3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Story Summary: In My Room is a portrait series that looks at the bedrooms of young adults living in Athens, Ohio and how their identity and representation of self shows up visually in these spaces. Each person photographed was encouraged to show off personal and intimate aspects of themselves. This project was an exploration into identity and how people choose to present themselves when it comes to intimate spaces. Lillian Rees poses for a portrait in her room in Athens, Ohio. Nov. 1, 2025. “I feel deeply connected to my identity as a lesbian. I like to lean into the hyperfeminine aesthetic, covering my room with lace, shades of pink, female icons on the walls and purses behind the door. I feel like my admiration and love for women comes through in my decorations!” Rees said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Aiden Boakye poses for a portrait in his room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 30, 2025. “I pretty much see everything in my room as an identity claim, as a nerd with a deep love for music, literature, video games and other media. I feel that the many facets that make up the amalgam that I am is shown through things specifically like the statues of superheroes I admire, the trinkets, the posters, books about musicians, poetry, drawings, my CDs and my art.” Boakye said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Ella Franks poses for a portrait in her room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 28, 2025. “My bedroom for me is more than just a place of rest, it’s also the place where I am most vulnerable and creative by writing music. My walls are plastered with many of my favorite musicians and media so that I am surrounded by constant inspiration. Some are even posters from my own gigs that remind me how lucky I am to be able to play music, even if it is just local and regionally.” Franks said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Leila Boussedra poses for a portrait in her room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 29, 2025. “My identity and representation of self shows up in my bedroom through the things I collect during my experiences. I feel like my bedroom is a gallery of souvenirs I’ve collected throughout my experiences in life,” Boussedra said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Aiden Cunningham poses for a portrait in his room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 31, 2025. “I have always seen my room as a timeline of my life. I still have the Pokémon cards I obsessed over as a kid, the Tyler, The Creator poster from the first time I saw him in high school and my two frogs [that I got] after I finally switched my major in college. Every object acts as a milestone. Instead of clearing out the old stuff, I let it all live together,” Cunningham said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Jada Fox and her pigeon, Bernadette, pose for a portrait in her room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 6, 2025. “My bedroom is a sanctuary of self-expression, where I can be creative and explore my identity through gifts, thrift and antique finds and other sentimental objects. It reflects my inherited trait of clutter, as well as the peace I find within maximalism. Clutter makes me feel at home, similar to a bird nestling into its precariously-built nest,” Fox said.
3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Evan Seurkamp poses for a portrait in his room in Athens, Ohio. Nov. 3, 2025. “I love to use color in my songwriting to convey certain emotions, memories and ideas. My room doesn’t feel static because it’s always changing with the shift of warm and cool light from the outside. The afternoon brings a golden stripe down the wooden floor, dusk bathes everything in a submarine gray and a tangerine portal flashes across the ceiling just before the sun sets,” Seurkamp said.
![3rd Place, Feature Picture Story - Claira Kimble / Ohio University , “In My Room”Aiden Cunningham poses for a portrait in his room in Athens, Ohio. Oct. 31, 2025. “I have always seen my room as a timeline of my life. I still have the Pokémon cards I obsessed over as a kid, the Tyler, The Creator poster from the first time I saw him in high school and my two frogs [that I got] after I finally switched my major in college. Every object acts as a milestone. Instead of clearing out the old stuff, I let it all live together,” Cunningham said.](images/ppy_ckat_inmyroom_05.jpg)
