CJ Hanauer Photography

Since a young age, I loved to experiment with taking photos. That journey has led me to places across the world, as well as to the wonders of my own backyard. I love to capture local culture in the places I visit and in my home city of Washington, D.C. I especially love to photograph wildlife and nature, and I have participated in photography expeditions with National Geographic and Putney Student Travel in Namibia, northern Canada, Yellowstone National Park, and Iceland.

In high school, my work was recognized several times by Scholastic’s Art & Writing Award program, and I acted as the lead student photographer for the sports programs for 2 years. In my freshman year of high school, I began several years of classes in black-and-white film photography, which has become my favorite activity both in and out of school. I now am enrolled at the University of Missouri studying photojournalism.

When I would spend days at my mom’s office as a little kid, she would often occupy me by giving me $20 and sending me across the street to the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the First Amendment and a free press. The whole museum was wonderful, but every time, I was drawn to the exhibit of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. I could spend hours just in that room alone. That one room inspired me to document what I see – from sporting events, to wildlife, to portraits –with the goal of telling a story.