PROJECT 306.36 VISUAL STORYTELLING GRANTS
Two student documentary photographers are awarded the $3,000 REINKE GRANT FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING and $3,000 TIM DILLON GRANT FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING annually. Each student is provided ZERO-COST housing for a 12-week intensive documentary opportunity to participate in the annual Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 visual documentary program to photograph and write about the people and culture of Harrison County, Kentucky.
WHY ARE THE REINKE AND DILLON GRANTS FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING A “FIRST CHOICE” OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLEGIATE PHOTOJOURNALISTS?
Highlighted by weekly critiques and commentary offered by renowned documentary photographers and journalists, the Reinke and Tim Dillon Grants for Visual Storytelling provides a unique one-of-a-kind opportunity for the next generation of storytellers to expand their skills and develop the tools to sustain a career in journalism and documentary photography.
Continuing in the documentary tradition of the Farm Security Administration pictorial project’s recording of American life between 1935 and 1944, this collection of images taken by Project 306.36 grant photographers over many years will become an important historical record of the people and places inside the nearly 310 square miles of Harrison County.
The 2025 Reinke and Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling recipients are awarded a $3,000 grant to take part in Project 306.36 for three months and are immediately immersed into Harrison County, Kentucky WITHOUT the worry of finding housing and paying rent. The furnished housing is provided at no cost to the students.
In-depth critiques and commentary from photojournalism’s most talented photographers.
An innovative alternative to the traditional media internship opportunity allows an individual to explore and document without being constrained by daily deadlines.
Exposure of the photographer’s work will be widely promoted and seen by top editors and photographers in the visual documentary community.
The photographer owns the copyright to the photographs taken during the time in Harrison County.
The photographs taken during Project 306.36 become part of the larger historical archive documenting this single community and continuing for many years to come.
THE FAQ's
IS THERE A FEE TO APPLY?
There is NO fee to apply.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY?
Candidates must be college juniors, seniors or graduate students. Recent graduates working to further a career in visual storytelling are encouraged to apply as well. They must be 21 years of age or older during the time of the grant period - they can be 20 when they apply but must be 21 by the time the grant begins. Previous newspaper journalism internships and/or experience as a journalist on a college newspaper are preferred, but not mandatory.
Most importantly, candidates must be committed to a career in journalism.
All Reinke and Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling recipients will absolutely adhere to the standards and ethics outlined by the National Press Photographers Association.
WHAT ARE SOME KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS?
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, acute attention to detail, and the ability to work independently are most important. Familiarity with digital photography and file types is a must. Experience with social media tools and social publishing is expected as well as knowledge of Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, and Photoshelter.com will be a major plus.
WHAT KIND OF HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION IS AVAILABLE?
The Reinke and Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling recipients will live in a house at Boyd’s Station FOR FREE. They will share the home with the Mary Withers Rural Writing fellow. Each fellow will have their own room and have access to a shared bathroom, kitchen and living room. The home is WiFi enabled (cell service can occasionally be spotty).
Transportation in and around Harrison County is the sole responsibility of the grant recipient. In such a rural community, there is no public transportation, so a car, a valid driver’s license, and insurance are required. Fuel purchases associated with transportation during the grant period are reimbursed fully. Student transportation costs to and from Harrison County are the responsibility of the student.
ARE GRANT RECIPIENTS PAID?
The grant recipients will receive an overall $3,000 grant paid equally over the three-month grant period to pay for food, and living expenses. They will also be reimbursed for the cost of fuel while reporting from Harrison County. The Reinke and Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling recipient receives free rent for the grant period and working space at the Boyd’s Station Gallery in downtown Cynthiana.
Grant recipients are responsible for bringing their own car to Boyd’s Station and their own computer to work on and any personal photo gear they wish to bring. They are also responsible for their own meals.
Transportation cost to Harrison County is the responsibility of the grant recipient.
WHAT ABOUT COLLEGE CREDIT?
Boyd’s Station is happy to work with a grant recipient’s college or university to help them receive college credits for their work. We can prepare any summaries, descriptions, or other supporting documentation to try to fulfill the requirements of any school.
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO APPLY?
The 2025 Reinke and Dillon Grants for Visual Storytelling application window is now open and the deadline for applying is Monday, January 6, 2025.
Finalists for the Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling and Tim Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling will be interviewed by Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 selection committee members and additional work from the finalists may be requested.
The grant recipients will be announced on or prior to February 1, 2025.
WHEN SHOULD THE GRANT RECIPIENT BE IN HARRISON COUNTY?
Project 306.36 will run for 12 consecutive weeks somewhere between May to August 2025. The exact timing of this grant is determined by the student photographer and program director to best fit the grant recipient’s schedule, but each student is expected to be in Kentucky throughout the 12 weeks determined as the grant period. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis for family emergencies or other personal matters. Grant recipients will be “onboarded” into the workflow and needs of the program in the weeks prior to arrival in Harrison County, Kentucky.
Transportation costs to and from Harrison County prior to and after the grant period are the responsibility of each grant recipient.
WHAT DOES EACH FELLOW NEED TO BRING WITH THEM?
If you are selected for the Tim Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling or the Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling, you will need the following:
A car, and a valid driver’s license and insurance.
A personal computer.
Personal photography gear.
Clothes and shoes that work on a farm. While photographers will spend a lot of time in downtown Cynthiana and can work indoors, it’s expected - and encouraged - that they spend as much time as possible immersing themselves in the community, which means a lot of time on farms and ranches, cow patties included. A good pair of hiking/work boots is highly recommended.
Health insurance is recommended.
Nikon Professional Service (NPS) has generously provided professional equipment on loan for use by each grant recipient in previous years participating in Project 306.36.
WHAT KIND OF HOURS WILL THE PHOTOGRAPHER BE WORKING?
This is not a traditional internship where a photographer is expected to clock in and out at set hours each day. The expectation is that the grant recipient is self-motivated, and will put in a full 40 hours each week and accomplish their goals. It’s up to each student to figure out if that means working 9-5 or crafting their own schedule. Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 will absolutely expect photographers to vigorously document and photograph Harrison County and ingest those digital files EACH DAY for (at the minimum) 5 days each week.
WHO WILL MANAGE WHAT THE GRANT RECIPIENT DOES?
The Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 program is directed by photojournalist Jack Gruber. Gruber will supervise the grant recipient’s program and work hand in hand with the photographer along with a group of Project 306.36 mentors during the duration of the programs. Grant recipients should expect to communicate with the directors and mentors through weekly video calls and frequent emails.
Jack Gruber, the founder and director of Boyd’s Station, will be on-site frequently. Gruber and various other Boyd’s Station team members and volunteers run multiple programs operating out of Boyd’s Station Gallery in Cynthiana.
WHAT WILL A GRANT RECIPIENT LEARN?
This project is geared toward documentary photography of the people and places of Harrison County, Kentucky and the work of the grant recipient will become part of the Project 306.36 archive. At the beginning of the grant period.
The Boyd’s Station 306.36 Visual Documentary Project has a large community of successful documentary photographer supporters who are the best in the world and are committed to seeing the grant recipient strive and succeed. What might be the most unique thing about The Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling and Tim Dillon Grant for Visual Storytelling is that while in Harrison County, the grant recipient will have numerous in-person and virtual critiques of their work with different Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 visual documentary project mentors. This opportunity will be a unique experience for the photographer and an accomplished professional to discuss work or seek answers to questions on how to successfully navigate documentary photography.
Grant recipients will be challenged to work daily documenting life in Harrison County as well as balancing time to pursue in-depth individual essays. To see a selection of successful past Reinke Grant recipient work, please check out this highlighted work.
This is an annual photo documentary archive project. Full and complete captioning of all photographs is mandatory. If you feel you will not be able to fulfill the rigorous reporting and captioning standards needed to successfully participate in this project, we would recommend you evaluate if this program is best suited for your ability to manage time and deadlines. Students should only consider this program if able to work under weekly deadline considerations with a careful and exact eye for detail in providing full and complete captions for all of the work produced. You must be confident and willing to initiate conversations about your work, communicate with the project directors, and seek out project mentors to take full advantage of the community of support built around this program.
WHO OWNS THE COPYRIGHT TO THE WORK CREATED?
The PHOTOGRAPHER. One of the unique things about this grant opportunity is that any and all work created by the photographer will be owned, and the copyright retained, by that individual. The photographer has the right to market or sell any of the work for personal gain editorially or commercially as long as the work and any photograph or video images sold commercially have proper documentation and release from subjects.
The complete collection of photos, words, creative works, and images produced during the project period DO become part of the overall historical archive and collection of the Boyd's Station archive. The photographer must grant Boyd’s Station the right, in perpetuity, to use any of the work created during the grant period in promotion, exhibits and for educational purposes determined by Boyd’s Station without additional compensation. Boyd’s Station agrees not to sell or provide creative work or images for commercial gain without expressed written consent and agreement of the fellow.
WHERE IS BOYD’S STATION LOCATED IN KENTUCKY?
QUESTIONS
Please contact Boyd’s Station executive director Jack Gruber with any questions or comments regarding the application process or general information regarding The Reinke and Dillon Grants for Visual Storytelling.
