Genaro Molina is a staff photographer at the LA Times, and a CPOY 74 Stills Division judge. Watch this video to get to know him a little better!

Genaro Molina, CPOY Still Image Judge from CPOY/POYi on Vimeo.

Scott Strazzante is a staff photographer at the San Franscisco Chronicle, and one of our still image judges for CPOY 74. Watch this video to get to know him a little better! 

Scott Strazzante, CPOY Still Image Judge from CPOY/POYi on Vimeo.

Alexandra Garcia is a producer at the New York Times. Watch the video to get to know her and what she was excited about coming to CPOY this year.

Nick Michael is the Supervising Editor for Video at NPR and was one of our multimedia judges. Watch this video to learn more about him!

Katie Falkenburg, an indepedent filmmaker and photographer, speaks about what she was looking forward to when judging the 74th CPOY competition.

Our dedicated staff spent hours setting up Tucker Forum on the weekend before CPOY 74. Here it is, in just one minute.
Video by Jason Vance
Video Editing by Liv Paggiarino
Music: "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

CPOY 74 Setup, in One Minute from CPOY/POYi on Vimeo.

CPOY 74 Judge Adriana Teresa Letorney is the founder and CEO of Visura, a digital platform that specializes in visual storytelling. Watch this video to get to know her a little better! 

Adriana Letorney, CPOY Still Image Judge from CPOY/POYi on Vimeo.

9385 images. 566 participants. 126 schools, worldwide.

As CPOY73 comes to an end, we're looking back on the students that made this year's competition possible.

Thanks to everyone who participated! We'll see you next year.  

Cables, computers, more cables – here is a timelapse taken by Yehyun Kim of our CPOY volunteers setting up everything in the Reynold Journalism Institute’s Fred W. Smith Forum last week. Watch until the end to get a sneak peek of the Still Division judges Marcia Allert, Cheryl Diaz Meyer, Patrick Farrell and Vaughn Wallace reviewing some pictures!

As the Stills Division for CPOY73 wrapped up earlier this week, judges headed out as Multimedia judges Maisie Crow, Jarrad Henderson and Yoshi James arrived on Thursday. The Multimedia Division judging will run until Sunday, November 4.

Stills Division judge Marcia Allert, left, speaks with Anto Tavitian, right, during a portfolio review before leaving. (PC: Patrick Farrell)

Still Division judges, from left, Marcia Allert, Patrick Farrell, Vaughn Wallace, and Cheryl Diaz Meyer talk in front of the Columns at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Multimedia Division judge Jarrad Henderson is interviewed by Ellie Cherryhomes, Jennifer Mosbrucker and Emily Nevils at the start of the judges' arrival on Thursday.

Multimedia Division judge Yoshi James (shown in center) donnes pins of herself and fellow multimedia judges, Maisie Crow, left, and Jarrad Henderson, right, on Friday.

Watch the CPOY 72 still image judges (from left: Deanne Fitzmaurice, Molly Roberts, Carl Phillippe-Juste and Don Bartletti) judge the entries for Feature category, spanning about an hour and a half.

Dedicated to all those who participated in CPOY 68.

"CPOY is a contest by students, for students and of students" - Director Rita Reed

 Q. What advice do you have for any photographer in college?

 A. Get close. There are a lot of loose pictures that have pictures inside of them. They’re not breaking people’s personal space; they’re not getting in and shooting. Because you keep that distance and everybody sort of has that distance and wants people to stay out of it. When you start getting in and breaking that space, and getting close to people, your pictures will get better.

 Q. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the comfort of the chair you’ve been sitting in all day?

 A. One! Oh my god. Horrifying. Is that on the list? It just kills your back sitting straight up like that all day.

 Q. What advice do you have for any photographer in college?

 A. Don’t get discouraged. Keep trying because this is ultimately just the opinion of four people.
I would say (and it goes the same for even professionals, because we get caught in this trap, too) that it’s very easy to put too much stock into contests. Even if it’s something that you’ve seen before and maybe it’s not something you personally have tried to do before, it’s still worth it to try it for the experience.

 Q. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the comfort of the chair you’ve been sitting in all day?

 A. Six. I’m about to start sitting on the floor! It’s nothing personal against the chair; it’s just a desk chair that tends to be very hard to sit in after a while. I’m about to sit on the floor, or possibly lay on the floor, I’m just debating if the floor in there is really as disgusting as I think it might be.

Interview by Shelby Feistner

Graduate student and CPOY volunteer Leah Beane talks about the making of CPOY buttons

Q. What advice do you have for any photographer in college?

A. Spend time focusing on a project that you’re passionate about, not one that you think some editor or some magazine wants you to work on. That’s the best way to hone your skills, rather than just trying to shoot a lot of things and be a generalist.

Get lots of fine people that will give you honest feedback and get critiques. You get critiques throughout your time here, but then once you leave, it’s good to get it in front of other photographers, share work and get involved with groups that give monthly critiques. Ask for honest feedback and listen. Make sure you’re not so defensive and holding onto your work. If it’s really not speaking to people, move on to another subject.

Be aware of subjects that are so heavily covered by everyone. If you’re going to Burning Man, you will be the one millionth photographer who has made great pictures at Burning Man and you’re not going to distinguish yourself in an editor’s eyes.

Q. Did you have any weird experience coming into Missouri for CPOY?

A. Well, I started in Banff (Mountain Film Festival) and I arrived in Chicago with 15 minutes to spare. I made it, with a little bit of sweat, but my bag didn’t. So I’m wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday, and it was an 11-hour travel day.

Q. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the comfort of the chair you’ve been sitting in all day?

A. Since I stand 80 percent of my day at work, I’m going to give it a 4. My butt is becoming one with the chair. I’m not so happy with it anymore.

Interview by Shelby Feistner

Meet THE BOX and director Rita Reed!

 Q. What advice do you have for any photographer in college? 

 A. Despite the weird things that you hear about the industry, just be upbeat. Be psyched about choosing something you want to do. Be persistent, get your work out and you’ll do fine.

 Q. Did you have any weird experiences coming into Missouri for CPOY?

 A. I went to school here twenty years ago. This is my first time back and I had no problems at all. I think I ran over a Jayhawk on the way in from the airport.

 Q. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the comfort of the chair you’ve been sitting in all day?

 A. 8. I haven’t had any pain yet and I feel like I’ve been sitting it all day, but it’s not exactly super comfortable. In fact, I’m jealous of Rita’s chair.

Interview by Shelby Feistner
Photo by Malte Kristiansen 

All the votes have been casted and all the winners have been crowned, the 65th College Photographer of the Year competition is officially over. All winning images and judging screencasts can be viewed in their respected places. Thank you to every who worked so hard to make it happen! Until next year. 

By Madison Mack
Interviews by Jonathan Hinderliter

Photo by Madison Mack

Katie Currid and Chris Dunn ask Liz Baylen and Melissa Wiley for advice on dealing with careers and relationships.

Photo by Madison Mack

Eric Seals critics a students portfolio while waiting for the winners' show to begin.

Photo by Madison Mack

The judges look over their winning selections during the winners' show.

Produced by Brett Slaughter

At 6:45pm on Thursday, November 11, 2010, CPOY Director Rita Reed called this year's College Photographer of the Year, Rachel Mummey, to be the first to congratulate her on the award.

Judge Lara Solt talks about an image that won her an award in the Personal Vision category of CPOY one year.

The staff members of CPOY 64 prepare Tucker Forum for judging. 621 frames over about seven and a half hours. Time lapse by Brenden Neville and Matthew Cavanah.

Steve Rice (Minneapolis Star Tribune). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Travis Fox (Washingtonpost.com). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Melissa Farlow (National Geographic Magazine). (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

Tammy Lechner (Freelance).  (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).

CPOY Director, Rita Reed makes introductory remarks at the start of the 63rd College Photographer of the Year contest. (Video produced by Samantha Clemens).