August Heminway Completes Fire Department Photo Documentary

August Heminway, of Ridgefield, CT, completed a photo documentary project titled "A Rural Devotion" for an independent study at SUNY Oneonta examining underfunded or overlooked volunteer fire departments. From October to December 2022, August spent time with the West Oneonta Fire Department and observed its training and operations.

"Firefighters are humanitarians who do uncontroversial work, saving lives daily even in proven harm's way," said August. "The lack of resources these rural departments experience magnifies the power of their actions and devotion to their community."

Following a course with Wesley Bernard, assistant professor of photography at SUNY Oneonta, August joined the SUNY Oneonta Photo Society. He is currently the president of the club, as well as the president of the Taekwondo club on campus.

"I think his project is meaningful and vitally important," said Bernard. "Most humble quiet stories go unnoticed unless a documentarian pushes them out into the public eye. The strength of the story comes from the caring photographer."

A dual major in Criminal Justice and Political Science, August will be graduating in May 2023. After graduation, he plans to attend graduate school and gain experience working with human rights non-governmental organizations.

"Though this project doesn't directly relate to my majors, I'm interested in documentary photography," said August. "I hope to be able to meld that work in the future with human rights and conflict work, which is along the lines of my career goal to become a United Nations War Crimes Investigator."

August Heminway's photo documentary, "A Rural Devotion," can be viewed here: https://augustheminwayphoto.weebly.com/a-rural-devotion.html