaron Bryan and Maggie Sorci react to the kissing scene of their video at 4:22 p.m. during the 48-Hour Shootout at Ohio University on Feb. 12, 2022, in Athens, Ohio. Their final video, “Hot Plumber Toothpaste Mania,” did not end up placing in the competition. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Jennifer proudly shares her childhood home, a solid hut made of mud and sticks with a metal roof, in a village near Mtito Andei, Kenya on July 23, 2021. She was proud to share it because she knows how far she has come since leaving her home and making it to secondary school, and she knows how far she will go once she moves on to college. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Doug Gilbert, an ecologist at Environmental Solutions & Innovations, Inc., looks up at an old-growth black oak tree in the Simpson Farm Conservation District in Loveland, Ohio, on June 8, 2021. Gilbert discovered the fact that the Simpson Farm is the last known old-growth forest in Loveland, Ohio, and notified the Old Growth Forest Network after finding aerial imagery from 1932 that shows 10 acres of mature, hundred-year-old forest in the heart of the property. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Kristen Richardson, Victoria Greenlee, Ashley Agle, and Ryan Emery, Ohio University 2020 and 2021 graduates, take shots at Lucky’s bar before the fall of 2020 graduation ceremony on College Green in Athens on September 5, 2021. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - University of Cincinnati seniors await for the ceremony to begin,April 30, 2021 before the start of the 2021 University of Cincinnati spring graduation commencement ceremony at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - James Sowders, 49, of Owensville, drives a snow plow for the City of Loveland Public Works in Loveland, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 2021. Sowders has worked for the City of Loveland for 16 years, “I started working at 7:30 this morning, normally I’d be off at 4:00 p.m.,” said Sowders. “Tonight, I’ll be here until midnight before I clock out and another driver takes me place for the rest of the night.” (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jeremiah Davenport (24) slams in a dunk against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game, March 4, 2021 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Dave Cunningham, owner of The Comet bar, smiles behind the bar, March 11, 2021 at The Comet in Northside Cincinnati. “About 25 years ago, along with my wife, I made a leap of faith and bought this place,” said Cunningham. “It worked out… even with COVID this past year, it’s been great. I encourage all young people to take a leap of faith.” (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - An Ohio University Marching 110 alumni couple takes a moment in the shade with their daughter as the Bobcats football team plays Central Michigan at Peden Stadium in Athens on October 9, 2021. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Larry, Bebe, Stacey, and Martin Luther, the king penguins (from left to right), waddle back home to their exhibit during Penguin Days at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 30, 2021. “They really enjoy getting outside, especially when it’s cold. They always seem ready to go when we open the doors,” said Shae Miller, Wild Encounters Manager. “Maybe they like seeing new things: people, colors, smells, colder weather.” (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Few leaves are still falling off trees and down the ever-running water of the National Wild and Scenic Little Miami River, where they float through five counties and 111 miles of southwest Ohio, into the Ohio River and toward the Mississippi before eventually finding their way into the Gulf of Mexico. Today, these 111 miles of Little Miami River are the cleanest that they have been in the last 40 years, and as the world may seem largely disconnected due to the coronavirus pandemic, a connection between people over time is helping to create the river’s lasting sustainability. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - A ripple in the water caused by a fish moves below fall trees as the sun rises in Loveland, Ohio, on Oct. 13, 2020. The Little Miami River flows through 5 counties and 111 miles of Southwest Ohio, including Clermont County and Hamilton County where Loveland lies between. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Eric Partee, executive director of the Little Miami Conservancy, holds one of nine water quality sondes that are found all along the length of the river, this one in Milford, Ohio, on Nov. 16, 2020. “96% of the river is in full attainment with exceptional habitat quality, it’s just in fantastic condition. The challenge is to keep it that way,” Partee said. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Particles of sediment floats on the surface of the Little Miami River near a bank in Loveland, Ohio, on Nov. 12, 2020. Runoff is one of the biggest threats to the Little Miami River — usually originating from agriculture, which makes up nearly half of the lower Little Miami's watershed. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Kenny Boykin leans back to cast his line at the Magrish Nature Preserve just north of the Ohio River on Nov. 27, 2020. In the 1980s, only 4% of the Little Miami River was in full attainment of water quality health, but in recent years, the chart has flipped, and as of 2007, the river is at 96% attainment of health, according to OEPA research. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - An aerial view of the National Wild and Scenic Little Miami River in Maineville on Dec. 3, 2020. Although the Little Miami River is of “exceptional quality,” according to a 2010 water quality monitoring report by the OEPA, “the tributaries were generally of a lower quality.” However, near Beaver Creek in Greene County, there is an organization called the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association, which has adopted that very issue. “I think that’s probably the best future for the watershed, to have local citizens dealing with multiple tributaries and try to restore or protect it,” Eric Partee said. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Mark Bersani, owner of Loveland Canoe and Kayak, points to invasive plant species beyond stacks of kayaks along his riverfront property where his business and home sits next to the Little Miami River in Loveland on Nov. 19, 2020. Local businesses like the Canoe and Kayak livery work closely to support the Little Miami Conservancy, which leads the protection of the river through water quality monitoring, yearly clean ups, forest restoration through the purchasing of riverfront properties, planting trees, and removing invasive species. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Sunlight breaks through the river's surface in an underwater view of the Little Miami River near Nisbet Park in Loveland on Nov. 12, 2020. When the Little Miami was designated as Ohio’s first State Scenic River and included in the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1973, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, locals had already been active in its conservation and return to sustainability for half a decade. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - People bike on a section of the Loveland Bike Trail alongside the Little Miami River in Loveland on Nov. 8, 2020. Between the shared relationships of the Little Miami Conservancy, OEPA, local government officials, developers, landowners, non-profits, teachers, and local business owners, a community has come together and worked toward the common effort to make a positive, sustainable change in the health of the river. As the late author Nelson Henderson said, and Eric Partee paraphrased in an interview, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - NEST, which stands for Nutrition, Education, Safety, and Transformation, is a non-profit community learning center based out of mobile RVs in Loveland, Ohio, where founder, Evangeline DeVol, and other volunteers work closely with families in low-income neighborhoods. DeVol likes to call the kids who come for help with their homework her “world changers.” She believes if volunteers take the time to come and make a connection with these kids and help to fill in holes of education, the kids have a real opportunity to reach their full potential and change the world, even in the smallest ways. As NEST relies on building close relationships with families and the kids it helps, caution surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has forced NEST to adjust while still trying to remain consistent. This story looks at the on-going relationships between education, families and kids living below the poverty level, and volunteers who offer their time to help. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Evangeline DeVol, the founder of an RV-based learning program called NEST, is reflected in the mirror while sifting through paperwork as Lacy Walker, a paid tutor and teacher at a local high school, works with a fourth grader inside the RV in Batavia, Ohio, on Oct. 21, 2020. NEST is based in Loveland, Ohio, about 30 minutes west of Batavia, and as the program continues to grow, and face on-going challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, DeVol is looking for Walker and other volunteers to take on more responsibilities. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - A school bus slows down to drop kids off in as Evangeline DeVol, center, waits in the parked NEST RV for the kids to come for help with homework at Zebulon Park Apartments in Batavia, Ohio on Oct. 21, 2020. The relationship between NEST, the schools, and the parents is essential for the learning program to function effectively. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Marygrace, a site manager, works with Braydon, a first grader, on math homework at MacArthur Park in Loveland, Ohio on Oct. 14, 2020. Braydon and his brothers, Christopher and Andre, come to NEST nearly every day for help with school work. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Marygrace hands food bags to Evelyn and Andre before NEST leaves for the day in Loveland, Ohio, on Oct. 14, 2020. Whether kids, or even parents, finish home work for the day they are given a free food bag designed to last a couple of days. NEST's funding used to purchase all the food, though since the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's CARES Act, the Loveland Schools System has provided bags since this year's summer program started. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Carisa, far right, grandmother of Braydon, Christopher, and Andre, watches her kids as they play with friends in Loveland, Ohio, on Oct. 22, 2020. "We trust NEST, they do a good job with our kids. I always like to keep an eye on them from my apartment here because the kids run around so much and cars fly through the parking lot here," Carisa said. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Kaleb, fourth grade, returns to do homework after grabbing a snack in Batavia, Ohio, on Oct. 21, 2020. NEST has only been coming to his apartment complex for a few weeks now, and nearly each time he has shown up barefoot. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Van drives the RV back to NEST's Batavia office, before driving home for the day and starting all over again tomorrow in Batavia, Ohio, on Oct. 21, 2020. "We’re hoping all of our volunteers realize that all of us leave a piece of us behind, every single day," Van said. "We desperately want our volunteers to take a piece of these kids away with them because our kids are going to take a piece of them away too, we want it to be the best piece possible." (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - We still have sunshine and moonlight, deep breathes and birds’ songs, blue skies and bright blooms, hope in our eyes, warmth in our hearts, and we’ll always have we still.Nearly a year and a half passed from feeling the ripple effects of the entry of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States in 2020 to the return of a somewhat normal life for me as a college student living in Ohio in 2021. We Still is a reflection showing scenes of my visual experience where I felt gratitude, uncertainty or intrigue. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Dark clouds loom ahead on the way home from Ohio University for my freshman year's spring break on March 6, 2020, on the James A. Rhodes Appalachian Highway. I didn't know it at the time, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic reaching the United States a week or so later, I wouldn't return to Athens for in-person classes until my August, 2021, for my junior year. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - My shadow crosses the railroad tracks that run through my hometown of Loveland, Ohio, as I ride my bike home from my restaurant job on January 9, 2021. While living back at my parents’ house, I would cross these tracks every day to and from work, sometimes thinking about the freedom the trains have that pass through. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Balloons float off into the sky during a heartbreaking six-year-old child's celebration of life I'm covering for the Cincinnati Enquirer on March 2, 2021. While the pandemic kept me home from Ohio University for the end of my freshman year and my entire sophomore year, an internship with The Enquirer allowed me the on-the-ground learning and growth I yearned for. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Laine Dannemiller, my girlfriend since the last bit of high school in 2019, laughs on FaceTime while I make lunch on August 27, 2020. We were on spring break together when we first heard news of the coronavirus reaching the United States and spent much our time away from school together in the same hometown. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Dan Timmerman, my dad, leads the way up into the attic of our 150 year old home to close the windows on August 20, 2020. My dad and I share a middle name, Moore, and even though we often argue, I’m constantly finding more ways that we're similar as I grow up. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - Stars streak outside the plane window as I cross the Atlantic Ocean en route of Nairobi, Kenya, from New York City early in the morning on July 15, 2021. Time, like these stars, has seemed to fly by faster than usual since the beginning of the pandemic. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - After only arriving at the Strouds Run State Park beach with one other friend, Laine and I run into a group of friends and end of spending the afternoon with them on July 4, 2021. For one of the first times in a long time, we felt like normal college students just having fun after a whole year physically separated from the college lives we expected. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - On a short, much-needed vacation from school, internships and work, Laine and I drive around Athens following a backpacking trip on July 4, 2021. Time spent in nature, and with Laine, always seems to keep me grounded. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - During a self-portrait, I float in the creek beyond my backyard where I spent my childhood exploring on August 12, 2021, in Loveland, Ohio. This image was made in the final days of self-quarantine after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus ten days earlier. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
First Place - Larry Fullerton Photojournalism Scholarship - The waxing crescent moon rises above a peaceful sky in Athens, Ohio, on the evening of Sept. 12, 2021. After a year and a half, I've returned to Athens for in-person school at Ohio University where I'll stay for my remaining two years — still hopeful for the future. (Joe Timmerman - Ohio University)
