We love our local photographers. Their accomplishments never cease to impress us. They are proof that Columbus is a great city for photographers. Hometown Heroes highlights a Columbus photographer that we think is doing amazing work.

The OSU Photoleague, Ohio State’s student-run photo group, just wrapped up their first exhibition of 2013. The theme for the show was Hashtag Your Publicly Private Life, and we were happy to be a sponsor for this forward-thinking exhbit. All the exhbitors for “Hashtag” were undergrad or grad students at Ohio State, and five well-deserving photos were selected as Top in Show. We wanted to ask the Top in Show some questions about being young photographers and to highlight their work. Part I features Christy Bindas.

Bindas is a full-time BFA photography student at OSU. Her first solo exhibition, featuring her series “September 19, 1999,” opens on Friday, April 19 at 7:00 PM at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

What are your photographic interests? What do you pursue with your photography from an artistic standpoint?

I have realized that my interests in what to photograph always change with each semester at OSU. Last semester, I was focused on photographing my dog Finley as if he were an actual human being. I made a series for my Color Photography class titled “Furever Alone” which featured Finley in a variety of outfits, doing tasks that us humans do on a daily basis (sleeping in our bed, eating breakfast at the table, etc). For this semester, I decided to pursue a more personal topic that is close to my heart: my mother. With the 14-image series about my mother’s illness, titled “September 19, 1999,”  I want my viewers to see things through my eyes and how she really is behind closed doors when she thinks no one is watching. I created this photo series to help me step outside of my comfort zone and force me to face my own denial head on. Outside of school, I love photographing children and families in my spare time.

What was it like putting together your first exhibition? How did you decide which photos to exhibit?

Putting together my first exhibition was a lot of fun and also really exciting for me because it’s my very first. When I got the news that I would be given my own space to show off any work I would like, it just seemed so unreal! Since I am going to be graduating with my BFA at OSU this December, things are finally coming together for me and all of my hard work during the past 3 years has finally paid off. When deciding which photos to show for my exhibition, I came up with a narrative in which the photos are broken down into different chapters. When the viewer steps into the gallery, they will get a sense of what I was really trying to capture with this series: a deep love and worry for my mom.

What do you hope to do with your photography after you graduate?

Now that I’m close to graduating, I’ve been asked what I’m going to do next. As long as I’m doing something with photography and using my degree, I will be happy and enjoying life to the fullest!

Stay tuned for Part 2, in which we’ll feature fine art photographer Shane McGeehan, later this week!