3/11/09

Alumnus Matt Eich won the Community Awareness Award in this year's Pictures of the Year International Competition for his photo essay "Carry Me Ohio."

"I was very surprised but really honored," said Eich, who was named the College Photographer of the Year in 2006. "Most of the photographers who I really look up to that have done community-based work in the past have placed in this competition. It also was won last year by an Ohio University student, Yoon Byun, so it was kind of cool to follow in his footsteps."

Eich, a native of Virginia, began the project in 2006 for a class after becoming interested in the economic plight of the residents of Chauncey, a small village just outside Athens. He received his bachelor's of science degree in visual communication in 2008.

"I was kind of curious about the quality of life in Athens and the quality of life five miles down the road," he said. "I'm looking at the whole region and the extraction of natural resources such as coal, salt, clay and timber, and how there really isn't a whole lot of opportunity now for the folks that live out there."

Eich believes the story of those living in the impoverished areas is one that should be told, and says that he hopes to publish a book and produce a multimedia piece on the story in the coming months.

"In terms of public response, you can't make people see things they aren't willing to look at so I try to not get to hopeful in terms of change that might happen," he said.

Eich says he is currently working on a freelance basis and plans to move in June. As part of the College Photographer of the Year award, he completed an internship at National Geographic in summer 2008.

Eich's win was featured last week on an NPR blog. View the full picture story at the Pictures of the Year International Web site.