When attending an event at ĂÛŃżappUniversity, one phrase is repeated almost as many times as âGo Flashes!â
Whether youâre at a commencement ceremony, a sporting event or a guest lecture on campus, you will likely hear, âHi, Bob!â
That would be Bob Christy, Kent Stateâs senior photography coordinator, of Green, Ohio. The Jeep-loving, hoverboard-riding, Jeff Bridges lookalike (Google âThe Dudeâ from âThe Big Lebowskiâ) and longtime ĂÛŃżappemployee is a fixture on campus, covering events and capturing moments that showcase the university experience.
Serving under four university presidents, Christy is a witness to ĂÛŃżapphistory. His photos document the university's people, places and points in time.
Get to know Christy as ĂÛŃżappToday takes a closer look at the man behind the camera and features his favorite photos.
Family and Love of Photography
Christy grew up in the Kenmore section of south Akron, Ohio. His interest in photography began when he was âa wee lad of 13,â he said with a chuckle.
âMy granddad was like a hobby photographer,â Christy said. âHe lived in Pittsburgh. My dad would tell stories about them film developing in the kitchen and making prints. So, my granddad had all of these cameras. I was 13 when he died. My dad brought these cameras home. My dad showed me a little bit how to use them, and then I went from there, taught myself more about them, taught myself how to develop film, taught myself how to make prints and things like that using these old film cameras from the 1940s.â
After high school, Christy joined the U.S. Air Force.
âI knew I wanted to be a photographer, but I didnât know how to be that, so I joined the military and spent almost six years in the military,â he said.
He worked as an aircraft munitions maintenance specialist, loading weapons onto military fighter bomber planes for practice bombing runs. His service with the Air Force took him across the U.S. â to New Hampshire, Michigan, New Mexico and Nevada â and around the world â to the Philippines, South Korea and Japan. During his time in the military, Christy also worked at newspapers as a part-time photographer.
He left the military in 1990 and began his college career as a Golden Flash.
Hello Kent State
When Christy began his studies at Kent State, he spent most of his time at Taylor Hall, which was home to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (now called the School of Media and Journalism based in Franklin Hall). He got to know Gary Harwood and Jeff Glidden, both photographers with University Communications and Marketing and who had an office in Taylor Hall. In spring 1995, Christy earned his bachelorâs in photojournalism.
Following graduation, Christy worked as a photographer at a small newspaper in Laconia, New Hampshire, and for United Press International covering politics and the New Hampshire primary. Afterward, he was a photographer for The Times-Reporter in New Philadelphia, Ohio.
When a position for a university photographer opened in 2000, Christy applied and got an interview, meeting with members from University Communications and Marketing, including Harwood. A few months later, Christy was offered the job. He started working for ĂÛŃżappin December 2000 alongside Harwood and Glidden.
âA Pretty Cool Gigâ
While based on the Kent Campus, Christy has taken photos at all seven Regional Campuses. He has traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York City to photograph ĂÛŃżappprograms. Recently, he had the opportunity to visit university programs in Florence, Italy; Paris, France; Curitiba, Brazil; and Kigali, Rwanda.
âItâs a pretty cool gig,â Christy said. âIâve flown on the Goodyear Blimp a couple of times, was on a research ship, and gone to Europe and Brazil. I meet a lot of people, like filmmakers and politicians.
âItâs a pretty interesting career. Itâs not as lucrative as other careers, but what you get out of it is more than that. You get a lot of really cool experiences you cannot even pay for, honestly. You canât buy a ride on the Goodyear Blimp, so you have to do something to get on that blimp, and Iâve been there twice.â
Working for the university has provided many special moments and events, but Christyâs most memorable experience occurred away from campus when he spent a week on a 90-foot research ship that made two loops around Lake Erie as he photographed the crew's water research.
âI had to get on board as research crew because they didnât have space for a photographer,â Christy said. âThey were studying oxygenation levels because of the zebra mussels in the lake. They would send this rig down and pull different water samples from different water levels of the lake.
"I would filter those water samples and store them a certain way for further research, and then I would take pictures too. I had cameras right there. If something was going on, I jumped out and took pictures. It was the only way I could get on the ship.â
Christy has also traveled with various ĂÛŃżappathletic teams for big contests, including football bowl games and Mid-American Conference championships for several sports. He likes that he works for his alma mater, noting that some of the people he graduated with are now university professors. Additionally, some of his former journalism professors, though retired, are still roaming the halls of Franklin Hall, like Carl Schierhorn and Barb Hipsman Springer.
Christy also loves photographing an event that happens on campus three times each year.
âI love Commencement,â he said. âMuch like the president [Todd Diacon] says, itâs the happiest day there is on campus. I love Commencement because I get to see students I run across over their time here and see them succeed, or students who worked for me, I get to watch them graduate and then move on to successful careers.â
A Picture Speaking a Thousand Words
When on assignment, Christy looks to surpass what was requested.
âI like shooting events and once I wrap up the necessary things to just look on the perimeters of whatâs going on â to see these little moments that you get that arenât even necessarily marketing stuff for the university,â Christy said. âBut they go out on social media, they touch little heartstrings of people who have gone here and they say, âHey, this place is still beautiful. Itâs even more beautiful than it used to be. God, look at that building. I spent so much time in that building.â Or âHey, I know that person. I remember them.ââ
One of Christyâs favorite photos was taken when he was looking at the perimeters. In 2016, the May 4 Task Force student organization invited Samaria Rice, the mother of the late Tamir Rice, to be the keynote speaker of the 46th annual May 4 Commemoration. While covering the annual commemoration, he captured a sweet moment between Bill Buckbee, now retired ĂÛŃżappassistant chief of police, and a little girl.
âThere were probably 50 people with cameras there, and everyoneâs over shooting pictures of the woman [Samaria Rice] speaking,â Christy said. âI had already gotten those photos. I walked behind some bleachers and behind a tent. Thereâs Bill Buckbee, and this little, little African American girl is giving him little flowers that she pulled, like dandelions. And heâs taking them and putting them in his pocket. Clearly, heâs a cop. You can see that heâs got a gun on underneath his suit. So, itâs just people being people. And Bill told me later, âI didnât even know you took that photo.â I was 20 feet from him. But he was so concentrated on this little girl and what she was doing that he didnât even notice me.
âSo as far as I know, I was the only person who shot that photo,â he continued. âI love shooting things like that. These little things â connections between people â matter in photos, in my opinion, because how a compelling photo can speak a thousand words. Thatâs what youâre looking for.â
Passion for Sharing Knowledge
Christyâs love of photography extends to sharing what he knows with student photographers. During Christyâs time with Kent State, students have always worked for the photo team.
Christy said he has watched students âgo from being a little naĂŻve and not quite confident of their talents and building talents into someone you can trust to say, âHey, go shoot this for meâ and âWe trust that youâre going to do it correctly because weâve taught you that.ââ
Greta Bell of Beaver, Pennsylvania, is one such former student. She worked as a student photographer for Christy during her four years at Kent State. After graduating this past spring, she now works as a university photographer at Purdue University.
Christy trusted Bell to work on new photos for university billboards. Bell came up with the concept, determined the shooting times, took the photos and passed them off to the graphic designers, who then used Bellâs photos for the billboards.
For Bell, working with Christy left quite an impression.
âBob has been the most impactful person I have met while studying here at Kent State,â Bell said. âFrom the moment we met at my interview for this job, he was always including me in everything. This means I get to learn every single day that Iâm around him, and heâs always willing to take the time to answer my questions and explain more in-depth.
âI genuinely enjoy coming to work every day, and a big part of the reason why is because of Bob,â she said before graduating. âAnd I think a lot of other people all around the university would say the same. Bob seems to not only know everyone but is loved by everyone! ĂÛŃżappis so lucky to have such a talented photographer and amazing person working here.â
Aaron Self, a native of Copley, Ohio, who worked for Christy and graduated from ĂÛŃżappin 2018, currently serves as coordinator of photography and video at Baldwin Wallace University. Self credits Christy for giving him firsthand experience in lighting on location, which Self uses all the time as a professional. Self stays in touch with Christy and can even spot Christyâs work.
âĂÛŃżapp a year ago, I was walking in the Cleveland airport, and I saw this massive image of ĂÛŃżappstudents in a circle throwing their hats in the air from the perspective of inside their circle looking up,â Self said. âMy first thought was that had to have been Bobâs picture. So, I texted him a pic of the wall, asked if it was his, and I should have bet money on that because I was right. I had never seen that picture before, but you could just tell he had made it.â
Christy said the ability to have confidence in students is wonderful. He likes to connect with new student photographers as freshmen and âbuild them up to the point where theyâre able to go get a university job somewhere after theyâve graduated,â Christy explained. Itâs a paycheck for students, he said, but they also get access to all the equipment and knowledge that the university photographers have spent years building up.
âI have a whole list of students who text me all the time to wish me a happy birthday or tell me, âHey, I got this jobâ or âHey, Iâm doing this,â and thatâs a good feeling,â Christy said. âEven for the limited amount Iâm exposed to students, I just love to watch them succeed. Itâs really a rewarding thing. And I could see how a professor feels whenever they see that kind of thing happen.â
Christyâs passion for sharing his expertise and joy of seeing students succeed inspired him to take on a new challenge.
âThatâs why I went and got a masterâs degree because I loved watching the students blossom over the course of their time here,â said Christy, who earned his masterâs in journalism education in fall 2022.
âIâd like to teach serious photo students,â he said. âIâd like to teach kids who are really into it [photography] because I think I can take what I know and hopefully get them to know those things too. Iâm going to pass that knowledge on and maybe even Iâd like to try to start a class where students go out with me on jobs. They see how Iâm doing things. Iâll let them shoot whatever. And then we get back and critique, âOK, how could you have done this better? Hey, look, this guy over here got this photo. How come you didnât see that kind of thing?â So thatâs a possibility.â
This fall, Christy is teaching the Production Fundamentals course in the School of Media and Journalism two nights per week and a weekly Flashes 101 new student orientation course in addition to his current job until âsuch time that photography has stolen every joint in my body,â he explained.
Christyâs Nikon D5 camera weighs about 5 pounds. When photographing football games, he carries two cameras and a 15-pound lens, toting around 25 pounds of gear.
âItâs physically hard on you with the gear youâre carrying around and being on your feet all the time with that gear,â he said. âA lot of photographers have knee problems, elbow problems and back problems.â
âOne of the Bestâ
In addition to students, Christyâs co-workers have positive things to say about him, including Bob Louis, who leads the Creative Team and oversees Christy.
âHaving worked with many photographers over the years, I can truly say that Bob Christy is one of the best,â Louis said. âHis ability to see, compose and capture great photos is rare. Bob loves photography and also loves to mentor co-workers and students. The students who come through our department gain so much knowledge and skill because of Bobâs mentoring and willingness to share his craft.â
Taking Pictures for a Living
âI love the people,â Christy said. âI love the students. I get to take pictures for a living. I love doing that. I get to experience things. I get to go to football games. I really, really like it here, and that is why Iâm still here. And photography jobs donât grow on trees.â
Working for a university has provided many opportunities for Christy, and he recommends others to work at one.
âIf you want to experience a slice of the world, I always say come to a university because we have people from every corner of the world here, and theyâre always willing to share what it is about them or their country that makes their country special,â he said. âItâs very cool to be able to just walk down the street and meet someone from anywhere. Iâve made so many good friends here by just working here. Itâs just a remarkable place.â
If you see him, be sure to say, âHi, Bob.â
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Top Photo Caption:
Bob Christy, Kent Stateâs senior photography coordinator, holds his camera while covering Spring 2022 Commencement. (Photo by Rami Daud)